Home Business in Kent County, DE (2026)
4 rules for unincorporated Kent County, Delaware.
Verified from official government sources
Zoning & Home Occupation Permits
Kent County requires a zoning certificate of use from the Division of Planning before running a home occupation out of a house in the unincorporated county. The business must stay secondary to the residence: floor area is capped at 25% of the dwelling (100% of a detached structure or 500 square feet, whichever is less), only household members may work there, and customer visits are limited to six people a day.
Kent County Home Occupation Zoning Permit
Some RestrictionsKent County Code § 205-68.E
(1) The owner/operator shall secure a zoning certificate of use for a home occupation from the Department of Planning Services, Division of Planning. The dwelling shall be the bona fide residence of the operator of the occupation. (2) The use shall not change the character of the dwelling unit or residential premises nor have any exterior evidence other than an identification sign no larger tha...
Signage Rules
A home-based professional office or studio in unincorporated Kent County may post one identification sign, capped at 6 square feet and 5 feet above grade, under Zoning Code Section 205-232.B(3). No additional signage is allowed for a home occupation in a residential district.
Kent County, DE Home Occupation Sign Limits
Some RestrictionsKent County Code § 205-232.B(3)
(3) One identification sign identifying a permitted professional office/studio home occupation not to exceed six square feet in area or a height of five feet above grade.
Customer Traffic Restrictions
Kent County caps home-occupation customer traffic at six visitors a day between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. under § 205-68E(12), and § 205-55 separately bars any home occupation from generating traffic in excess of what is normal for the residential neighborhood. A stricter 'home office' classification allows no customers on site at all.
Kent County Home Business Customer Visit Limits
Some RestrictionsKent County Code § 205-68E(12)(c)-(f), Home Occupation Standards
Deliveries and pickups of supplies or products are permitted only between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Vehicles used for delivery and pickup are limited to those normally servicing residential neighborhoods. Customers may visit the site only during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. No more than six customers or clients may visit the site on any single day.
Home Daycare
Kent County zones a licensed family child-care home as an authorized home occupation under § 205-55, capped at six full-time children plus three part-time or latch-key children for a hard maximum of nine. Levy Court must approve the use, and § 205-68 exempts it from the floor-area cap that limits other home occupations.
Kent County Family Child-Care Home Zoning Limits
Some RestrictionsKent County Code § 205-55, 'Family Child-Care Home' definition
FAMILY CHILD-CARE HOME A residential dwelling unit that is licensed by the State of Delaware or that is qualified to be licensed by the State of Delaware as a family child-care home that furnishes care, supervision, and/or guidance to children other than those children that comprise the immediate family or relatives of the resident of the dwelling unit. Such care, supervision and/or guidance sh...
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