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Snohomish County, WA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Governing section
SCC 30.28.050
In-dwelling floor area cap
1/4 of dwelling square footage
In-dwelling sign cap
2 sq ft, unlighted
Accessory building cap (5+ acres)
900 sq ft, urban/general tier
Rural tier cap (10+ acres)
7,000 sq ft building + 7,000 sq ft storage
Standard hours (accessory building)
8am-8pm weekdays, 9am-5pm weekends

Summary

SCC 30.28.050 caps a basic home occupation at one outside employee, one-quarter of the dwelling's floor area, a 200-amp electrical service, and unlighted signs under two square feet. Home occupations in accessory buildings on rural lots can scale up to 7,000 square feet with set hours.

City-specific rules exist: Everett, Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Marysville have their own zoning & home occupation permits rules that differ from Snohomish County's county-level regulations. If you live in one of those cities, check the city-specific page instead.

(1) General. (a) Not more than one person outside the family shall be employed. (b) The occupation shall be secondary to the use of the dwelling for dwelling purposes. (c) There shall be no external display of merchandise. No sales or fees for the use of merchandise except that produced by the inhabitants shall be made in the dwelling or on the premises. (d) The maximum nameplate horsepower rating of any single piece of mechanical equipment used in the home occupation shall be five horsepower, and no equipment shall be three-phase motors. The electrical service for the home occupation shall not exceed 200 amps. (e) Not more than one-fourth of the total square footage of the dwelling may be used in the occupation. (f) Signs in connection with the occupation shall be unlighted, shall not exceed two square feet, and shall be attached flat to the building.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through legislation passed August 12, 2026).

Full Breakdown

050 sets tiered standards depending on where the home occupation happens. Subsection (1)'s general rules apply to any home occupation run inside the dwelling itself: no more than one person outside the family may be employed, the business must stay secondary to the home's residential use, there can be no external display of merchandise and no on-site sales except of goods the residents produce, mechanical equipment is capped at five horsepower with no three-phase motors and the electrical service cannot exceed 200 amps, no more than one-quarter of the dwelling's total square footage may be used for the occupation, signs must be unlighted, flat to the building, and no larger than two square feet, and the business cannot alter the residence's appearance or store anything outside.

on weekends, and a list of banned activities including auto body work, heavy equipment repair, and fueling. , and a cap of three outside employees, but bars mineral processing, sawmills, and vehicle sales or major repair. 361, and subsection (5) bans all marijuana-related activities as a home occupation in every zone, with no exception.

Violations & Fines

A home occupation that exceeds its floor area, employee, or signage limits, or that operates without the required certificate of occupancy in an accessory building, is enforced as a Title 30 zoning violation under chapter 30.85 SCC. A first noncommercial notice of violation carries a $500 penalty, escalating on the SCC 30.85.170 schedule toward a $10,000 cap, while an unlicensed commercial-scale operation starts at $1,500 and can reach $25,000.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many employees can I have for a home occupation in Snohomish County?
SCC 30.28.050(1)(a) limits a home occupation run inside the dwelling to no more than one person outside the immediate family, while the rural home occupation tier in subsection (4)(n) allows up to three outside employees on qualifying rural or resource-based lots.
Can I run a home business out of my garage in unincorporated Snohomish County?
Yes, under SCC 30.28.050(3), on a lot of at least one acre, with the combined accessory building and attached garage area capped by SCC Table 30.28.050(3)(c) at 500 to 900 square feet depending on lot size, plus a certificate of occupancy and set operating hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays.
Are marijuana businesses allowed as a home occupation?
No. SCC 30.28.050(5) expressly prohibits marijuana production, processing, retail, collective gardens, collective garden dispensaries, and access points as a home occupation in every zone of unincorporated Snohomish County.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Snohomish County

All Snohomish County rules

How Snohomish County compares: Easiest Cities to Run a Home Business·Compare Snohomish County to another location·View the Washington home business overview

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