Montgomery County, VA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Sec 10-41(4) of the county zoning ordinance permits home occupations and home businesses in the districts where they're allowed, as defined in Article VI, subject to a specific set of limits. Family members residing on the premises may work in the business without restriction. A home business, in addition to resident family members, may add up to two nonresident, nonfamily employees, treated as the equivalent of two full-time workers at forty hours a week, and each such employee triggers a requirement for one additional off-street parking space, which cannot sit in the required front yard unless it's on an existing driveway.

The use of the dwelling for the occupation or business must remain clearly incidental and subordinate to its residential use, and the space devoted to the business cannot exceed 25 percent of the dwelling unit's gross floor area. The Zoning Administrator in Planning and GIS Services enforces these standards countywide in the unincorporated area; Blacksburg and Christiansburg, as self-governing towns, set their own home occupation rules.