Surprise, AZ Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Child cap
- 4 children/adults unrelated to caregiver, (B)(6)
- Location exception
- day care exempt from indoor-only rule, A.2
- Over the cap
- must meet day care center standards, Sec. 106-10.15
- Business license
- required under Sec. 106-10.23(A)(1)
- Client hours
- 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. drop-off/pick-up window
Summary
Surprise caps an in-home day care run as a home occupation at four children or adults who aren't related to the caregiver. Land Development Ordinance Sec. 106-10.23(B)(6) sets that limit, and subsection A.2 lets day care be conducted outside the dwelling itself as an exception to the usual indoor-only rule.
All home occupation activities shall occur entirely within the residential dwelling, garage, or accessory building unless the community development director or designee determines that the business activity conducted outside the dwelling is similar to noncommercial activities normally associated with single-family residences. Exceptions to this provision shall be made for swimming lessons or in-home day care. ... In-home day care with no more than four (4) children or adults that are not related to the caregiver.
Full Breakdown
23(A)(2) generally requires home occupation activities to occur entirely within the residential dwelling, garage, or accessory building, but it specifically carves out an exception for swimming lessons and in-home day care. Subsection B then lists in-home day care among the examples of acceptable home occupations, capping it at no more than four children or adults that are not related to the caregiver. That four-person cap distinguishes a home occupation day care from a stand-alone day care center: Sec. 23, meaning a caregiver watching more than four unrelated children must instead meet the day care center standards, including a minimum lot area, collector or arterial street access, drop-off spacing, and seventy-five square feet of fenced outdoor play space per child.
An in-home day care that stays at or under the four-person cap is also bound by the rest of Sec. 15. 4 to household residents, immediate family, or up to two additional non-resident workers.
Violations & Fines
An in-home day care that cares for more than four children or adults unrelated to the caregiver exceeds the home-occupation cap in Sec. 106-10.23(B)(6) and must instead comply with the day care center standards of Sec. 106-10.15, including lot size and outdoor play space requirements. Operating over the cap without meeting those standards is a Land Development Ordinance violation punishable under Sec. 1-7 as a class 1 misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many kids can I watch in my home in Surprise without becoming a licensed day care center?
Does an in-home day care have to operate entirely indoors?
What happens if my home day care grows past four children?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Surprise
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