Rockdale County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

Section 218-13(dd) governs home occupations across unincorporated Rockdale County and requires that any home business be clearly incidental to the residential use of the dwelling, occupy no more than 25 percent of one floor's square footage, and produce no exterior evidence of its operation. Two clauses specifically constrain vehicle-related work: only one vehicle connected with the home occupation may be permitted, and that vehicle must be designed and used primarily as a passenger vehicle with a carrying capacity under three-fourths of a ton, while no earth-moving equipment or heavy construction or hauling equipment may be brought onto the premises at all.

A separate clause caps overnight parking to one vehicle connected with the home occupation, plus one additional vehicle during the day, provided neither exceeds two tons gross vehicle weight, with any tools kept enclosed rather than on exposed racks. Because automotive repair and maintenance is defined and regulated as its own commercial use under § 218-13(f) and (g), which require that repair work, even minor repair such as oil changes, tire installation or brake work, be carried on entirely within an enclosed building with no outdoor storage, a genuine auto repair operation cannot lawfully be run as a home occupation; it must instead locate in a zoning district where 'automotive minor repair and maintenance' or 'automotive, major repair and maintenance' is a listed permitted or special use under the § 218-1 table.