Bolingbrook, IL Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Sec. 54-306 authorizes any home occupation that is customarily incidental and subordinate to the principal use of a building as a dwelling in any dwelling unit in the village. That authorization is not open-ended: Sec. 54-307 requires every home occupation in residence districts to meet ten conditions at once. No more than 25 percent of the area of a dwelling may be devoted to the occupation, and the business must be conducted entirely within the principal residential building or an accessory private garage, not in a detached shed or yard.

No employees outside the immediate family occupying the dwelling may work in the business, and no alteration may change the residential character of the building. Mechanical or electrical equipment is limited to types customary for domestic, household, or hobby use, and the operation cannot generate noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, or electrical interference beyond what is normal for the district. Storage of equipment or materials outside a principal building or accessory structure is prohibited outright. Sec. 54-308 lists customary permitted examples: dressmaking, private tutoring limited to one pupil at a time except for occasional groups, home offices for architects and lawyers, computer and data processing work, snowplowing operations with vehicle-storage limits tied to the November 1 to April 15 season, catering using only existing home kitchen equipment, and hair or nail care limited to one operator and six clients per day. Sec. 54-309 separately bars occupations that cannot meet these standards, such as funeral homes, kennels, restaurants, and vehicle repair.