Odessa, TX Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Student/child cap
- 6 students or less
- Outside employees
- None allowed: family only
- Floor area limit
- 25% of home's floor area
- Signage
- No signs or displays allowed
- Governing code
- Odessa Zoning Ordinance, Ch. 14
Summary
Odessa's zoning code treats an in-home daycare as a home occupation, not a separate business use, so it's allowed by right only if you cap enrollment at six children, use no outside help, and keep signage off your property.
(75) Home Occupation - An occupation carried on in a residential dwelling ... as an incidental subordinate and accessory activity to the primary use of the premises as a home wherein the following conditions and standards are not exceeded: (A) No person other than a member of the occupant's family is engaged or employed in the activity. ... (D) No service other than tutoring or teaching of six (6) students or less is offered on the premises. (E) Not more than twenty-five (25) percent of the total floor area of the main residential structure may be utilized for a home occupation...
Full Breakdown
Under the City of Odessa Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 14), a home daycare qualifies as a "home occupation", an accessory activity to a residence, rather than a licensed "Day Care Center" use, only if it stays within strict limits set at Sec. 14-19-1(a)(75). No one outside the resident's own family may work in the business, no sign may advertise it, no commodity may be sold on-site, and any teaching or tutoring service is capped at six students or fewer. The activity can use no more than 25 percent of the home's floor area, no commercial equipment, and it cannot add traffic, noise, or exterior storage that changes the character of the block.
Violations & Fines
Odessa's Building Official enforces zoning through code enforcement; exceeding the six-student cap, hiring outside help, or posting a sign forfeits home-occupation status and can draw a citation, correction order, or forced closure of the business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a home daycare in Odessa without a special permit?
Can I hire an assistant to help run my in-home daycare?
Can I put up a sign advertising my daycare?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Odessa
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Odessa to another location·View the Texas home business overview
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