Orange, CA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Municipal Code Section 17.13.040(KK) defines a home occupation as a use carried on in a dwelling as a secondary use, with no displays or signs on the premises, no other commodity or service sold on-site, and no storage of materials outside the dwelling or an enclosed garage, capped at 500 cubic feet and arranged so it does not block vehicle parking in the garage. Ten numbered restrictions follow: the occupation cannot create light, noise, odor, dust, vibration, fumes or smoke discernible at the parcel's exterior boundary; cannot use mechanical equipment or truck storage beyond reasonable household amounts; can serve no more than one client on-site at a time, though deliveries by bona fide firms are allowed; cannot turn the premises or adjacent right-of-way into an assembly or dispatch point for non-occupants; cannot meaningfully increase off-street parking demand; cannot store flammable substances or hazardous chemicals under Uniform Fire Code Sections 15.101 or 19.101; cannot sell firearms or ammunition except as allowed by Penal Code Section 12078, with one year of purchaser records required; cannot sell, prepare or store food except as a licensed cottage food operation under Section 17.13.040(BB); cannot display vehicles for sale; and cannot sell alcohol except under a Type 85 Limited Off-Sale Retail Wine license per Section 17.30.080. No standalone permit fee is listed in this subsection; compliance is a condition of any business license or building permit tied to the residence.