Yuba County, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Family day care homes in California are governed primarily by state law. Health & Safety Code §1597.45 declares the use of a home as a small or large family day care home to be a residential use 'by right' for all local ordinances, including zoning, and bars local jurisdictions from imposing a separate business license, fee, or tax to operate one. A state license from the California Department of Social Services (Community Care Licensing) is required, but the County cannot treat the home as a change of occupancy or apply special building-code requirements (the state Act, building code, and fire code preempt local rules). Accordingly, a small family day care home (the smaller capacity tier under state law) is allowed in unincorporated Yuba County residential zones without a use permit. For a large family day care home, Yuba County Development Code §11.32.120 adds limited locational standards consistent with state authority: the number along a street frontage is capped at one per 1,000 linear feet of street frontage in the residential zones and the Plumas Lake Specific Plan, and one per 2,500 linear feet in the AE and AR (agricultural) zones (§11.32.120(a)); and three off-street parking spaces are required in addition to the two for the primary residence, with driveways usable to meet that requirement (§11.32.120(b)). These standards implement the limited spacing/parking conditions California allows local agencies to impose on large family day care homes.