Warwick, RI Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

1, a residence-district property may display one sign identifying each permitted home occupation and, separately, one sign naming a permitted nonresidential use, but the combined area of all such signs on the lot cannot exceed six square feet. 5 square feet with no minimum setback. Canopy, projecting, and roof signs are not permitted at all for a home occupation in a residence district. Every sign, including a home occupation sign, needs a permit from the building official under Section 802 before it can be constructed, erected, moved, enlarged, or illuminated, and Section 801 requires the property's street address to appear on the sign face or supporting structure.

Signs may be externally illuminated but the ordinance's general prohibitions in Section 804 still apply, barring moving, flashing, or animated displays and any sign the building official deems a traffic or safety hazard. Because the six-square-foot cap runs across all home occupation signage on the lot, a homeowner cannot add a second freestanding sign once a wall sign already uses part of that allowance; the two must be sized to fit within the combined limit.