Tracy, CA Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Section 10.08.4600 sets the rules every home occupation permit must follow, and subsection (a) starts from a blanket rule: there shall be no exterior evidence of the conduct of the home occupation. Subsection (b) then carves out the single exception for identification: no sign or advertising may be displayed except for a single directory sign or name plate, which shall be flat-mounted against the building, shall not exceed one and one-half square feet in area, and shall be illuminated by reflected light only.

That 1.5-square-foot cap is a fraction of what Article 35's general sign standards allow elsewhere in the city; for comparison, a standard directory sign on a commercial parcel can run up to 50 square feet under section 10.08.4500(d). Because the home occupation sign rule sits in Article 36 rather than Article 35, it overrides the general commercial sign allowances for any residential property operating under a home occupation permit. The sign also cannot use any illumination source other than reflected light, ruling out internally lit or backlit name plates, and it must be mounted flat against the building rather than freestanding, monument-style, or projecting.