Ocala, FL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Ocala Code of Ordinances Sec. 122-1283(a), part of Division 4's home occupation rules, states that family day care homes may be allowed as a home occupation pursuant to F.S. § 402.302(7). Because this is the sole sentence the city devotes to home-based day care, the operation still has to clear every other Division 4 standard that applies to home occupations generally: it needs a permit from the building official under Sec. 122-1284, including the application, the $10.00 fee, and the $5.00 annual renewal; it cannot occupy more than 20 percent of the first-floor area under Sec.

122-1287; it cannot be run from an accessory building under Sec. 122-1288; and only immediate family members living in the residence may work in it under Sec. 122-1291. A family day care home is distinct from the larger, freestanding day care facilities regulated separately under Division 5 (Secs. 122-1311 through 122-1315), which carry their own lot-size, fencing, and floor-space rules and are not treated as home occupations at all.