Harrisburg, PA Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Harrisburg Codified Ordinances § 7-309.2(Y)(2) puts the sign rule for home businesses in the City of Harrisburg in one flat sentence: no signage is permitted on the exterior of the residence or on the lot indicating the home occupation. The home occupation use is allowed as an accessory use in all dwelling units in all Zoning Districts, so the sign bar follows the use into every district rather than depending on a district table.

Two places on the lot are named: the exterior of the residence and the lot itself. A wall plaque, a window lettering job, a post sign in the yard, and a freestanding sign at the sidewalk all fall within those two locations, because the criterion bars any sign indicating the home occupation. The criterion prints no size allowance, no square-foot figure, and no exception for a small nameplate.

The sign chapter, Chapter 7-325, adds context without lifting the bar. Section 7-325.2(C) says only types, sizes and heights of signs that are specifically permitted by the Code within the applicable district are allowed, and § 7-325.2(A) requires a zoning and building permit before erecting any sign except those meeting §§ 7-325.7 and 7-325.8. Section 7-325.8(A)(6) separately lets a lot carry one identification sign of a maximum two square feet that identifies the name or title of the resident or the name, street address, or use of a lot without any advertising. The code does not say whether that sign can name a business, so a home business owner who wants any wording beyond the resident or the address should ask the Zoning Officer before posting.

The definitions chapter still lists a sign type called a home occupation sign, defined as a sign containing only the name and occupation of a permitted home occupation. The operative criterion in § 7-309.2(Y)(2) is the rule that prints a prohibition, and § 7-309.1 provides that where two or more requirements apply to the same use, the more restrictive controls.