Abilene, TX Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

2(a)(4) of the Abilene Land Development Code governs signage for home-based businesses. The default rule is that a home occupation cannot change the outside appearance of the house or lot at all, and cannot show any visible evidence that a business is being run there. The one carve-out is signage: for each street front of the lot, the owner may post one unanimated, non-illuminated, accessory identification sign no larger than 2 square feet. 'Unanimated' rules out any sign with moving parts, flashing elements, or electronic displays, and 'non-illuminated' rules out internal lighting, spotlighting, or any other lit sign face.

Placement is also fixed: the sign must be placed flat against a wall or door, or displayed in a window. A freestanding yard sign, a post-mounted sign, or a sign propped in the yard does not meet this standard even if it is 2 square feet or smaller. A corner lot or double-frontage lot with two street fronts can carry one sign for each frontage, since the limit runs per street front rather than per lot. Because the sign allowance is the sole exception to the no-visible-change rule in subsection (4), a home business also cannot use banners, sandwich boards, vehicle-mounted advertising parked visibly at the curb, or any other signage beyond the single 2-square-foot identification sign per frontage.