Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

The Township Council's sign article in Chapter 430 lists what each zoning district permits. For the residential districts named in § 430-286 (RCW, R-R, R-1, R-1M, R-2, R-2M, R-3, R-3 and 3A (RCA), R-4, R-5, AHD-1&2, APRD-2, PRD and PRD-2), the list of other permitted signs includes item B(4): one sign to identify a permitted home occupation or professional office, not exceeding one square foot on any one side. A parenthetical carves out the AHD-1&2 Districts, which are sent to § 430-250 instead.

Section 430-280 treats the same sign as exempt from permits and fees. Professional nameplate and home occupation signs indicating the name and profession of the occupant of a dwelling need no permit and no fee, provided they do not exceed one square foot. The exemption is limited to one sign per parcel, the sign stays subject to the other provisions of the sign chapter, and it cannot be lighted outside of posted business hours.

The code also says how a sign face is measured. Area is figured by drawing a square or rectangle around the writing, emblem or display together with the sign frame and any material forming an integral part of the background. Two identical faces placed back to back count as one face when they belong to the same sign structure and are not more than 42 inches apart at any point.

The sign only matters if the use itself qualifies. The Chapter 430 definitions describe a customary home occupation as an activity carried out for gain by a resident and conducted as a customary, incidental and accessory use in the resident's dwelling unit. For a professional such as an accountant, architect, engineer or lawyer, the professional must own and occupy the unit and the use cannot exceed 30% of the floor area of the dwelling, and doctors and other medical practitioners are excluded from that list. Section 430-41 also lists customary home occupations among the conditional uses, subject to its conditions. A resident who wants a larger sign than one square foot has no path in the residential list, because the business-district sign allowances in § 430-287 apply only to the B-1, B-2, O-1, O-2 and O-3 Districts.