Marietta, GA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Unlicensed threshold
- Up to 3 children, unregistered/unlicensed
- Larger day care
- Barred as a Type B home occupation
- Child care center
- 5+ children needs its own commercial use
- Governing sections
- Code of Ordinances §§ 724.02, 712.04.E.5
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Development Services
Summary
Marietta lets a resident care for up to 3 unrelated children in a private home, unregistered by the state and unlicensed by the city, under the zoning code's 'family day care' definition. Anything larger cannot operate as a home occupation at all: Section 712.04.E.5 names 'day care' among the uses specifically barred from the city's Type B home-business permit.
5.The following uses are specifically prohibited as Type B home occupations (list not all-inclusive): auto sales or auto repair; restaurants or any preparation of food or drink; animal hospitals; veterinary clinics; kennels or the keeping of animals; funeral homes; retail or wholesale shops; personal service establishments; special events facilities; lodging services; or day care. ... Family day care: A private residence in which a business is operated by any person who receives compensation for supervising and caring for no more than 3 children under 18 years of age, who are not residents in the same private residence, for fewer than 24 hours per day. Such a business shall not be registered by the State of Georgia, nor shall it be licensed by the City of Marietta.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 56).
Full Breakdown
02, defines 'family day care' as a private residence where a person is compensated for supervising and caring for no more than 3 children under 18 who don't live in that residence, for fewer than 24 hours a day. That definition specifically notes the operation is not registered by the State of Georgia and not licensed by the City of Marietta, meaning a caregiver watching three or fewer children at home falls outside both the state childcare licensing scheme and the city's business-license and home-occupation permitting process entirely.
The code draws a hard line once a home-based operation grows beyond that scale. 04 governs 'home occupations,' the umbrella zoning category for any business run out of a residence, and splits them into Type A (no visitors) and Type B (clients or employees come to the site, requiring a Special Land Use Permit from City Council). 5 lists uses that are specifically prohibited as Type B home occupations, and 'day care' is on that list alongside auto repair, kennels, funeral homes and restaurants. 02 as an establishment enrolling 5 or more children for compensation, has to locate as its own commercial use rather than as a home business.
Violations & Fines
Operating a home-based day care beyond the 3-child family day care threshold without the licenses a larger child care center requires, or attempting to run one as an unauthorized Type B home occupation, is enforced under the zoning article's general penalty, Section 718.08: a fine up to $500 and/or up to six months in jail per violation, with the Director of Development Services also able to order the use discontinued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a daycare from my home in Marietta without a license?
Can I get a permit to run a bigger day care out of my house in Marietta?
What counts as a child care center instead of a family day care in Marietta?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Marietta
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Home Daycare in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Cobb County handle home daycare.