Omaha, NE Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 55-764(d) of the zoning code, "Civic uses," regulates day care services as an accessory use within residential zoning districts. The zoning use-type definitions distinguish two tiers: day care services (limited) covers a structure licensed by the state for the care of ten or fewer individuals during any portion of a day, while day care services (general) covers state-licensed care for 11 or more individuals. For the limited category, subsection (d)(1)a restricts operation in the DR through MH residential districts to residential structures that are occupied primarily as a residence by the owner or tenant, meaning a home day care cannot run out of a house nobody actually lives in.

Subsection (d)(1)b adds that a limited day care located in a nonresidential structure within those same districts must first obtain a certificate of occupancy from the permits and inspections division of the planning department before opening. For the larger day care services (general) category, subsection (d)(2)a allows it in the DR through R6 districts only as an accessory use on the same site as specific institutional uses such as churches, schools, hospitals, and community recreation facilities, and only if the site can meet off-street parking requirements.

Subsection (d)(2)b applies the same owner- or tenant-occupancy rule as the limited category to general day cares operating from residential structures in the DR through MH districts. Subsection (d)(2)c then caps enrollment: a day care services (general) operation in the DR through R5 districts is limited to the care of up to and including 12 individuals, even though the general category by definition covers 11 or more children. Operating outside these district and occupancy limits, or exceeding the 12-child cap in DR through R5 districts, puts the use out of compliance with the zoning code.