Mebane, NC Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Mebane's home occupation standard treats signage as the one visible clue a home-based business is allowed to show. Under § 4-7.4(E)(2)(d), no other evidence of the business may be visible from outside the dwelling: the ordinance bars sales rooms, display windows and open outdoor storage of materials or supplies tied to the business, so the sign is the sole exception carved into an otherwise invisible-from-the-street use. That sign is limited to three square feet in area, cannot be illuminated, and must read as a professional or occupational sign rather than general advertising.

It may be installed either as a freestanding sign in the yard or as a wall sign on the house, but whichever form is chosen must still comply with the general sign requirements of UDO § 6-7, which govern placement, permitting and construction for signs citywide. Because the sign allowance sits inside the home occupation section rather than the general sign article, a homeowner applying for a home occupation zoning permit has the sign size confirmed as part of that same review rather than through a separate sign permit process, though the physical sign itself must still meet § 6-7's installation standards.