Kent County, DE Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Maximum children
- 9 total (6 full-time + 3 part-time)
- State licensing
- Required or state-qualified, § 205-55
- Zoning approval
- Levy Court authorization as home occupation
- Floor-area cap
- Exempted, § 205-68E(3)-(4)
- Zoning certificate
- Required from Dept. of Planning Services
Summary
Kent County zones a licensed family child-care home as an authorized home occupation under § 205-55, capped at six full-time children plus three part-time or latch-key children for a hard maximum of nine. Levy Court must approve the use, and § 205-68 exempts it from the floor-area cap that limits other home occupations.
FAMILY CHILD-CARE HOME A residential dwelling unit that is licensed by the State of Delaware or that is qualified to be licensed by the State of Delaware as a family child-care home that furnishes care, supervision, and/or guidance to children other than those children that comprise the immediate family or relatives of the resident of the dwelling unit. Such care, supervision and/or guidance shall be limited to a maximum of six full-time children and three part-time or latch key children as defined by the State of Delaware, for a maximum limit of nine children, and shall be approved by kent County Levy Court as an authorized home occupation.
Full Breakdown
§ 205-55's 'FAMILY CHILD-CARE HOME' definition governs child care run out of a Kent County residence: the dwelling unit must be licensed, or qualified to be licensed, by the State of Delaware as a family child-care home, and it may serve up to six full-time children plus three part-time or latch-key children as those terms are defined by the state, for a total ceiling of nine children. § 205-68E, the operative home-occupation standards, folds the family child-care home into the broader home-occupation category, its heading reads 'Home occupation (including family child-care homes),' and requires the owner/operator to secure a zoning certificate of use from the Department of Planning Services and to run the business from their bona fide residence.
Most home occupations in the RS1, RS5 and RMH districts are capped at 25% of the dwelling's floor area, and in AC/AR at 25% with a 2,500-square-foot detached-structure limit, but § 205-68E(3) and (4) each carve out an express exception for 'licensed family day-care homes,' so a licensed provider is not bound by that floor-area ceiling the way a general home business is. The nine-child cap, the state licensing requirement and the Levy Court authorization together, not the floor-area math, are what actually limits the size of a home-based day-care operation in the county.
Violations & Fines
Running a family child-care home in Kent County without Levy Court's home-occupation approval, without a zoning certificate of use, or above the nine-child ceiling in § 205-55 is a Chapter 205 zoning violation under § 205-426: a fine of $100 to $1,000, up to 10 days' imprisonment, or both, with each day of unapproved operation counted as a separate offense and the $100 minimum fine mandatory.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many children can a Kent County home day care serve?
Does a home day-care provider need county approval beyond a state license?
Is a home day-care limited to the same floor-area cap as other home businesses?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kent County
Compare Kent County to another location·View the Delaware home business overview
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