Nash County, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

38, which apply in the A-1 agricultural district, all residential districts, the office-and-institutional district and all commercial districts. 38(B), the activity has to be conducted entirely inside the dwelling or an accessory structure by the people who live there, stay clearly secondary to the residential use, and not change the character of the home or create a significant adverse impact on the neighborhood; only one full-time-equivalent employee who is not a resident may work there. 38(B)(3): no home occupation may use electrical or mechanical equipment that would change the fire rating of the structure it is in, which rules out heavy-duty lifts, compressors or welding setups that a working auto bay typically needs.

38(C) caps the space devoted to the business at 500 square feet total between house and accessory building, and no more than 25 percent of the dwelling's own floor area. 38(D) is the rule that keeps a repair business from looking like a repair business from the street: no outside storage or display of anything associated with the occupation, and no indoor display visible from outside the structure. 38(E) bars any sign for a home occupation in a residential or agricultural district outright.