Santa Fe, NM Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Zoning status
- Permitted by right ('P'), no permit needed
- Small daycare
- 6 or fewer children, by right
- Large daycare
- More than 6 children, by right
- Districts covered
- RR, R-1-R-29, MHP, RAC and most commercial
- Neighborhood overlays
- Cannot restrict daycare facilities
Summary
Santa Fe's Table 14-6.1-1 lists 'Preschool, Daycare for Infants or Children' as a permitted-by-right land use for both small operations of six or fewer children and larger ones of more than six, in the RR, R-1 through R-29, RAC and most commercial districts. No special use permit or zoning variance is required to run one from a home.
(1)Permitted Uses A "P" in a cell indicates that a use category is permitted by right in the respective zoning district. Permitted uses are subject to all other applicable regulations of Chapter 14, including the development and design standards set forth in Article 14-8. ... Preschool, Daycare for Infants or Children Small (6 or fewer) P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
Full Breakdown
1(B)(1). That 'P' runs across the RR, R-1 through R-6, R-7 through R-9, R7(I), RC-5, RC-8, R-10 through R-29, MHP and RAC residential districts, so a resident operating a home-based daycare for six or fewer children does not need a special use permit, a variance, or a development plan for the use itself, only compliance with the state's separate childcare licensing rules and any applicable building and fire code requirements for the number of children in care. The 'Large' tier, for more than six children, carries the same by-right 'P' designation in those same residential districts, which puts a licensed larger daycare on equal zoning footing with the small in-home version rather than requiring it to seek a special use permit as some other institutional uses do.
10(D)(3)(e) lists 'day care facilities' among the uses those neighborhood overlays shall not restrict. A separate accessory-use entry in the same table, 'Private daycare for infants and children,' is marked 'A' rather than 'P,' covering informal in-home childcare incidental to the resident's own household rather than a licensed commercial operation.
Violations & Fines
Because daycare is a permitted use rather than a conditional one, the main zoning risk is operating without required state childcare licensing or building and fire code compliance, which the Land Use Director and fire marshal can act on under Chapter 14's Article 14-11 enforcement provisions, including a notice of violation and civil fines from $100 to $500 for repeat offenses. New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department separately licenses and inspects the childcare operation itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a home daycare in my Santa Fe house without a special permit?
Does the by-right rule change if I care for more than six children?
Can my neighborhood association's overlay district ban daycares?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Fe
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