Imperial County, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Title 9, Division 4, Section 90404.02(F) lists 'Day care, school or pre-school' among the uses that are NOT permitted as a home occupation in unincorporated Imperial County. However, this local prohibition cannot be applied to a state-licensed family daycare home, because California law preempts local zoning for these uses. Health & Safety Code 1597.45 provides that the use of a home as a small or large family daycare home is a residential use of property and a use by right for purposes of all local ordinances, including zoning ordinances. Health & Safety Code 1597.40(b) provides that local laws, regulations or rules shall not directly or indirectly prohibit or restrict the use of a facility as a family daycare home. Local health-and-safety or building-standard rules may apply only if they are identical to those applied to all other residences with the same zoning designation, and a local jurisdiction may not impose a business license, fee or tax for the privilege of operating a small or large family daycare home. SB 234 (2019) strengthened these protections, requiring that large family daycare homes be treated the same as small family daycare homes and as a residential use by right. In practice, a resident operating a licensed family child care home in the unincorporated County looks to the California Department of Social Services for licensing rather than to a County home-occupation permit, and the County's home-occupation prohibition yields to state law. Larger commercial day-care centers, schools and preschools remain subject to County zoning.