Home Business in St. Louis, MO (2026)
5 verified home business rules for St. Louis, Missouri, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Zoning & Home Occupation Permits
St. Louis allows home occupations in any residential zoning district only if the business leaves the dwelling looking residential, hires no non-resident workers, posts no sign, and takes no walk-in customers: several business types are banned outright and others need a conditional use permit.
St. Louis Home Occupation Zoning Rules
Significant RestrictionsSt. Louis Revised Code § 26.80.060
Home occupations shall be permitted if the following requirements are met: 1.The home occupation does not change the outside appearance of the residential dwelling; 2.The home occupation does not change the primary use of the home from residential;...7.The applicant of the home occupation resides at the home;8.The home occupation does not display a sign;9.The home occupation does not regularly ...
Signage Rules
St. Louis bars home occupations from displaying any sign at all: the business must run completely unadvertised from the residence, per Revised Code § 26.80.060(A)(8).
St. Louis Home Occupation Sign Ban
Heavy RestrictionsSt. Louis Revised Code § 26.80.060(A)(8)-(10)
A.Home occupations shall be permitted if the following requirements are met:...8.The home occupation does not display a sign;9.The home occupation does not regularly and routinely accept customers, clients, or the general public into the home;10.The home occupation does not advertise, solicit or invite customers, clients, or the general public to the home;
Customer Traffic Restrictions
St. Louis bars home occupations from regularly accepting customers, clients, or the general public into the home, or advertising to invite them, under the zoning code's home-occupation standards.
St. Louis Home Business Client Visits
Significant RestrictionsSt. Louis Revised Code § 26.80.060(A)(9)-(10)
A.Home occupations shall be permitted if the following requirements are met: ... 9.The home occupation does not regularly and routinely accept customers, clients, or the general public into the home;10.The home occupation does not advertise, solicit or invite customers, clients, or the general public to the home;
Cottage Food Operations
Missouri cottage food law (RSMo 196.298) allows St. Louis residents to sell non-potentially hazardous homemade foods directly to consumers without a health permit. Sales capped at $50,000 per year.
Home Business: Cottage Food
Few RestrictionsRSMo § 196.298
196.298. Definitions — operation not deemed food service establishment, when — no state or local regulation. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall mean: (1) "Baked good", includes cookies, cakes, breads, danish, donuts, pastries, pies, and other items that are prepared by baking the item in an oven. A baked good does not include a potentially hazardous food item as defined by ...
Home Daycare
State-licensed family child care homes for 5-10 kids skip building-code inspection and can get a zoning waiver from the Board of Public Service.
St. Louis Home Daycare Rules
Some RestrictionsSt. Louis Revised Code § 25.01.020 (amending IBC § 310.6)
310.6 Care Facilities Providing Home Day Care Licensed by the State of Missouri. Family Child Care Homes providing home day care for more than four but not more than ten unrelated children... are exempt from this code if they meet the licensing capacities listed below... If the applicant furnishes a copy of their State of Missouri Family Child Care Home License for ten children or less, they sh...