Pocatello, ID Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Max children (home)
- 12 in operator's residence
- Max children (other)
- 20 in a non-residential structure
- License needed
- No home occupation license
- Zoning status
- Permitted in RE, RL, RMS, RMM, RH
- Operating hours cap
- 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Patron vehicle limit
- 2 vehicles at a time
- Max penalty
- $1,000 fine / 6 months jail per day
Summary
In the City of Pocatello, home daycare is capped at twelve children in the operator's own residence or twenty children in a non-residential structure such as a church, under City Code Title 17. It is a permitted use in every residential zone and needs no home occupation license, but must still meet the citywide home occupation standards.
Residential Daycare: A daycare business with twelve (12) or fewer children in the operator’s personal residence; or twenty (20) or fewer children in a structure that was not initially constructed for residential purposes, such as a church building. Increased numbers may be conditionally permitted. All other municipal code standards governing daycare operations must be met. ... Use Category RE RL RMS RMM RH RCP CG CC OP LI I ... Residential Daycare P P P P P R R R N N N ... Hours of operation shall be limited to no earlier than six thirty o’clock (6:30) A.M. and no later than nine o’clock (9:00) P.M. ... Sales and services to patrons shall be arranged so that no more than two (2) patron vehicles are on the premises at any one time. ... Residential Daycare P No
Full Breakdown
City Code section 17.01.160.B.1.f classifies Residential Daycare as a residential use type: a daycare business with twelve (12) or fewer children in the operator's personal residence, or twenty (20) or fewer children in a structure not originally built for residential purposes, such as a church building. Larger counts may be conditionally permitted, and every other municipal code standard governing daycare operations still applies. Under Table 17.03.500, the District Use Table, Residential Daycare is a permitted (P) use in the RE, RL, RMS, RMM and RH residential zones, restricted (R) in the RCP, CG and CC commercial zones, and nonpermitted (N) in the OP, LI and I zones.
Because it runs out of a dwelling, it is also cross-referenced in the Home Occupation Use Table at section 17.06.400.C, which marks Residential Daycare as permitted with no home occupation license required, unlike a bed and breakfast, which needs one. It still must satisfy the general home occupation standards in section 17.06.400.B that apply to every home-based business in the city: no more than one outside employee or assistant present on site, hours limited to no earlier than 6:30 a.m. and no later than 9:00 p.m., no more than two patron vehicles on the premises at any time, and no outdoor storage of assets, inventory or hazardous materials.
Planning and Development Services administers home occupation applications; a use exceeding the child-count thresholds must go through the conditional use permit process under section 17.02.130 rather than operate as a home occupation.
Violations & Fines
Operating a home daycare that exceeds the twelve or twenty child ceiling without a conditional use permit, or ignoring the 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. hours limit or two-patron-vehicle cap, puts the use outside the home occupation standards of section 17.06.400.B. City Code section 17.01.170.C makes any violation of Title 17 a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail, with each day of continuing violation a separate offense; Planning and Development Services enforces.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pocatello
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