Boca Raton, FL Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code Sec. 28-1533(3)(d)
- Business signage
- No external evidence permitted
- Residential identity sign cap
- 3 sq ft, 4 ft height (Sec. 24-71)
- Outdoor display/storage
- Prohibited
- Enforcing agency
- Development Services Department
- Penalty
- Up to $500.00 fine, cert. suspension
Summary
Boca Raton flatly forbids any external sign or other visible evidence that a home-based business exists inside a residential dwelling. The property must look and read as purely residential from the street, and the code's cross-reference to chapter 24's tiny residential identity-sign allowance does not carve out an exception for advertising the business itself.
(d)There shall be no external evidence of the existence of a home-based business within a dwelling unit. As viewed from the street, the use of the residential property for the home-based business shall be consistent with the uses of the residential areas that surround the property. Any external modifications made to a residential dwelling to accommodate a home-based business must conform to the residential character and architectural aesthetics of the neighborhood. Signage shall be governed by chapter 24. Outdoor storage, and outdoor display or sale of any goods or merchandise, are prohibited.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 28-1533(3)(d) states: "There shall be no external evidence of the existence of a home-based business within a dwelling unit. " The same subsection sends signage questions to chapter 24, but chapter 24's residential sign rule for single-family and R-2 districts (Sec. 24-71(1)) only authorizes "one identity sign for each dwelling unit, not to exceed an area of 3 square feet, and in the case of a ground sign, not to exceed 4 feet in height," which is a generic address/name sign, not a business-identification sign.
Read together, a home occupation cannot post a business name, logo, hours, or any other placard, banner or window sign that would tip off a passerby that commercial activity happens inside. Sec. 28-1533(3)(d) goes further, also barring outdoor storage and outdoor display or sale of goods, and requiring that any exterior modification made to accommodate the business still match the architectural character of the surrounding neighborhood. The development services department reviews compliance with these appearance standards as part of issuing and renewing the certificate of use required by Sec. 28-1533(2).
Violations & Fines
Posting a sign that reveals a home-based business is a Code violation under Sec. 28-1533(4), exposing the certificate of use to suspension or termination and the property to the citywide fine of up to $500.00 or 60 days under Sec. 1-16, with each day the sign remains up counted as a separate offense. A denied, conditioned, suspended or terminated certificate of use may be appealed to the planning and zoning board per Sec. 28-10.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a small sign in my yard advertising my Boca Raton home business?
What if my sign is small and only faces my own driveway?
Does this signage ban apply to window signs too?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boca Raton
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Boca Raton to another location·View the Florida home business overview
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