Franklin County, NC Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

The Unified Development Code lists home occupations within the Accessory, Temporary, and Home Occupation Use Group at Appendix A, § 5.3.10, and confines them to a fixed roster: offices or studios for professionals such as physicians, artists, photographers, lawyers, engineers, architects, and real estate agents; tutoring capped at two students at a time (five on parcels of at least five acres zoned AR or R-30); computer programming; non-profit workshops; customary trades like dressmaking and tailoring; home crafts; a single-operator beauty or barber shop; and leash-only pet grooming.

Beyond that list, § 5.3.10.4.b bars outdoor storage of construction or building materials, exterior product displays, and engine or vehicle repair, and limits mechanical equipment to what a household normally uses so it does not interfere with radio or television reception. The business can use one accessory building up to 1,500 square feet, submitted with a floor plan and site plan, but the whole operation cannot exceed 25% of the dwelling's square footage or 500 square feet, and only one non-resident employee is allowed. Before opening, the owner must obtain a home occupation permit issued by the Administrator in the Planning and Inspections Department; operating without one, or outside these limits, is enforced through the Administrator's notice-and-correction process at § 3.3, with a civil penalty up to $500 per day and possible Class 3 misdemeanor charges under § 3.4.2 for a use that stays uncorrected.