Austin, TX Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Austin's default rule for home-based businesses is that signage is banned outright: Section 25-2-900 prohibits advertising a home occupation with an on-premises sign, and separately bars advertising the business address through billboards, TV, radio, or newspaper. Section 25-10-156 (Home Occupation Signs) is the narrow carve-out. It applies only if the home occupation is one that Section 25-2-900 already allows, and only if the principal structure and the sign itself both directly front a Core Transit Corridor or a Future Core Transit Corridor designated in Austin's transportation plan, meaning most homes in ordinary residential subdivisions never qualify at all.

Where a home does qualify, the sign has two allowed formats. A sign placed on or attached directly to the ground may not exceed six square feet in area or three feet in height, measured from the lower of natural or finished grade next to the house. A sign mounted on a monopole up to four feet tall and 12 inches in diameter may not exceed three square feet in area or four feet in height, again measured from grade. If the sign is electric, it must be non-illuminated or only externally illuminated, must meet Austin Energy's energy-efficiency standard, and must comply with International Dark Sky standards for light-pollution reduction.

The permission is conditional and reversible: Section 25-10-156(B) requires the sign to come down if the home occupation stops operating or falls out of compliance with either this section or Section 25-2-900.