5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
Verified from official government sources
Ramsey County does not zone residential land — cities do, under Minn. Stat. ch. 462. In St. Paul (the county seat) a home occupation must be incidental and secondary to residential use, carried on wholly within the main building, and must not change the character of the dwelling.
St. Paul Home Occupation Regulations, standard (c)
A home occupation shall be carried on wholly within the main building. No home occupation shall be allowed in detached accessory buildings or garages.
Sign rules for a home business are set by your city, not Ramsey County. In St. Paul a home occupation may have one identification sign no larger than two square feet, and it may not be placed in a required yard.
St. Paul Home Occupation Regulations, standard (i)
A home occupation may have an identification sign no larger than two (2) square feet in area, which shall not be located in a required yard.
Cottage food is a statewide exemption, not a county rule. Under Minn. Stat. 28A.152 you must register with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture before selling and are capped at $78,000 in gross annual sales, with only non-potentially-hazardous foods allowed.
Minn. Stat. 28A.152, subd. 3
A person selling exempt foods under this section is limited to total sales with gross receipts of $78,000 or less in a calendar year.
Ramsey County IS the licensing agency for family child care. It licenses in-home providers on behalf of MN DHS under Minnesota Rules ch. 9502. Family child care serves no more than ten children at one time, of whom no more than six are under school age.
Ramsey County Child Care Licensing
Ramsey County licenses family child care in homes and settings other than child care centers, offers training, and monitors child care homes to support the health and safety of children.
There is no county home-occupation permit. In St. Paul you certify a home occupation by filing a Home Occupation Affidavit; the business must be run by no more than two people (one of whom lives there), with no structural alterations for the business.
St. Paul Home Occupation Regulations, standard (d)
All home occupation activities in dwelling units of less than four thousand (4,000) square feet of total living area, excluding a cellar and attic, shall be conducted by no more than two (2) persons, for one (1) of whom the dwelling unit shall be the principal residence.
1 cities in Ramsey County have their own home business rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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