Tehama County, CA Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- On-site retail sales
- Barred except self-produced goods
- Floor space cap
- 25% of dwelling
- Staffing
- Resident family members only
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Tehama County only
Summary
In unincorporated Tehama County, a home occupation cannot sell merchandise on-site except goods it produced itself: the zoning code's definition rules out walk-in retail customer traffic entirely.
"Home occupation" shall mean any use customarily carried on within a dwelling by the inhabitants thereof ... which use: A. Is confined within the dwelling and occupies not more than twenty-five percent of the floor space thereof; B. Involves no sales of merchandise other than that produced on the premises or merchandise directly related to and incidental to the services offered, no on-site sales;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 23).
Full Breakdown
Tehama County Code § 17.04.020 defines 'home occupation' as a use inside a dwelling, incidental to its residential use, that 'involves no sales of merchandise other than that produced on the premises or merchandise directly related to and incidental to the services offered, no on-site sales.' In practice, a home-based business in the unincorporated county cannot operate as a retail storefront drawing walk-in buyers, only self-produced goods, or items incidental to a service, may change hands there, and the operation must stay within 25% of the dwelling's floor space. This is a zoning-code definition, not a separate permit process, and it governs only unincorporated Tehama County, not Red Bluff, Corning, or the City of Tehama.
Violations & Fines
A home business conducting general on-site retail sales loses its 'home occupation' status and is treated as an unpermitted commercial use, subject to zoning code enforcement by the county.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell products from my home in unincorporated Tehama County?
Does this sales limit apply inside Red Bluff?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tehama County
California rules heatmap·Compare Tehama County to another location·View the California home business overview
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