Redlands, CA Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Section 18.160.020 sets the criteria a home-based business must satisfy to keep its home occupation permit in Redlands, and subsection F targets signage directly: the occupation "shall not involve the use of advertising signs on the premises, or any other local advertising media which calls attention to the fact that the home is being used for business purposes, telephone number listing excepted." That sits alongside subsection I, which separately bars altering the appearance of the residence "by the use of colors, materials, construction, lighting, signs, or the emission of sound, noise, vibrations, or other visible evidence of the activity," reinforcing that the house must look purely residential from the street.

Because a home occupation permit is not valid until the operator also holds a current city business license (Section 18.160.020(L)), and the permit runs for one year with annual renewal tied to that license (Section 18.160.080), posting a yard sign or door placard for the business is exactly the kind of visible evidence that can cost the operator the annual renewal, since renewal requires a signed statement confirming continued compliance with Section 18.160.020 as a whole. Any denial or condition imposed over signage can be appealed to the planning commission within ten days of the community development director's written decision, and from there to the city council, under Sections 18.160.100 and 18.12.110.