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

UDC § 9.7.11(B)(10) lists uses specifically prohibited as home occupations in Roswell, and vehicle service and repair is one of eleven named uses, alongside animal care (outside a permitted hobby kennel), a commercial or catering kitchen, a funeral home, a hotel or motel, a machine shop, personal services, a restaurant, retail sales, a special event facility, and vehicle sales or rental (§ 9.7.11(B)(10)(a)-(k)). The list is expressly non-exclusive: the Zoning Director can bar any additional use that does not meet the intent of the home-occupation regulations, so a use that functions like vehicle repair, even if not named, can still be refused.

The same section's vehicle-and-parking standards reinforce the ban's practical effect for anyone running an auto business from a residence. Vehicles kept on site in connection with a permitted home occupation must belong to residents only and be used primarily as passenger vehicles, which rules out shop vehicles, tow trucks or customer cars awaiting repair (§ 9.7.11(B)(4)(a)-(b)). Any vehicle tied to a home occupation, if one is even allowed, must be parked off-street on the residential driveway or other on-site permitted parking, and hauling goods by truck in connection with a home business is prohibited outright (§ 9.7.11(B)(4)(c)-(d)).

The ban sits within Roswell's broader home-occupation framework: a home occupation must remain clearly incidental and secondary to the dwelling's residential use, cannot exceed 750 square feet or 25% of the home's gross floor area, and cannot involve chemical, electrical or mechanical equipment not normally part of household equipment used primarily for commercial purposes, which independently forecloses most repair work (§ 9.7.11(B)(1)(b), (2), (5)(d)). A resident who wants to run an auto-repair business in Roswell needs a commercially or industrially zoned property, not a home-occupation permit.