Dearborn Heights, MI Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Section 36-143(a)(5), titled "Additional signs prohibited," folds home occupation signage directly into the citywide residential sign rules rather than creating a separate allowance: signage for the home occupation is limited to signs permitted for residential uses, as described in chapter 26, Signs. In practice this means a lawyer, tutor, hairstylist, or repair technician operating a home occupation under Section 36-143 cannot add a nameplate, yard sign, or window sign advertising the business beyond what chapter 26 already allows any residential property to display, which in most residential districts is limited to modest identification or temporary signage rather than commercial advertising.

The same restriction appears elsewhere in chapter 36 for other small residential uses: Section 36-142(h), governing bed and breakfast inns, uses nearly identical language limiting signage to signs permitted for residential uses under chapter 26, showing the city applies one consistent no-extra-signage policy across its home-based use standards rather than carving out one-off allowances. Because the sign restriction is bundled into the same subsection (a) as the intensity, customer-visit, and hours-of-operation standards, a code enforcement inspection triggered by a complaint about excess signage can also prompt a broader review of whether the home occupation is complying with its floor-area and traffic limits.

A homeowner who wants to advertise a small home-based business in Dearborn Heights is generally left with off-site advertising, such as online listings or word of mouth, since on-premises signage beyond the standard residential allowance is not an option chapter 36 makes available, no matter how the business itself is licensed or how much space it occupies inside the home.