Columbia, SC Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Home occupations in Columbia are accessory uses to a dwelling, and Sec. " That means a home-based business, whether it's a tutoring service, a bookkeeper, or a licensed family child care home operating under the same standards via Sec. 3(d)(5)c, cannot post a yard sign, window sign, or any other exterior signage identifying the business, and cannot repaint, add awnings, install commercial lighting, or otherwise alter the house so it reads as a place of business from the street. The rule sits alongside the broader home occupation conditions: the operation must stay inside the principal structure or an approved accessory structure, must be run by a full-time resident, and can't take up more than 25 percent of the floor area or 1,000 square feet.

Because the no-sign rule is one of several conditions that make the whole use lawful, a business that puts up even a small identification sign is out of compliance with the entire home occupation approval, not just the signage piece, and can be cited alongside any other standard it fails to meet.