Web Design in Boise for Daycares Now That the City No Longer Licenses Them

Updated November 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

The City of Boise stopped licensing child care on July 1, 2025, when House Bill 243 moved licensing to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, and the last City facility licenses ran out on December 31, 2025. A daycare footer that still says “Licensed by the City of Boise” now points parents to an office that no longer issues licenses. Web design in Boise for a daycare fixes that line and keeps the rest in step with what the City still decides: zoning for each size of daycare, the pick-up area and the fire inspection. Progression is based in New York, builds for Boise providers remotely and visits on request.

The City license badge still in the footer

A home daycare’s site carries a small badge in its footer: Licensed by the City of Boise. It was true for years. Under House Bill 243, the City says, it may no longer license childcare workers or facilities starting July 1, 2025.

A parent who checks the badge lands on a page about the handover, and the provider looks careless without having done anything wrong. The fix is a one line change, and the rest of this page covers what else the change touches.

• The badge is a fact that expired, not a design element.
• Licenses now come from the state, so the line names the state agency.
• The City still decides zoning, building permits and the pick-up area.
• Boise Fire still inspects.

Web design in Boise for daycares after the licensing handover

The City of Boise’s Childcare Services Updates page says the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare processes all license applications and regulates licensing requirements from July 1, 2025. The City kept the Boise childcare map until June 30, 2025 and then discontinued it. The last day for new City facility applications was June 18, 2025, and City facility licenses expiring between July 1 and December 2025 were extended to December 31, 2025.

What stayed with the City is on the Requirements for Child Daycare page: zoning and land use through Planning and Development Services, and fire code inspections through the Boise Fire Department. Boise web design for this trade treats the license line as a fact to update, not a badge. The site names the licensing agency only as the provider’s own license states it, and it keeps the City for zoning questions.

• Licensing: the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
• Zoning and land use: City Planning and Development Services.
• Building permits and the Certificate of Occupancy: the City’s Building Division.
• Fire code inspections: the Boise Fire Department.

One daycare at five sizes

The City’s page sorts daycare into five sizes, and the state and the City name some of them differently. The table follows the City’s order and adds what each size means for the site.

Family care at home, one to six children

Boise City Code 11-03-03 allows a home daycare for one to six children without an application or a Zoning Compliance Review if it meets the standards: the use stays incidental to the home, there is one off-street space per employee, one 12 square foot attached sign that is not lit, and a valid daycare license at all times.

Seven to 12 children, at home or in a facility

At home, seven to 12 children need approval of a Zoning Compliance Review. Outside the home, a facility for seven to 12 children sits entirely within 500 feet of a collector or arterial road, as the Ada County Highway District Master Street Map shows. Home care for up to 12 needs no building permit or Certificate of Occupancy, only Planning approval.

Small and large centers

A center for 13 to 25 children or for 26 or more sits on a collector or arterial street, or within 300 feet of school grounds if it serves school age children, or in a park, community center or similar. Childcare for more than 12 children needs a Certificate of Occupancy from the Building Division.

Square feet per child behind every opening

Every size carries two numbers: at least 100 square feet of outdoor play area per child, which the code lets the City waive or modify in the cases it lists, and at least 35 square feet of indoor floor area per child. The capacity line on the site cannot promise more than those numbers allow.

The license line, rewritten for the state

One line on the homepage and one on the enrollment page name the licensing agency as the provider’s current license shows it. The line carries a date that is checked at each renewal. It does not use a City badge, and it does not link the City’s old childcare map.

1. Open the provider’s current license and read the agency name and the dates on it.
2. Replace the City badge with a line that states the agency and the license as shown.
3. Remove any link to the old Boise childcare map.
4. Set a reminder to check the line at each renewal.
5. Send questions about state standards to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Questions about state license standards, fees and training go to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The page itself states none of them.

What does the renewal paperwork look like?

For one to six children, the provider fills out a City form and presents it to the Department; no City signature is needed. For seven or more, the provider emails the top section of the form to the City, and staff confirm previous approvals and return it, which the City says takes 10 to 15 days.

