Florence County, SC Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 30-98 governs home occupations wherever they are conditionally permitted by the zoning tables. The business must be carried on wholly within the principal building, and the floor area dedicated to it cannot exceed 25 percent of the home's floor area, capped at 400 square feet even if 25 percent would allow more. No activity may be conducted outside, and the yard cannot hold any outdoor storage, display, or refuse area tied to the business. Merchandise or articles cannot be displayed so as to be visible from outside the building, keeping the operation invisible to the street.

Staffing is restricted to people who live in the residence; nobody who does not reside there may be employed in the home occupation. The section also requires that there be no alteration whatsoever of the residential character of the building or premises, so exterior changes that would signal a commercial use are off the table. The occupation, profession, or trade itself must be properly licensed, and it must generate no noise, glare, heat, vibration, smoke, dust, or odor perceptible to adjacent uses, tying the zoning permission to ongoing nuisance-free operation rather than a one-time approval.

Finally, the home occupation cannot involve the retail sale of merchandise manufactured off the premises, which keeps the use focused on services and owner-made goods rather than general retail. Traffic, parking, and signage carry their own separate standards within the same section.