Boston, MA Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Boston's residential sign list in Section 11-1(a) starts narrow: one sign, capped at two square feet, either attached to the building or on a rod or post no more than four feet high, set at least three feet in from the street line, and stating only the street number or occupant name. The section then carves out a single business exception: in an H district, that same two-square-foot sign may also identify the business of a 'professional person, as defined by Use Item No. ' Use Item 39 covers the office of an accountant, architect, attorney, dentist, physician or other professional person not accessory to a main use, and Table B lists that use as a conditional use ('C') across the H districts, meaning the home office itself needs Board of Appeal approval under Article 6 before the sign exception applies.

A home occupation that is not a Use Item 39 professional office, such as a general contracting business or a retail operation run from a house, gets no business-identifying sign at all; it is limited to the bare street-number-or-name sign every residential lot is allowed. Anyone wanting a larger, illuminated, or otherwise non-conforming sign for a home office must seek a conditional sign permit from the Board of Appeal under Section 11-9, which requires public notice and hearing under Article 6.