Raleigh, NC Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Raleigh's accessory-use standards for home occupations, set out in UDO Sec. 3, contain no signage allowance whatsoever. Two clauses combine to bar exterior signs outright. First, 'No display of goods, products, or services shall be visible from outside the dwelling,' which rules out any window sign, product display or advertising visible from the street or a neighboring lot. Second, and more sweeping, 'There must be no change in the outside appearance of the building or premises, or other visible evidence of the conduct of a home occupation' -- language that reaches beyond signs to cover any exterior indicator that a business operates on the property, including yard signs or illuminated markers advertising the business.

' This zero-signage rule stands in sharp contrast to the Live-Work use type defined in the same Sec. 3, which is explicitly allowed one unlit Building Sign per street-facing façade, capped at 6 square feet -- a business that wants any exterior signage in a residential structure has to qualify as a Live-Work use instead of a Home Occupation, meeting that use's separate standards on employees, floor area and allowed use categories.