Ada County, ID Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Ada County Code 8-4-33(B)(8) tells every home occupation, small or large, that "all signs shall comply with Section 8-3-12," the county's general sign ordinance. Because a home occupation is a permitted non-residential use inside a residential, transitional, or rural district, it falls under Section 8-3-12(G) and Table 8-3-12-8 rather than the commercial sign tables written for storefronts. In the Rural and Transitional districts and in "all other residential" districts, the maximum sign area is the lesser of 64 square feet or one square foot for every 3 feet of the principal building's street frontage, and the sign may stand up to 12 feet tall.

In the R4, R6, and R8 districts the cap drops to the lesser of 32 square feet or one square foot per 3 feet of frontage, with a maximum height of 8 feet. Illumination, direct, internal, or neon, is allowed in every district, but animation is banned outright and freestanding signs may not revolve or flash. Roof signs are prohibited entirely; the top edge of any sign is capped at the lesser of the building's eave line or the Table 8-3-12-8 height limit. Countywide general rules layer on top: a sign needs the property owner's written consent, must sit at least 5 feet back from any property line, and any sign larger than 64 square feet needs administrative approval before installation, though a home occupation's sign rarely reaches that threshold. Frontage is measured only along the principal building's street-facing side.