New Britain, CT Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Section 250-20-10 governs Announcement or Professional Signs under the Zoning Ordinance's sign regulations, Section 250. For a home professional office or home occupation, the sign may bear only the name and profession or occupation of the resident, nothing more, such as a business name, logo, phone number, or list of services. The sign is capped at one square foot in area, a fraction of the size allowed for other uses, and it may sit either on the building wall or in the front yard, but a yard-mounted sign must be set back at least ten feet from every property line and cannot rise more than six feet above natural ground level.

The one exception raises the cap to six square feet for an announcement sign in the OP, Office Park, district, recognizing that OP parcels already mix office and residential character. Section 250-20-10.30 allows the sign to be double-faced, and Section 250-20-10.40 permits it to be lighted only by shielded light sources attached to the sign itself, ruling out a separately mounted floodlight or an internally illuminated cabinet sign. These limits sit on top of the broader home occupation restrictions in Section 230-210-50, which separately bars any exterior display of signs beyond what this section allows and prohibits commercial-style exterior lighting. The Director of Licenses, Permits and Inspections reviews sign permits under Section 280-30-10 and can order an oversized or noncompliant home business sign removed.