Home Business in Modesto, CA (2026)
4 verified home business rules for Modesto, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Zoning & Home Occupation Permits
Modesto treats a home business as an accessory use permitted in residential zones only if the operator lives on site full-time, the home keeps its residential look, and the operation stays entirely indoors. A City permit and business license are both required, and a violation is an infraction.
Modesto Home Occupation Zoning Standards
Some RestrictionsModesto Code of Ordinances § 10-3.207
(a)Conducting a business in or from a dwelling is a permitted use of an accessory nature which is subject to the following conditions:(1)The person conducting the business shall reside on the premises on a regular full-time basis and the business shall be clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use.(2)The residential appearance of the premises shall not be altered through remodeling...
Signage Rules
Modesto flatly bans signs identifying a home business, its products, or its services, and separately bars advertising any on-premises sales or services in the phone book, newspapers, circulars, radio, or TV. Off-premises services may still be advertised in those same media.
Modesto Bans Home Business Signs and Ads
Heavy RestrictionsModesto Code of Ordinances § 10-3.207(a)(11)-(12)
(11)Sales or services conducted on the premises shall not be advertised in any commercial telephone directory (yellow pages) nor be advertised in any newspaper, circular or other commercial media, including radio and television.(12)Signs shall not be used to identify the business, its products or services.
Customer Traffic Restrictions
A Modesto home business cannot generate traffic or parking demand beyond what a normal residence would produce, cannot displace required residential parking, and cannot have employees dispatched from or working on the premises. Merchandise deliveries to customers on site are barred except when incidental to an on-site service.
Modesto Home Business Traffic and Employee Limits
Significant RestrictionsModesto Code of Ordinances § 10-3.207(a)(4), (7)-(8)
(4)No parking or traffic shall be generated by the business in greater volumes than would normally be expected for a residence. No required parking shall be displaced by business activities....(7)Employees shall not work at or be dispatched from the premises nor otherwise be on or about the premises for business purposes.(8)There shall be no delivery of merchandise to customers at the premises ...
Home Daycare
Modesto treats home-based child care by size. A small family day care home (six or fewer children) and a large family day care home (seven to fourteen) are both permitted outright in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential zones, one business per lot. At fifteen or more children in a home, the use becomes conditional, requiring a use permit.
Modesto Permits Family Day Care Homes by Size
Some RestrictionsModesto Code of Ordinances § 10-3.204(a) (Child Day Care Facilities, Day Care Homes); Table 3.1-1, § 10-3.101
(a)Day care homes are permitted in the residential zones as follows:(1)A small family day care home as defined by California Health and Safety Code Section 1596.78(c) and provided by Section 1597.45. Only one (1) day care business is permitted per lot.(2)A large family day care home as defined by California Health and Safety Code Section 1596.78(b) and provided by Section 1597.46 subject to dev...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Modesto city rules.
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