Home Business in Dearborn Heights, MI (2026)
4 verified home business rules for Dearborn Heights, Michigan, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Zoning & Home Occupation Permits
A Dearborn Heights home occupation must stay "clearly incidental and secondary" to the home's use as a residence, and cannot occupy more than 15 percent of the habitable floor area of any floor, under Dearborn Heights City Code Section 36-143(a)(1). Detached accessory buildings cannot be used for the business except for incidental storage, and unfinished attics, garages, and porches do not count toward habitable area.
Dearborn Heights Home Occupation Standards
Some RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code § 36-143(a)(1)
(1)Intensity of use. Home occupations must be clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling as a residence. No more than fifteen (15) percent of the habitable floor area of each floor of the residence may be used for the home occupation. Habitable floor area of the residence does not include unfinished attics, attached garages, breezeways, and enclosed and unenclosed porches. Home...
Signage Rules
A Dearborn Heights home business cannot put up its own commercial sign; signage is limited to whatever chapter 26 already permits for a residential property, per Dearborn Heights City Code Section 36-143(a)(5). That means no separate business identification sign advertising the home occupation, regardless of the business type or its customer-visit volume.
Dearborn Heights Home Business Sign Limits
Significant RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code § 36-143(a)(5)
(5)Additional signs prohibited. Signage for the home occupation shall be limited to signs permitted for residential uses, as described in chapter 26, Signs.
Customer Traffic Restrictions
A Dearborn Heights home occupation cannot bring more than 10 customer or client visits per day or 30 per week, and no more than two customers may be on site at once, under Dearborn Heights City Code Section 36-143(a)(2). Visits and deliveries are banned between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and delivery vehicles are limited to cars, mail carriers, and express package carriers.
Dearborn Heights Home Business Visit Limits
Some RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code § 36-143(a)(2)-(4)
(2)Customer or client visits. A home occupation shall not generate more than ten (10) customer or client visits per day and more than thirty (30) customer or client visits per week. No more than two (2) customers or clients may be present at any given time.(3)Parking and deliveries. Traffic generated by a home occupation shall not be greater in volume than that normally generated by a typical r...
Home Daycare
In the City of Dearborn Heights, a family day care home caring for one to six children is treated as a private-home use under City Code Sec. 36-37 and needs no special land use approval. A group day care home caring for seven to twelve children is allowed in a private home too, but only with special use approval, while any child care center is classified separately under Sec. 36-166 and always needs special use approval.
Dearborn Heights Home Day Care Zoning Rule
Some RestrictionsDearborn Heights City Code § 36-37
Family day care home means a private home in which one (1) but fewer than seven (7) minor children are received for care and supervision for periods of less than twenty-four (24) hours a day, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage, or adoption. Family day care home includes a home in which care is given to an unrelat...
Looking for Wayne County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Dearborn Heights city rules.
Home Business in Wayne County →