5 rules for unincorporated Butler County, Ohio.
Verified from official government sources
Butler County itself does not zone land. In unincorporated areas, township trustees regulate home businesses under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 519; inside cities, the municipal zoning code applies. Check your township (e.g., West Chester, Liberty) or city zoning office for home-occupation rules.
ORC 519.02(A)
the board of township trustees may regulate by resolution, in accordance with a comprehensive plan, the location, height, bulk, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures... and the uses of land for trade, industry, residence, recreation, or other purposes in the unincorporated territory of the township.
Butler County has no countywide home-business sign ordinance. Sign size, lighting, and whether a home occupation may display any sign are set by your township (ORC 519) or city zoning code. Most jurisdictions ban or tightly limit signs on home occupations.
Ohio's statewide cottage food law lets you make and sell non-hazardous foods—baked goods, jams, jellies, candy, dry mixes—from home with no license, registration, or inspection, as long as products are correctly labeled. This is state law, uniform across Butler County.
ORC 3715.01(A)(19)
"Cottage food production operation" means a person who, in the person's home, produces food items that are not potentially hazardous foods, including bakery products, jams, jellies, candy, fruit butter, and similar products specified in rules adopted pursuant to section 3715.025 of the Revised Code.
Home child care is licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services under ORC Chapter 5104, not by Butler County. A Type B home cares for 1–7 children; a Type A home cares for 8–14. Zoning approval may also be required by your township or city.
ORC 5104.01
"Type B family child care home" means a permanent residence of the provider in which child care is provided for one to seven children at one time and in which no more than three children under two years of age are cared for at one time.
There is no Butler County home-occupation permit. In unincorporated areas your township regulates and may require zoning approval under ORC 519; inside a city, the municipal zoning code issues any home-occupation permit or certificate. Apply to whichever jurisdiction governs your address.
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