Home Business in Minnesota (2026)

St. Louis County zones a home business as a commercial use tied to the owner's residence, capped at five employees who…

Washington County requires a Certificate of Compliance for home occupations in the Shoreland Management Overlay…

Woodbury allows home businesses in residential zones only if run entirely inside the dwelling with no exterior signs…

Coon Rapids does not require a zoning permit for a home occupation, but you must comply with all zoning standards. Only…

Carver County permits home occupations in the Agriculture District, offices, trades, salons, dog grooming, teaching…

Home business zoning in Dakota County is decided by your city under Minnesota's municipal zoning law, not by the…

Maple Grove, Minnesota allows home occupations as a residential accessory use only if the business stays invisible from…

Minneapolis allows home-based businesses by right as an accessory use, capping outside help at one nonresident…

Olmsted County lets homeowners run a home business as an accessory use, but caps it at 25% of the dwelling's floor area…

There is no county home-occupation permit. In St. Paul you certify a home occupation by filing a Home Occupation…

Stearns County allows home occupations only when clearly incidental to the home, run solely by residents, confined to…

Saint Paul requires a Home Occupation Affidavit filed with DSI to certify zoning compliance. No fee if standard…

Woodbury flatly prohibits exterior signs advertising a home business: City Code § 24-263(b)(8) bans any sign…

Minneapolis caps home occupation signage at one non-illuminated, flat wall sign of one square foot, with a second…

A home business in Olmsted County's R-A, R-1, R-2, ARC or RSD districts may put up exactly one free-standing sign, and…

Coon Rapids allows one non-illuminated ground sign for a home occupation. It must be 6 square feet or less, no taller…

Sign rules for a home business are set by your city, not Ramsey County. In St. Paul a home occupation may have one…

Saint Paul allows home occupations one identification sign no larger than two square feet. It may not be in a required…

A home business in unincorporated St. Louis County gets no separate sign allowance: Section 6.20.B.6 requires all signs…

A home occupation sign in unincorporated Washington County cannot exceed nine square feet, and Development Code Section…

Home occupations in Carver County must confine business parking to three off-street spaces, and professional services…

Maple Grove, Minnesota limits home occupations to the occupants, one employee, and visiting customers or delivery…

Minneapolis caps home occupations at five customers or clients per day; exceeding that level can be ruled excessive and…

Saint Paul limits home occupation customers to appointment-only visits for fine arts, crafts, and personal services…

A home business permit in St. Louis County isn't automatic once traffic picks up: Section 6.20.B.3 requires the…

A Stearns County home occupation may not generate excessive customer or client traffic that is detrimental to the…

Washington County's Development Code caps traffic generated by a home-based business at the volume a single-family…

Woodbury caps home-business customer visits at five vehicle trips per day and limits deliveries or pick-ups to two…

Minnesota Statutes section 28A.152 establishes the statewide cottage food exemption, allowing home producers to sell…

Under Minnesota's statewide cottage food exemption (Minn. Stat. 28A.152), you may sell non-hazardous homemade foods and…

Cottage food is a statewide exemption, not a county rule. Under Minn. Stat. 28A.152 you must register with the…

Minnesota Stat. 28A allows Saint Paul residents to sell homemade non-hazardous foods directly to consumers, capped at…

Cottage food is a statewide program, so Dakota County home cooks follow Minnesota's cottage food law. You may sell…

Minnesota's Cottage Food Law lets you make and sell non-hazardous homemade food from a Scott County home after…

Minnesota's Cottage Food Law lets you make and sell non-hazardous homemade food from a Wright County home after…

Minnesota has never created a microenterprise home kitchen permit, and its food code closes the door from the other…

Minnesota Statutes sections 245A.14 and 462.357 require cities to treat licensed family child care homes as a permitted…

Dakota County licenses in-home family child care on behalf of the state. A family day care may serve up to 10 children…

In Minnesota, family and group family child care in your home must be licensed. Anoka County processes and monitors…

Carver County allows day care facilities serving ten or fewer people, and residential facilities serving six or fewer…

Maple Grove allows home day care for 14 or fewer children as a permitted R-1 use, with a fenced 600-square-foot play…

Ramsey County IS the licensing agency for family child care. It licenses in-home providers on behalf of MN DHS under…

Saint Paul lets a county-licensed family day care operate in an ordinary home without a conditional use permit. City…

Family day cares in Stearns County must meet single-family setback and appearance standards, keep at least 50 square…

Woodbury allows a licensed home-based daycare serving 12 or fewer children as a permitted accessory use in every…

Minneapolis zoning allows family and group family day care as an accessory use in any residential dwelling, with no…

Family and group family day care is a permitted, by-right use across Olmsted County's A-1, R-1 and R-2 zoning…