Lincoln County, SD Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Lincoln County Code § 154.242, adopted by the Board of County Commissioners under Ordinance 0904-05 (passed May 20, 2009), authorizes limited non-residential activity in conjunction with a residence in any zoning district where dwellings are permitted, but only to the extent that the activity is clearly subordinate to the residential or agricultural use of the property. Because the rural county sees a wide range of home-based work, the code splits occupations into two tiers. Minor home occupations, governed by § 154.243, are allowed outright as accessory uses with no public hearing: the business must be conducted entirely inside the dwelling, employ only residents, generate no outside storage or display, and stay invisible from the street.

Major home occupations, § 154.244, cover businesses that outgrow those limits, such as ones using an accessory building, hiring outside employees, or serving an agricultural headquarters. Major occupations split further into Class 1 (up to two non-resident employees and 2,000 square feet of accessory-building space) and Class 2 (agricultural-headquarters based, up to five total employees, run from a completely enclosed farm building at least 200 feet from the road right-of-way). Under § 154.245, any major home occupation requires a conditional use permit processed through §§ 154.375 through 154.386, with the Planning Commission applying the review criteria in § 154.323(A) or (B) before granting or denying the request.

A minor home occupation needs no permit, but exceeding any § 154.243 limit, such as hiring a non-resident employee or storing inventory in a shed, pushes the business into the major-occupation category and triggers the permit requirement.