Kennewick, WA Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Exterior advertising allowed
- one residential use sign only
- Residential use sign size cap
- 1 square foot
- Residential use sign illumination
- must be unilluminated
- Sign location
- side of residence or inside a window
- Window/outdoor product displays
- prohibited
- Retail sales on premises
- prohibited
- Violation penalty
- misdemeanor under KMC 18.54.090
Summary
Kennewick home occupations can't post any exterior advertising except one "residential use sign," which KMC 18.09.1760 caps at one square foot and requires to be unilluminated, displayed on the side of the residence or inside a window. KMC 18.42.090(1)(f)-(h) also bans window product displays, outdoor commodity displays, and any retail sales on the premises.
(f)There must be no exterior advertising, except a residential use sign;(g)There must be no window displays nor commodities displayed outside the building;(h)There shall be no retail sales on the premises. ... Residential Use Sign means a sign displayed on the side of a residential structure or inside of a window, not more than one square foot and unilluminated.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 19 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
" In practice, that allows a home business exactly one small sign, either mounted on the side of the house or placed inside a window, capped at one square foot, and it can't be lit in any way, no backlighting, no spotlighting, no internal illumination. " Together, the three subsections mean a home occupation can be identified from the outside only by that single, small, dark sign, not by product displays, outdoor merchandise, or any indication that walk-in retail is happening inside. 090: in R districts, the Planning Director denies an application under subsection (2) if the applicant "cannot substantially meet each and every one" of the listed criteria, signage included, and even an approved home occupation isn't final under subsection (3) until the operator has also obtained a business license.
Violations & Fines
Posting exterior advertising beyond the one-square-foot, unilluminated residential use sign, or displaying products in a window or outdoors, violates KMC 18.42.090(1)(f)-(g) and is a misdemeanor under KMC 18.54.090. The Planning Director can deny an application that can't substantially meet the signage standard under KMC 18.42.090(2) or revoke an existing permit for noncompliance under KMC 18.54.010.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put up a sign for my home business in Kennewick?
Can my home business sign light up at night?
Can I display my products in my home's front window?
What happens if I put up a bigger sign anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kennewick
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