Royal Oak, MI Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Subsection F of Royal Oak's home occupation standards, City Code § 770-25, is the signage rule: it requires the occupation be carried on wholly within the dwelling, bars conducting the business in any accessory building whether detached or attached, and bars any exterior operations, storage or display of materials, products, inventory or equipment of any kind, and no exterior signage. The only carve-out in the subsection is for one commercial vehicle, which may be parked on the premises if it meets the separate weight and placement requirements of § 770-28, Restrictions on parking of commercial vehicles.

Because the signage ban is absolute rather than a size or lighting limit, a home business in Royal Oak cannot post a yard sign, window sign, or any other exterior identification, no matter how small, unlike the graduated sign standards Chapter 607 sets for commercially zoned property. This ties into the broader intent of § 770-25 to keep a home occupation invisible from the street: subsection A already bars outside display or other visible evidence of the business, and subsection B requires the use not change the residential character of the property in appearance.

A resident who wants exterior identification, a lit sign, or window advertising for a home-based business must relocate that function to a commercially zoned location; the Zoning Administrator and Community Development enforce the ban when it surfaces through complaints or site inspections.