Memphis, TN Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

Section 2.7.4.A of the joint Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code sets out the uses that are 'not permitted as home occupations.' Item 13 puts pet groomers squarely on that list: 'Animal hospitals and kennels, including animal grooming and boarding.' The prohibition sits alongside bans on vehicle repair shops, restaurants, funeral homes, tattoo studios and welding shops, uses the code treats as too intensive for a residential accessory use no matter how carefully the standards in Section 2.7.4.B are followed. Because a home occupation 'shall be deemed an accessory use and no further approval shall be required' only if it meets every listed standard, a use excluded outright in Section 2.7.4.A never qualifies for that no-permit accessory status, regardless of scale.

The code does not ban pet grooming outright, it relocates it. Section 2.9.4.H, Retail Sales and Service, lists 'Animal grooming, animal hospital, veterinary clinic, pet clinic, animal boarding, animal shelter, kennel, doggy day care' as a Service-Oriented Principal Use within that commercial category, the same table entry that covers barber shops, laundromats and massage services. A groomer has to site the business on land zoned for Retail Sales and Service (or an equivalent commercial district permitting that category) and go through the ordinary site plan and permitting process for a commercial establishment rather than the home-occupation exemption. The rule applies identically in the City of Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County, since both fall under the same joint UDC adopted by the Memphis City Council and the Shelby County Board of Commissioners.