Roanoke County, VA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Family Day Care Home is a standardized residential use type under Zoning Ordinance § 30-83-6, within Article IV's Civic Uses. Rather than setting its own numeric caps on the number of children, § 30-83-6(A)1 incorporates the Virginia Department of Social Services' "Standards for Licensed Family Day Homes, as may be amended," so whatever headcount, staffing-ratio and safety rules VDSS currently sets govern the home. Where VDSS licensure is required, § 30-83-6(A)2 requires the operator to present a copy of the approved VDSS license to the county before the county will issue either a business license from the Commissioner of the Revenue or a certificate of zoning compliance for the use.

That means the local paperwork step is a gate that opens only after the state has already licensed the home; Roanoke County does not run its own separate day-care inspection program. Because Family Day Care Home is classified as a Civic use type rather than a home occupation, it is not bound by the Type I/Type II floor-area or non-resident-employee caps that apply to businesses like pet grooming under § 30-82-3; the standard here is simply the incorporated state licensing rule plus the licensing-before-permit sequence.

Any operator who begins keeping children for compensation before securing both the VDSS license and the resulting county certificate of zoning compliance is out of compliance with the zoning ordinance. The Zoning Administrator in the Department of Community Development processes the certificate of zoning compliance referenced in § 30-83-6(A)2.