Modesto, CA Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

207(a)(12) is a complete prohibition, not a size or placement limit: signs shall not be used to identify a home business, its products, or its services, meaning a Modesto home occupation cannot post any exterior or window sign naming the business at all, unlike commercial zones where signage is regulated by dimension and placement under Title 10's sign chapter. 207(a)(11) pairs with the sign ban to cover print and broadcast advertising of anything sold or performed on the premises: sales or services conducted on the premises cannot be advertised in any commercial telephone directory, newspaper, circular, or other commercial media, including radio and television.

The ordinance draws a sharp line based on where the work happens, however. 207(a)(10) expressly allows advertising of sales or services that are conducted away from the premises in those same media, so a home-based contractor who does all the actual work at a client's property can advertise freely, while a home-based hair stylist who has customers come to the house cannot advertise that on-premises service at all. 207(a)(14), which lets a severely impaired or handicapped operator, as defined by state law, advertise in any commercial media regardless of where the work is performed. 01.