Arlington, TX Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 3.3.6.H of the Unified Development Code, revised by Ordinance No. 26-019, states: "A home occupation may be permitted as accessory to any principal dwelling unit in all residential districts, and the FBZ-TN and RMU districts, subject to the following standards." The ordinance amended only the introductory applicability clause of Subsection H; the operating standards that follow it in the base code remain those already codified and were not reprinted in the amending ordinance, which directs that "the rest of the text shall remain unchanged."

Table 13.1.4-1, the Form-Based Zoning allowed-use table, separately lists Home-based business as a "P" (permitted) use in the Traditional Neighborhood, Urban Neighborhood, Core Mixed-Use, and Core sub-districts, tied to the same Supplemental Use Standards citation, 3.3.6.H. The table flags that 2025 Texas legislation, House Bill 2464, will supersede part of that standard, Subsection H(1), once it takes effect, a signal the City expects its home-occupation rule to change to conform with the new state law.

Because a home occupation is classified as an accessory use rather than a stand-alone commercial use, it does not carry its own separate zoning use classification; the "P" designation (not "S" for Specific Use Permit) in the Form-Based table confirms it is allowed by right in those sub-districts, subject to the Sec. 3.3.6.H standards, rather than requiring a discretionary permit.