Bulloch County, GA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 1426 of the Zoning Ordinance (Appendix C) sets the base zoning standards for a 'home occupation, residential,' the county's category for small professional and service businesses run out of a house, covering trades such as accountants, insurance agents, dressmakers and photographers. The home occupation must be operated by a resident of the dwelling and cannot employ more than two people who do not live on the premises. It has to remain incidental and subordinate to the home's residential use and cannot change the residential character of the property, and no interior or exterior alteration that would change the structure's fire rating is allowed.

Floor area is capped at 25 percent of one floor of the principal structure; if the business instead uses an accessory building, that structure is limited to 25 percent of the residential building's square footage and must sit behind the house, at least 20 feet from the property line and 30 feet from the side yard. No products can be displayed where visible from the street, and only one non-illuminated name plate of up to two square feet may identify the business. All parking for the home occupation has to stay on the property, in the side or rear yard, and truck deliveries are limited to the type and hours typical of ordinary residential mail and package service. Every home business owner must also hold a valid occupational tax certificate, and losing that certificate invalidates the home occupation permit itself.