Ada County, ID Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Ada County Code 8-4-33 regulates home occupations countywide in the unincorporated area, but exempts "no-impact home occupations" entirely from Title 8 review: a business run wholly inside the dwelling by residents only, with no signs, parking, lighting, noise, odor, or retail display visible from outside and no hazardous materials. Every other home occupation must stay within 25% of the dwelling's total habitable and non-habitable floor area or 1,000 square feet, whichever is smaller, and may use the principal dwelling or an accessory structure as long as it does not eat into the required off-street parking. Outdoor storage and outdoor loading are banned except for one work trailer, work vehicle, or commercial vehicle parked on site, and the code names a flat prohibited list: vehicle service, repair, or painting; a commercial kennel; an adult entertainment establishment; commercial composting; a contractor's yard or shop; and any handling of hazardous materials.

The county splits permitted home occupations into two tiers. A small home occupation needs only a zoning certificate, must be run solely by the residents with no employees, allows no client, customer, or student visits, and is capped at two pickups or deliveries a day. A large home occupation needs administrative approval from the Development Services Department, may hire one nonresident employee, and confines all visits, deliveries, and employee traffic to 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends. Group instruction is capped at five students and two classes a day, on-site traffic at twenty additional vehicle trips a day, and one paved off-street space is required for the employee plus up to three for clients. Applications for either tier must include a scaled site plan, a floor plan separating the business space, and a letter detailing square footage, staffing, hours, and delivery frequency.