Fort Myers, FL Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Florida's Home-Based Business Act expressly preserves local authority to regulate business signage, vehicle parking, and visible equipment, but the standards may not be stricter than those applied to a residence without a business (FS 559.955(4)). Fort Myers regulates signs through Land Development Code Chapter 126 (Signs). In residential zones (RS-E, RS-5, RS-6, RS-7, RS-D, RM-12, RM-16) the sign code generally allows only standard residential identification — a small nameplate or address sign — and prohibits commercial signs such as freestanding business signs, illuminated signs, internally lit signs, A-frames, banners, window signs advertising a business, and any sign that announces a home occupation visible from the public right-of-way. The home business standards in LDC § 118.3.4.C reinforce this by requiring that the business not change the residential character of the property. Vehicle lettering on a personal or business vehicle owned by the resident and parked at the residence is generally allowed and is not considered a regulated sign. Code Enforcement responds to complaints about prohibited signage.