Home Business in Hendersonville, TN (2026)
6 verified home business rules for Hendersonville, Tennessee, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Zoning Restrictions
Hendersonville Zoning Ordinance Chapter 10.4.10 allows a Minor Home Occupation as an accessory use in any residential dwelling, but with strict limits: no on-site customers, no non-resident employees on the premises, the business must occupy no more than 25% of the principal building's floor area, and detached accessory buildings may not be used (storage only). Tennessee has NOT enacted a Home-Based Business Protection Act, so Hendersonville's local rules apply in full — there is no state preemption like Florida FS 559.955 or Texas LGC 250.005.
Hendersonville Home Occupation Zoning
Some RestrictionsSignage Rules
Hendersonville Zoning Ordinance Chapter 10.4.10 prohibits exterior alterations that change the residential character of the principal building, including exterior business signs, unless authorized by Chapter 13 (Signs). Chapter 13 effectively bars commercial signage in residential districts: only a small permanent nameplate (no logo, no commercial message, max 6 sq ft, one per building) is allowed for a residence. Because Tennessee has no home-based business preemption, the city's restrictive sign rules apply in full.
Hendersonville Home Business Signage
Heavy RestrictionsCustomer Traffic Restrictions
Hendersonville Zoning Ordinance Chapter 10.4.10 flatly prohibits customers, clients, or the like on the premises of a Minor Home Occupation. Off-premises customer interaction (online, by phone, at a separate work site) is allowed. The receipt, sale, or shipment of deliveries from the premises is prohibited except for ordinary US Mail and express shipping characteristic of a residence. Because Tennessee has no Home-Based Business Act, this customer-traffic ban applies without state-law override.
Hendersonville Home Business Customer Traffic
Heavy RestrictionsCottage Food Operations
The Tennessee Food Freedom Act (TCA § 53-1-118), enacted by SB 693 in 2022 and expanded by HB 130 in 2025, lets a homemade-food producer sell directly to consumers with NO sales cap, NO license, NO permit, NO inspection, and NO state training requirement. It expressly preempts local regulation of homemade food producers, so Hendersonville cannot require a cottage-food-specific permit or impose food-safety rules. Local zoning restrictions in Chapter 10.4.10 (on-site customer ban, commercial delivery ban) still apply to the related business activity.
Hendersonville Cottage Food Sales
Few RestrictionsHome Daycare
Family child care in Tennessee is governed by TCA § 71-3-501 et seq. and Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-04-01-.20: 5-7 unrelated children is a 'family child care home' requiring a license from the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS); the total maximum is 12 children including related kids (with a 9-or-older exception). Hendersonville Zoning Ordinance Chapter 10.3.3 treats day care homes as accessory uses but requires a Conditional Use Permit for homes serving more than four children in residential districts (excluding MFR). Day care is explicitly NOT regulated as a Minor Home Occupation under Ch. 10.4.10.
Hendersonville Family Child Care Home
Some RestrictionsHome Occupation Permits
Hendersonville requires every home-based business to obtain a Minor Home Occupation Permit from the Planning Department under Chapter 10.4.10. The application is an affidavit-style form initialed line-by-line acknowledging the 14+ standards. Activities that cannot meet the Minor standards (on-site customers, non-resident employees, larger floor area) require a Major Home Occupation Permit. Day care homes and cottage food are NOT regulated under this chapter — they have separate frameworks.
Hendersonville Minor & Major Home Occupation Permits
Some RestrictionsLooking for Sumner County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Hendersonville city rules.
Home Business in Sumner County →