Rutherford County, TN Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

1 sets the baseline for every home-based business: it must run out of the operator's bona fide residence or an approved accessory building normally associated with residential use, and it cannot alter the dwelling's outside appearance or character. No stock-in-trade may be visible from the street, and the business's equipment and operation cannot create vibration, heat, glare, dust, odor, noise or smoke discernible at the property line, nor electrical or magnetic interference, excess utility draw, or storage of hazardous materials beyond what's normally allowed in a residential structure.

Delivery is restricted to passenger vehicles, mail carriers and express carriers like UPS, FedEx or DHL. 2 permits minor home-based businesses by right in any residential zoning district, including residential portions of an approved planned development, subject to added limits on employees, floor area, vehicles and customer visits. f bars automobile repair, kennels and veterinary clinics, medical and dental clinics, restaurants and clubs, funeral homes, non-premises retail sales, and adult entertainment from qualifying as a minor home-based business; the Planning Director decides whether an unlisted use is similar enough to a listed one to warrant denial. 3, which needs a Special Exception granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals, evaluated against the standards in Chapter 14.