Palm Desert, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- City permit
- No City land use permit or clearance required
- State license
- California Department of Social Services license before operating
- Large family size
- 9 to 14 children, including resident children under 10
- Small family size
- Eight or fewer children
- Where allowed
- Single-family or multifamily residence in a residential district
- Code section
- Palm Desert Municipal Code § 25.10.040(F)
Summary
In the City of Palm Desert, California, a large family day care home is allowed inside a single-family or multifamily residence in a residential zoning district with no City land use permits or clearances. Municipal Code § 25.10.040(F) requires the operator to hold the appropriate California Department of Social Services license before the home starts operating.
F. Large family day care. Allowed within a single-family or multifamily residence located in a residential zoning district with no City land use permits or clearances required per state law. All appropriate licensing from the California Department of Social Services shall be obtained prior to commencing operation of any large family day care home in the City.
Full Breakdown
Palm Desert treats home child care as a by-right residential use. Section 25.10.040(F) of the Palm Desert Municipal Code says a large family day care is allowed within a single-family or multifamily residence located in a residential zoning district, with no City land use permits or clearances required per state law. The use matrix in Table 25.10-1 backs that up: the Day care, large family row and the Day care, small family row both print P, permitted by right, across all seven residential columns (RE, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-1M, HPR and PR).
The size line between the two comes from the definitions in § 25.99.020. A large family day care is a facility in a single-family residence where an occupant of the residence provides care and supervision for 9 to 14 children, and children under the age of 10 years who reside in the home count as children served. A small family day care covers eight or fewer children, counted the same way. Day care facilities as a group provide care and supervision of minor children for periods of less than 24 hours, and the definition states that all of them are required to be licensed by the State Department of Social Services.
Licensing is the gate. Section 25.10.040(F) puts it plainly: all appropriate licensing from the California Department of Social Services shall be obtained prior to commencing operation of any large family day care home in the City. That license comes from the State, and the zoning code adds no separate City permit on top of it.
A provider who wants to run child care from a commercial building is in a different category. A day care center, defined in § 25.99.020 as a commercial or nonprofit facility not operated as a small or large family day care home, is regulated through the commercial and industrial use matrix in Table 25.16-1 instead.
Violations & Fines
Under § 25.60.140(C), anyone who violates the zoning title or a land use permit is guilty of an infraction for the first instance and a misdemeanor for a second or any subsequent violation of the same provision, and each day a violation continues is a separate offense. Misdemeanor penalties follow Chapter 1.08 (Citations for Code Violations). The Director enforces the title's use-of-land provisions under § 25.60.140(A).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a large family day care home in the City of Palm Desert need a City permit?
How many children make a large family day care home in the City of Palm Desert?
Is a small family day care home treated differently in the City of Palm Desert?
What if I want to open a child care center in a commercial building in the City of Palm Desert?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Palm Desert
California rules heatmap·Compare Palm Desert to another location·View the California home business overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Home Daycare in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle home daycare.