York County, SC Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 155.670 applies the home occupation rules to any occupation, profession or business activity 'customarily conducted, incidental, and subordinate' to a dwelling's residential use, run by a resident, in any zoning district. Section 155.671 requires a valid, annually renewable home occupation permit for most activities, with a site plan required for a 'large lot' home occupation involving outdoor activity or storage. Section 155.672 exempts six categories from the permit itself (though not from the standards): artists, sculptors and composers with no on-site retail; craft work such as jewelry-making and pottery with no on-site retail; home offices with no client visits; telephone answering and message services; home-based food production under S.C.

Code § 44-1-143; and day care for six or fewer children registered with the state. Section 155.673 splits home occupations into 'large lot' (two acres or more, allowed to be more intensive) and 'small lot' (under two acres, stricter standards), and § 155.674's use table bars certain uses outright regardless of lot size, including automotive repair, dance or gymnastic studios, hotels or motels, on-site retail, outdoor recreation, public or private clubs, restaurants and tattoo and body piercing establishments. Section 155.675's performance standards cap the use at 5,000 square feet total on a large lot, or 25% of the house's floor area (or a 1,500-square-foot accessory building) on a small lot; limit non-resident employees to two on a large lot or one on a small lot; and cap client visits at six per day (twelve for a large-lot music, art or craft instruction use), all occurring between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Section 155.676 lets the Planning and Development Services Director order an unsafe home occupation corrected or terminated, including revoking the permit.