California Form LIC 9151 is the Property Owner/Landlord Notification that a family child care provider who rents or leases their home gives to the landlord before opening a licensed program at the address. The California Department of Social Services issues the form, Health and Safety Code Section 1597.40(d) requires the notice, and the pre-printed language on the page reminds the landlord that state law bars them from restricting the operation.1California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code Section 1597.40
Who Uses the Form
LIC 9151 is for licensees and license applicants who do not own the property where the family child care home will operate. A family child care home is child care provided in the licensee’s own residence; California allows a small home serving up to eight children and a large home serving up to fourteen.
If you own your home outright and no one else holds an interest in the property, you don’t need this form. It exists only to document the written notice between a tenant-provider and the property owner. You are informing the landlord, not asking permission.
What to Fill In
Download the current PDF from the Department of Social Services at cdss.ca.gov.2California Department of Social Services. Property Owner/Landlord Notification Family Child Care Home The body of the form already contains the legal notice and the statutory citation, so your part is short:
- The full street address of the facility.
- Your full legal name as the applicant or licensee.
- Your signature.
- The date you sign.
The pre-printed text tells the property owner that you are operating or will operate a licensed family child care home at the address, and that the owner is “prohibited by law from imposing any direct or indirect restrictions on, or prohibitions against” the operation.2California Department of Social Services. Property Owner/Landlord Notification Family Child Care Home You don’t need to add anything to that language.
When to Deliver It
A prospective provider must give the landlord at least 30 days’ written notice before beginning operation. Health and Safety Code Section 1597.40(d)(1) sets the deadline, and the 30 days run from when the landlord receives the notice, not from the date you sign.3California Department of Social Services. Family Child Care Homes Evaluator Manual Build in delivery time if you are mailing it.
There is a narrow exception for a provider relocating an existing licensed program. If CDSS approves the new location or issues the license in fewer than 30 days, shorter notice is permitted so that care for the children already enrolled isn’t interrupted.3California Department of Social Services. Family Child Care Homes Evaluator Manual
The form doesn’t dictate a delivery method, but you want a record. Certified mail with return receipt, hand delivery with a signed acknowledgment, or email with a read receipt all work. Keep whatever proof you create.
What the Landlord Can and Can’t Do Once Notified
Giving the notice is a disclosure, not a request. Any lease clause, deed restriction, or covenant that forbids or limits use of the property as a family child care home is void under Health and Safety Code Section 1597.40(b) and (c), whether the clause is a direct ban or an indirect limit such as a cap on non-household visitors.1California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code Section 1597.40
Landlords also cannot refuse to rent to you because you plan to operate a licensed family child care home, cannot evict you for operating one, and cannot raise your rent in retaliation for exercising these rights. Those protections sit in Health and Safety Code Section 1597.41(a) through (c) and (e), with the anti-retaliation rule in Civil Code Section 1942.5(d).4California Civil Rights Department. Fair Housing Law Protects Child Care Providers A family child care home is treated as a residential use, so local zoning rules aimed at commercial businesses don’t apply.5Justia Law. California Health and Safety Code Chapter 3.6 – Family Day Care Homes
HOA rules and CC&Rs face the same limits as lease provisions. An HOA cannot restrict, fine, or otherwise limit your use of the home as a licensed family child care facility, and it cannot block an owner from renting to someone who will operate one.4California Civil Rights Department. Fair Housing Law Protects Child Care Providers
Where the Form Goes After You Sign It
LIC 9151 is not mailed to CDSS or any other agency. You keep the completed form, together with your proof of delivery to the landlord, in your records at the licensed home.2California Department of Social Services. Property Owner/Landlord Notification Family Child Care Home A Licensing Program Analyst may ask to see it during an inspection, so store it somewhere you can pull quickly. If you later move your program to a different rental property, complete a fresh LIC 9151 for the new landlord and keep the new copy at the new address.
What LIC 9151 Doesn’t Cover
The notification form satisfies one specific statutory requirement. It is not the license application itself and does not replace the orientation, background check, pre-licensing inspection, or the rest of the application packet CDSS requires to open a family child care home.6California Department of Social Services. Family Child Care Home Licensing Information Treat the landlord notice as a step on that path, filed in your own records, with proof of delivery attached.