St. Louis County, MO Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Freestanding/wall signage
- Prohibited for any home occupation
- Outdoor storage
- Not permitted for the use
- Employees
- Must reside on the premises
- E-commerce/delivery-only retail
- Excluded from home-occupation status
- Governing section
- §1003.111.2(10), echoed in all R districts
- Last amended
- Ord. No. 29528, eff. Feb. 12, 2026
Summary
Unincorporated St. Louis County lets residents run a home-based business as a permitted use, but only if it carries zero exterior advertising. Section 1003.111.2(10) of the zoning code bars any freestanding or wall sign for a home occupation, bans outdoor storage, requires every employee to live on-site, and excludes e-commerce or delivery-only retail operations from qualifying at all.
(10)Home occupations, where the following criteria are met:(a)There shall be no outdoor storage.(b)There shall be no freestanding or wall signage.(c)All employees shall reside on the premises.(d)Any use meeting the definition of "e-commerce or delivery-only retail facility" shall not constitute a home occupation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 85 | Traffic: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
2(10) of the "R-1" Residence District regulations and repeated in every other R district (R-1A through R-8, R-6A, R-6AA). Two of the four conditions directly control signage and scale: there can be no freestanding or wall signage of any kind advertising the business, and there can be no outdoor storage tied to it. The other two conditions cap who can work there and what kind of business qualifies: every employee must reside on the premises, and any operation that meets the county's definition of an "e-commerce or delivery-only retail facility" is excluded from the home-occupation category entirely, regardless of signage.
168), which otherwise permits small identification and directional signs in residential districts; for a home occupation specifically, the general allowance does not apply and the sign ban is absolute. Losing any one of the four conditions, most commonly by installing a yard or door sign, converts the business from a lawful permitted use into an unauthorized commercial use in a residential zone. 070, the same body that interprets district boundary and use questions countywide. The current text was last amended by Ordinance No. 29528, Section 1, effective February 12, 2026.
Violations & Fines
Posting a yard sign, mounting a wall sign, or opening the home to walk-in customers strips the operation of its permitted home-occupation status. Department of Planning code enforcement can order the sign removed and can treat continued operation as an unpermitted commercial use in a residential district, which risks a stop-work or cease-use order. Owners may appeal an adverse zoning determination to the county's Board of Zoning Adjustment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a small sign in my yard for my home business in St. Louis County?
Does the sign ban apply if I only sell products online?
Can my home business have employees who don't live in the house?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Louis County
Compare St. Louis County to another location·View the Missouri home business overview
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