Home Business in Kansas (2026)
33 rules on the books across Kansas, 10 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Zoning & Home Occupation Permits
Which businesses you can run from home, the home-occupation permit or registration most cities require, and the conditions attached, floor area caps, signage bans, and prohibited uses.
Shawnee County
Significant RestrictionsRunning a home occupation in unincorporated Shawnee County requires a permit from the county zoning administrator under…
Read full rule →Lenexa
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Lenexa, Kansas, a home occupation is an accessory use limited to 1 non-family employee, 25 percent of…
Read full rule →Olathe
Some RestrictionsOlathe allows a home-based business as an accessory residential use, not a standalone permit process: it just has to…
Read full rule →Overland Park
Some RestrictionsOverland Park allows home occupations as an accessory use to a residence, but the business must stay entirely inside…
Read full rule →Sedgwick County
Some RestrictionsUnder UZC Section IV-E, a home occupation may not occupy more than 50% of the dwelling's gross floor area and may…
Read full rule →Topeka
Some RestrictionsTopeka caps home-based businesses at 25 percent of a dwelling's floor area, one non-resident employee, and public hours…
Read full rule →Wichita
Some RestrictionsWichita's zoning code allows home occupations by right in any dwelling unit or accessory structure, capping floor area…
Read full rule →Wyandotte County
Some RestrictionsRunning a home occupation in Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas's R-1 or R-2 districts requires a home occupation…
Read full rule →Signage Rules
Whether you can put up a sign for your home business, including size limits, placement rules, and which types of signs are allowed.
Shawnee County
Heavy RestrictionsA home occupation in unincorporated Shawnee County cannot have any exterior sign at all. Zoning Regulations Sec…
Read full rule →Topeka
Heavy RestrictionsTopeka bans exterior signs for home-based businesses outright: a home occupation can't erect any exterior sign showing…
Read full rule →Wyandotte County
Heavy RestrictionsHome occupations in Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas's residential districts cannot post any exterior sign or…
Read full rule →Olathe
Significant RestrictionsOlathe home occupations get exactly one sign: a 2-square-foot nameplate on the building's wall near the main entrance…
Read full rule →Lenexa
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Lenexa, Kansas, a home occupation gets one non-illuminated facade sign of no more than 1 square foot…
Read full rule →Wichita
Some RestrictionsWichita caps home occupation signs at two square feet, bans illumination, and requires the sign be mounted flat against…
Read full rule →Customer Traffic Restrictions
Limits on customers and clients visiting a home business, daily visit caps, one-at-a-time rules, employee restrictions, and parking conditions that keep a home occupation from becoming a storefront.
Wyandotte County
Significant RestrictionsA home occupation in Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas's residential districts cannot serve customers on the…
Read full rule →Lenexa
Some RestrictionsIn the City of Lenexa, Kansas, a home occupation cannot generate more than 6 round-trip vehicular trips per day, and…
Read full rule →Olathe
Some RestrictionsOlathe limits home-based businesses to two clients or patrons on site at once, and bars deliveries, visits and business…
Read full rule →Overland Park
Some RestrictionsHome occupations in Overland Park can only see patrons between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., and are capped at 10 business-related…
Read full rule →Shawnee County
Some RestrictionsA home occupation in unincorporated Shawnee County cannot see customers outside an 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. window…
Read full rule →Topeka
Some RestrictionsTopeka's home occupation ordinance treats customer and client visits as the dividing line between an exempt home-based…
Read full rule →Wichita
Some RestrictionsWichita home occupations cannot display or sell inventory to walk-in customers on-site: retail sales are limited to…
Read full rule →Cottage Food Operations
Rules for selling homemade food products from your kitchen, including what foods are allowed, labeling requirements, and annual sales limits.
Kansas: statewide
StatewideFew RestrictionsKansas has no cottage food permit and no annual sales ceiling. K.S.A. 65-689(d)(4) simply exempts a person who produces…
Read full rule →Overland Park
Some RestrictionsKansas exempts shelf-stable homemade foods sold directly to the consumer from food establishment licensing, with no…
Read full rule →Sedgwick County
Some RestrictionsKansas is highly permissive: under K.S.A. 65-689, homemade foods that do not require time and temperature control for…
Read full rule →Home Kitchen Operations
Permits for selling meals cooked to order in a home kitchen, which is a separate legal category from shelf-stable cottage food. Covers daily meal and gross revenue caps, health department inspection, and whether the county has to opt in before residents may apply at all.
Home Daycare
Licensing and zoning rules for running a daycare out of your home, including the number of children allowed, outdoor play area requirements, and safety standards.
Kansas: statewide
StatewideHeavy RestrictionsKansas requires statewide licensing of family day care homes through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment…
Read full rule →Johnson County
Some RestrictionsOperating a preschool or day care center from a house or its accessory building in unincorporated Johnson County…
Read full rule →Lawrence
Some RestrictionsThe City of Lawrence applies Appendix K of the amended International Fire Code (Sec. 8-238) to residential day care…
Read full rule →Olathe
Some RestrictionsOlathe's UDO caps family day-care homes at ten children total, requires the operator to live on-site, and allows only…
Read full rule →Overland Park
Some RestrictionsOverland Park allows licensed day care homes in every residential district as an accessory use. The provider must hold…
Read full rule →Shawnee County
Some RestrictionsRunning a child care home in Shawnee County requires a license from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment…
Read full rule →Topeka
Some RestrictionsTopeka treats an in-home day care serving up to 12 children or adults as a licensed 'day care facility, type I'…
Read full rule →Wichita
Some RestrictionsRunning a family day care home in Wichita requires both state KDHE registration and a City of Wichita home occupation…
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