Wyoming, MI Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Sec. 90-401A(6), the R-1 Residential District's principal permitted uses list, allows 'foster care facilities, nursery schools, day nurseries and child care facilities for the care of not more than six people as defined by the Michigan Family Independence Agency' as a permitted use alongside single-family dwellings, without a separate special use hearing. Once a home-based child care operation grows past six children, it falls out of the by-right category: Sec. 90-402A(3) lists 'nursery schools, day nurseries and child care facilities for the care of seven or more people' as a use requiring special approval from the planning commission, a discretionary permit rather than an as-of-right use.

Operators should also note that Wyoming's zoning definitions treat day care differently from an ordinary home business: Sec. 90-208 defines 'home occupation' and expressly states that 'day care centers, tea rooms, veterinarian's offices, tourist homes, animal hospitals, and kennels and any other similar businesses or occupations shall not be deemed to be home occupations,' so a day care cannot rely on the home-occupation rules that cover things like tutoring or craft businesses run from a residence. The six-and-under threshold, the seven-or-more special approval track, and the home-occupation exclusion together form Wyoming's regulatory structure for home-based child care, all located in Chapter 90's R-1 district provisions and definitions article.