Tempe, AZ Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 3-407 of the Zoning and Development Code governs in-home child care and layers three requirements on every operator. First, the home daycare must be licensed, certified or approved by the State of Arizona under the licensing standards in Arizona Revised Statutes, Division 43. Second, before the use can begin, the Community Development Director or a designee must review and approve the home and issue a certificate of occupancy confirming it meets building-code requirements, including pool-fence rules, and land-use code compliance. Third, the zoning use tables tie the review level to how many children the home cares for: Table 3-102A lists in-home child care for up to six children as an "S" use, meaning it is allowed subject to Section 3-407's special standards, in the AG, single-family, multi-family and mobile-home districts, while a home caring for seven to ten children is listed as "U(S)" in those same districts, meaning it needs a discretionary Use Permit in addition to meeting Section 3-407(A) and (B).

The zoning code does not set a maximum above ten children in a residential home; a facility exceeding ten children falls outside "in-home" child care and must instead qualify as a childcare center, nursery school or similar commercial use under the separate use-table entry for those uses, which is listed as a fully permitted commercial use rather than a residential accessory use.