Tacoma, WA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Zoning status
- Permitted use in all residential districts
- Governing table
- TMC § 13.06.020E use table
- License required
- State child care license
- UR-3 wrinkle
- Counts as a unit toward FAR
Summary
Family day care homes and child care centers are permitted outright in every Tacoma residential zoning district under Title 13, needing only the state day care license: no separate city zoning permit required.
Day care facility P* P* P* P P
State license required. *In UR-3 districts, day care facilities shall not exceed the maximum floor area ratio. For the purposes of this standard, each building used for a day care service will count as a "unit" towards the maximum floor area ratio.
Funeral home N N N N N
Personal services P/CU P/CU P/CU P/CU P
Permitted subject to Live/Work – Work/Live provisions of § 13.06.080I. Permitted or conditionally permitted subject to Adaptive Reuse of Heritage Building provisions of §§ 13.05.010A and/or 13.06.080T. Conditionally permitted subject to Pre-existing non-residential uses provisions of § 13.05.010A. Permitted subject to Limited Mixed-Use Residential Development of § 13.06.080U. R-5: Minor retail uses designed primarily to serve on-site residents are permitted, provided they are within retirement homes, continuing care retirement communities, student housing, apartment complexes, or similar facilities.
Repair services N N N N N
Storage Uses
Warehouse/storage N N N N N
Wholesale or distribution N N N N N
Self-storage N N N N N
Vehicle Related Uses
Commercial parking facility N N N N N Subject to additional requirements contained in § 13.06.090C Drivethrough with any permitted use N N N N N
Fueling station N N N N N
Vehicle rental and sales N N N N N
Vehicle service and repair N N N N N
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4946110; v22 updated 2026-07-28).
Full Breakdown
Tacoma's zoning code treats "day care facility", a term that covers both licensed child care centers and family day care homes, as a permitted use in the UR-1, UR-2, UR-3, R-4, and R-5 residential districts, per the § 13.06.020E district use table. No conditional use permit or zoning variance is required to operate one. The only condition noted in the table is that a state child care license is required. In the UR-3 Urban Residential District only, a day care facility counts as a "unit" against that district's maximum floor-area-ratio cap, a technical limit that does not apply in UR-1, UR-2, R-4, or R-5.
Violations & Fines
Operating a day care facility without the state-required child care license, or a UR-3 facility exceeding the district's floor-area-ratio cap once counted as a "unit," can trigger city zoning enforcement and licensing action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a special zoning permit to run a home daycare in Tacoma?
Are there extra limits on home daycares in Tacoma's UR-3 district?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tacoma
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Home Daycare in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle home daycare.