Salt Lake County, UT: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)
Key Facts
- Motor vehicle/trailer/boat repair
- excluded from home business
- Auto body/fender work
- excluded from home business
- Towing operations
- excluded from home business
- Home-business permit path
- does not exist for these uses
- Governing section
- Salt Lake County Code §19.85.010.B
Summary
You can't run an auto repair, body or towing business out of your Salt Lake County home. County Code §19.85.010.B excludes "motor vehicle, trailer or boat repair," "auto body and/or fender work," and "towing operations" from the definition of a home business, so none qualify for a home-business permit or license no matter how small the operation.
"Home business" shall mean any business activity, other than those listed below, which is conducted entirely within a dwelling or attached garage and is clearly incidental, secondary and in addition to the use of the structure for dwelling purposes. ... "Home business" shall not include the following business activities taking place at the home: 1. Motor vehicle, trailer or boat repair; ... 7. Auto body and/or fender work; 8. Towing operations;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 49).
Full Breakdown
B then lists eleven specific activities that don't qualify at all, no matter how minor. 8). 11), businesses the county treats as too noisy, too industrial, or too likely to store hazardous materials for a residential neighborhood. 020's home-business standards (owner-occupancy, limited outside employees, appointment-only customers, a floor-area cap, and so on). Someone wanting to fix cars for pay at a residential address in the unincorporated county would instead need a use permitted or conditionally permitted in the applicable zone under Title 19's use tables, and in practice that generally means a commercially or industrially zoned property, not a home-business license.
Violations & Fines
Operating a home auto-repair, body-work or towing business without the required commercial zoning and business license is enforced as both a zoning and a licensing violation: the county issues a notice of violation, may deny or revoke any business license found in violation under §19.85.030(C), and can pursue Title 19's civil penalty schedule or Class C misdemeanor charges under §19.94.040(A) for continued operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I fix cars for money at my house in unincorporated Salt Lake County?
What if I only do occasional auto body work as a side job?
Is running a towing company from my driveway allowed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salt Lake County
Compare Salt Lake County to another location·View the Utah business licensing & operations overview
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