Contra Costa County, CA Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Default rule
- No customer/client visits to home
- Daycare exception
- State-protected (H&S 1597.40 et seq.)
- Services affected
- Salons, tutors, therapists cannot operate in-home
- Permit revocation
- For repeated violations
- Citations
- $100/$200/$500 daily ladder
Summary
Home occupations in unincorporated Contra Costa County generally may not receive customer or client visits at the home. State-licensed family daycare is the protected exception. Violations draw escalating daily citations and can lead to permit revocation.
3. Traffic and deliveries. The Home Occupation may not generate vehicular traffic that exceeds the traffic normally associated with a single-family residential use. Deliveries to the Home Occupation may not exceed the frequency of deliveries and types of vehicles normally associated with residential neighborhoods. Deliveries to the Home Occupation may occur only between the hours of eight a.m. and eight p.m.
C. Clients or customers. No clients or customers are permitted at the site of the Home Occupation, except for students engaged in individual home instruction. If student visits occur, only one student may be present at one time, no more than six student visits may occur per day, and students may be present only between eight a.m. and six p.m.
D. Vehicles. One business-related vehicle, with a rated capacity of up to one ton, is permitted at the site of a Home Occupation, except that the following types of vehicles are prohibited: limousines, dump trucks, tow trucks, construction vehicles (e.g., front-end loaders, backhoes), trailers (e.g., construction trailers, chipper trailers), construction equipment (e.g., cement mixers, chippers), vehicles with a rated capacity of one ton or more, and similar vehicles.
Full Breakdown
Contra Costa County's home-occupation rules for the unincorporated areas are stricter than most on one point: the default is no customer or client visits to the home at all. That closes the door on in-home salons, tutoring and therapy practices as a matter of code, though occasional meetings that create no neighborhood impact may never draw attention, a neighbor complaint can trigger a violation notice. The big exception is state-protected family daycare (H&S Code §1597.40 et seq.), which the county cannot ban. Citations run an escalating $100/$200/$500 daily ladder, and repeated violations can cost you the permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a small daycare from my home?
Can I occasionally meet a client at home?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Contra Costa County
California rules heatmap·Compare Contra Costa County to another location·View the California home business overview
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