5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Cameron County, Texas.
Verified from official government sources
Texas counties cannot zone, so unincorporated Cameron County places no zoning restriction on running a business from your home. Inside a city, that city's zoning controls home occupations. The county's real land authority is septic, floodplain, and subdivision platting.
Unincorporated Cameron County has no zoning-based sign ordinance for a home business. Signs along state highways are regulated by TxDOT under the Highway Beautification Act. Inside a city, the city's sign code applies.
Texas cottage food law lets you make and sell certain non-hazardous foods from your home with no permit and no local inspection. A cottage food production operation has annual gross income of $50,000 or less and is not a food service establishment (H&S 437.001, 437.0191).
Tex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 437.001(2-b)
"Cottage food production operation" means an individual, operating out of the individual's home, who: produces at the individual's home a food described by Paragraph (A); and has an annual gross income of $50,000 or less from the sale of food described by Paragraph (A).
Home child care is licensed by the state (HHSC Child Care Regulation), not by Cameron County, which cannot zone. Depending on how many children you keep, you need a state license, registration, or listing under Human Resources Code Ch. 42.
Unincorporated Cameron County issues no home-occupation permit because it has no zoning authority. Inside a city you may need a city home-occupation permit or business license. Some businesses still need state licenses and a county septic sign-off.
1 cities in Cameron County have their own home business rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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Cameron County Ordinance Hub →