Durham requires a Home Occupation Permit to run a business from a residence. Only people living on the premises plus up to one nonresident employee may work in the business, and the permit is not transferable.
A Home Occupation Permit from the Durham Planning & Development Department is required before operating a home business in the city or unincorporated county. Under UDO Section 5.4.4, only persons residing on the premises and up to one nonresident employee may be engaged in the home occupation (larger rural RR-zoned tracts of 10+ acres may have up to three). Traffic and parking must not burden the neighborhood, and no more than one commercially licensed vehicle may be used. The permit is not transferable to another person, business, or location, and the owner must allow compliance inspections.
Zoning violations can include possible fines and revocation of the permit; unauthorized use or transfer voids it.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Backyard composting is legal in Durham and the city offers a curbside food-waste program. Compost piles must be maintained so they do not harbor rodents or p...
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Durham has no ordinance banning artificial turf in residential yards. It counts toward impervious-surface and lot-coverage limits under the UDO, and cannot b...
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Durham lies in the Neuse River and Falls Lake watersheds, where state and UDO riparian buffer rules require a 50-foot protected buffer of native vegetation a...
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Rain barrels and cisterns are legal and encouraged in Durham; no county ordinance bans collecting rooftop rainwater. Durham has historically offered subsidiz...
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Durham enforces a year-round odd/even irrigation ordinance and can impose tighter water-shortage stages. As of June 2026 Durham is in Stage 2, which bans spr...
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Durham declares dense weeds, vines, briars and undergrowth a public nuisance when they harbor pests or sit near buildings. Overgrowth over 12 inches high mus...
See how Durham County's home occupation permits rules stack up against other locations.
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