Novato, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 19.34.070 allows family day care at home in two sizes. Subsection A.1 covers small family day care homes, 8 or fewer children, and A.2 covers large family day care homes, 9 to 14 children. Both are allowed within a single-family residence located in a residential zoning district. Licensing by the Department of Social Services is required for all facilities, and the section’s standards apply in addition to the other provisions of the Zoning Ordinance.

The land use tables back this up. In Table 2-4 for the residential zoning districts, the row for child and adult day care with 14 or fewer persons prints P in all five residential columns (RR; RVL and R1; R4 and R5; R10; R20) and cites § 19.34.070, so no Use Permit is required. A center of 15 or more persons prints UP in every one of those columns. The parcel size, parking and drop-off standards in subsection A.3 belong to centers, not homes.

The glossary in § 19.60.020 defines the terms. Child day care facilities provide nonmedical care and supervision of minor children for periods of less than 24 hours. A small family day care home is a facility in a single-family residence where an occupant of the residence provides care and supervision for eight or fewer children. The glossary describes a large home as serving seven to 14 children, which differs from the 9 to 14 printed in § 19.34.070. In both definitions, children under the age of 10 years who reside in the home count as children served by the facility, so a provider’s own young children count toward the number served.

Day care at home does not run through the home occupation section. Section 19.34.080 lists art and craft work, tailoring and office-only uses as examples and does not name child care, so a provider works from § 19.34.070 and the state license.