Putnam County, FL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Land Development Code § 45-171(a) draws the zoning line for home-based child care at six children: a family day care home providing care for six or fewer children is allowed as a matter of right in any residential or agricultural zoning district, with no special use permit needed for the zoning aspect of the operation. Once a home crosses that six-child threshold, § 45-171(a)(1) reclassifies it as a child care center, pulling it out of the by-right home use category and into § 45-171(b), which allows child day care centers only by special use permit in the AG, R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, RMH, C-1, C-2 and C-3 districts, and imposes site standards such as access to a minor collector road or higher, a minimum one-acre lot with 100 feet of width, applicable zoning-district setbacks, operating hours of 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. if in a residential district, and compliance with the county's noise limits in chapter 18, article VII.

Whether operating as a family day care home or a larger center, § 45-171(a)(2) and (b)(2)d both require the facility to stay properly licensed under Florida Statutes chapter 402 at all times, with the state license governing capacity limits beyond what the zoning board of adjustment may otherwise condition.