Horry County, SC Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Section 927 of the Horry County Zoning Ordinance sets the terms under which any residence may host a business. The stated purpose is to let the home serve as a viable location for certain occupations while protecting neighborhood character and keeping traffic, noise and hazardous materials from spilling onto the block (Sec. A). Every home occupation, regardless of size, must satisfy six baseline conditions in Sec. B: the business stays clearly secondary to the residential use, it cannot change the look of the dwelling, the operator must own the property or hold notarized permission from the owner, all parking and maneuvering happens on site, and the operation cannot generate more noise, dust, smoke or nuisance than an ordinary house in that district.

Signage is condition six: exactly one sign, nonilluminated, capped at two square feet, and mounted flush against a wall of the principal structure, not staked in the yard or hung from a post. A homeowners' association deed restriction that bars business signage entirely overrides the county allowance, since the ordinance defers to deed restrictions when one prohibits the sign. Home occupations legally operating before this ordinance took effect keep legal non-conforming status, but that protection lapses the moment the underlying business license goes unrenewed for twelve straight months (Sec.

7). At that point the use and its sign must come into full compliance with the current rules, sign cap included, before the county treats it as lawful again.