Elizabeth, NJ Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Chapter 17.48, the city's signs ordinance, sets separate rules for residential and commercial districts. Section 17.48.060(A) governs residential districts and lists a 'professional office or home occupation sign' as one of the few sign types allowed there, conditioned on the underlying home occupation meeting all city codes. That sign is capped at six square feet in area, may not be illuminated, and can display only the resident's name and/or address plus the profession or home occupation conducted on the premises; no business name, logo or advertising copy is permitted. Section 17.48.060(A)(4) limits residential properties generally to one sign per use, except that corner lots may carry two signs, one per street frontage.

Anyone erecting a home occupation sign must first obtain a sign permit from the city construction office under Section 17.48.030, submitting an original application plus six photocopies and paying a $20.00 fee. If the construction code official finds the sign nonconforming or illegal, Section 17.48.030(A)(5) gives the owner twenty days to remove it before the city assesses fines of $100.00 per day against both the property owner and the business occupant, and reserves the right to remove the sign itself and lien the property for the cost.

Because a home occupation sign sits in a residential district, it is also subject to Section 17.48.050's citywide maintenance and content rules: no flashing signs other than time-and-temperature displays, no indecent, libelous or sacrilegious content, and mandatory removal within thirty days once the home occupation ceases operating.