Twin Falls County, ID Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Twin Falls County's home occupation rules sit in Title 8, Chapter 10 of the Zoning and Land Use Title. Section 8-10-2 defines a home occupation as any operation, profession or craft that is incidental to, and conducted within, a dwelling, where the business use stays clearly secondary to the residential use of the property and only immediate family members living in the dwelling run it. Section 8-10-1 puts approval in the hands of the Zoning Administrator, who can approve most home occupations directly but can route a sensitive-nature business, such as a gun shop, daycare or auto repair, to a public hearing instead.

Once approved, section 8-10-3 sets the standards every home occupation has to meet: no external alterations or construction features that are not customary in a residential dwelling, and no external sign of the business apart from a sign permitted elsewhere in the title; any manufactured or sold articles have to stay inside a structure or enclosure, out of view; the business cannot change the character of the dwelling or hurt other uses nearby; the property needs adequate off-street parking for the use; the operation cannot create excessive traffic noise or odors; and any accessory building or enclosure used for the home occupation is capped at one thousand six hundred square feet.

Together these standards keep a home business looking and functioning like an ordinary residence from the street, while still letting county residents run a qualifying business, craft or profession out of their home in the unincorporated area outside the cities' areas of impact.