Permit and Inspection Requirements

In addition to the business license requirements of opening a daycare facility in your home, you must obtain a building permit to allow for an inspection of your space. The inspection will be conducted to ensure your home meets the minimum building code requirements for home daycare; see below. Apply for a permit online; a minimal fee is required. No plans are necessary for permit application; however, a copy of the state daycare license must be submitted. Learn more about the permit process.

Minimum Building Code Requirement Checklist

The building code requirements below are the most common and are not inclusive of what may be relevant in your home.

Applicability

• The safety measures below are required when caring for more than five individuals. When caring for five or less, you are only required to maintain the safety measures in your home installed during its originally constructed and those required in the Commerce City Property Maintenance Code.
• The requirements below apply only to homes that provide care for less than 24 hours.
• Daycare is prohibited when a home is located in a floodplain.
• The state of Colorado may require additional measures be taken for your home daycare; if there is a conflict between the state and city requirements, the most restrictive will apply.

Exits

• When there are more than nine occupants (including caretakers), the ground level of the home must have two exits to the outside. Two exits are required no matter the number of occupants for manufactured homes.
• Exits cannot pass through garages, bathrooms, bedrooms and closets.
• If exiting into a fenced-in yard one of the following is required:
  • The fence gate must be unlocked during daycare hours.
  • The yard must have 5 square feet of space per occupant (including caretakers) at least 50 feet away from the home.
• Exit doors must be side hinged with a minimum height of 80 inches, a minimum width of 36 inches and a minimum net clear width of 32 inches measured when the door is open 90 degrees.
• Sliding doors to the exterior are not permitted to serve as an exit but are required to have a 36-inch by 36-inch landing on the exterior side if the exterior surface is more than 1½ inches below the interior surface.
• Exit door locks and latches must be a minimum of 48 inches above the floor and must be openable from the inside without the use of key, tool or special knowledge (i.e., combination).
• If a basement is used for daycare operations, two exits are required from the basement as follows:
  • One exit may pass up the stairs and through the first floor to an exit door.
  • At least one exit must pass directly from the basement to the exterior through an exit door as described above or an emergency escape and rescue opening as detailed in the Commerce City Typical Basement Finish Details.

Yard Fences

• If a yard is to be used for daycare operations, it must be fenced-in.
• The fence must be composed of durable material.
• The height for the entirety of the fence and gate must be at least 6 feet.
• Fence gates must meet the requirements below (doors from the home to the yard are not subject to these requirements).
  • Must be self-closing.
  • Must be self-latching.
  • Latching mechanism must be at least 5 feet above the ground.
• Openings in the fence must not allow the passage of a 4-inch diameter sphere.
• The dimension between the bottom of the fence and the ground must be no more than 2 inches.
• Fences and masonry or stone walls must not be climbable as follows:
  • Other than mortared joints, walls must be smooth and free of protrusions or indentations.
  • Chain link fences must have 9 gage wire minimum.
  • Openings in chain link fences must be no more than 1¼ inches unless equipped with slats that reduce openings to no more than 1¾ inches.

Guards (Guardrail)

• Where open-sided walking surfaces are located more than 30 inches above the floor below, a guard must be provided. Decks more than 12 inches above the ground in any location along its edge must have a guard.
• Guards on stairs must have a minimum height of 34 inches; all other guards must have a minimum height of 36 inches.
• Openings in a guard must not allow the passage of a 4-inch diameter sphere. The triangular openings between the bottom of a stair guard and the step surfaces must not allow the passage of a 6-inch diameter sphere.
• Guards must be capable of resisting a 200-pound point load anywhere and in any direction along its top. Infill must be capable of resisting a 50-pound load over a 12-square inch area in any location therein.
• For more information on guards, consult the guard requirements in the Commerce City Typical Deck Details.

Stairways Serving Daycare Operations

• There must be a floor or landing at the top and bottom of a stairway.
• Landings widths must be equal to the stair width.
• Landings depths (in the direction of travel) must be 36 inches.
• Doors cannot swing over stairs.

 Smoke Alarms (Detectors)

• Smoke alarms must be located on each story, in each bedroom, in any room used for sleeping and outside of each separate bedroom or sleeping area.
• Where bedrooms or sleeping rooms open into a hallway with a differing height of 24 inches or more, a smoke alarm must be placed in both the room and the adjacent hallway.
• Smoke alarms must be hardwired with a battery back-up.
• Alarms must be interconnected such that when one is activated, all in the home sound.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms

• If your home contains gas- or oil-burning appliances, a carbon monoxide alarm must be located in the basement regardless of whether the basement is used for daycare operations.
• Carbon monoxide alarms may be hardwired or battery powered. If hardwired, they must have a battery backup.

Daycare Room Requirements

• Hallways, closets, utility rooms, storage spaces and unfinished areas cannot be used for daycare operations and are prohibited from use.
• Rooms must be naturally or mechanically ventilated.
• Rooms must have a minimum area of 70 square feet, minimum width of 7 feet and minimum ceiling height of 7 feet. Beams, ducts or other obstructions in basement rooms are permitted to encroach into the ceiling height up to 8 inches.
• Rooms must be provided with heat to 68 degrees F minimum when exterior temperatures fall below 60 degrees F. Space heaters are prohibited.