Pricing a daycare site in Boise

Pricing depends on scope and is set in the written proposal, and published prices are subject to change. A daycare site is usually a brochure build with an enrollment form, a tour request and a few rule driven pages.

Progression’s prices for a daycare build

These are the fixed-scope prices on our website design and development page. Hosting and maintenance are separate.

Openings that never outgrow the zoning approval

The City’s thresholds shape the enrollment form: one to six children at home without an application, seven to 12 at home with a Zoning Compliance Review, and a Certificate of Occupancy once a program passes 12. Website design in Boise for a growing home daycare holds the eighth spot until the review is approved.

The enrollment form caps open spots at the approved number and turns the rest into a waitlist. The capacity line reads the same on every page.

• Open spots are counted against the approved number, not against demand.
• The eighth child goes on a waitlist until the Zoning Compliance Review is approved.
• The form asks the ages of the children, so the square footage per child can be checked.
• The waitlist confirmation says no spot is held until the provider confirms one.

Where does the approval memo go?

For home occupations the City issues an approval memo that can go to IdahoSTARS as proof of compliance, and commercial facilities may use their Certificate of Occupancy. The site does not post either document.

Drop-off directions for a daycare on a busy street

A home daycare on a collector or arterial street provides an on-site pick-up area designed to ease traffic and keep vehicles from backing onto the roadway; backing in an alley is permitted. A drop-off page shows families where to pull in and where to wait.

A simple drawn map does the job, with the parking line beside it. A home daycare sends the street address after a tour request rather than printing it on every page. See our daycare website design page for the rest of the build.

• A drawn map of where to pull in and where to wait.
• A line on the parking the daycare provides.
• The street address sent after a tour request, for a home daycare.
• No photographs of the house front.

Web design in Boise, ID for a daycare that moves or grows

The City still reviews zoning, building permits and fire inspections for a new center, a relocation or a renovation. The building permit application depends on the space, and the table sets out the four types the City lists.

A new location page goes live after the approvals, with the move date stated only once it is set. Fire code inspection questions go to the Boise Fire Department, and zoning questions go to the Planning team at zoninginfo@cityofboise.org or 208-608-7100.

How long do zoning approvals take?

The City describes a Zoning Certificate as a staff level approval that takes one to two months to review. A Conditional Use Permit is decided by the Planning and Zoning Commission and can take six months or more to reach a hearing. The City accepts no paper applications.

Claims a Boise daycare site leaves out

Boise web development for a daycare keeps children’s names out of captions, and a short list of claims stays off the page.

• No City of Boise licensed or City approved wording.
• No IdahoSTARS rating or accreditation unless the provider holds it.
• No ratio promise the provider does not keep every day.
• No photographs of children without written permission from their parents.
• No child’s name in a caption.

The City’s own list of what parents should ask gives the about page its outline, and the cards below turn it into plain answers.

The enrollment form, line by line

The form is where the City’s numbers meet a real family. It asks only what the provider needs to confirm a spot, and it never promises one.

1. The child’s age range, so the indoor floor area per child can be checked against the approved number.
2. The days and hours the family needs.
3. A parent or guardian’s contact details.
4. A tour request, with the street address sent after the provider replies.
5. A line that says the spot is confirmed by the provider, not by the form.

Can the form take a deposit?

Yes, once the spot is confirmed and the provider has room inside the approved number. A deposit taken for a spot the provider cannot offer is a problem the site created.

Which Boise office answers which daycare question

Some questions never belong on the site. License standards, ratios and fees go to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Zoning goes to City Planning. Fire inspections go to Boise Fire.

Who answers a question about a state license?

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. The City’s Updates page points providers to the Department for standards, training and fee information.

Who answers a question about a fire inspection?

The Boise Fire Department, which provides fire code compliance inspections. The inspection application and its fee are set out by Boise Fire.

• State license questions: the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
• Zoning and land use: City Planning and Development Services.
• Building permit applications: the Building Division.
• Fire code inspections: the Boise Fire Department.
• Rating and accreditation: IdahoSTARS.

Searchers also reach Boise providers through our SEO company in Boise page and our daycare marketing page.

Frequently asked questions