Home Business in Oregon (2026)
49 rules on the books across Oregon, 13 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.
Beaverton
Some RestrictionsBeaverton requires a Home Occupation Type 1 or Type 2 land-use permit for any home-based business, with the tier set by…
Read full rule →Benton County
Some RestrictionsHome occupations in unincorporated Benton County are zoned by parcel size under BCC §§ 91.200-91.215: floor area caps…
Read full rule →Clackamas County
Some RestrictionsClackamas County ZDO 822 sets two tiers. A Level 1 minor home occupation needs no land use permit but must meet fixed…
Read full rule →Eugene
Some RestrictionsEugene lets residents run a home occupation in any dwelling as long as it stays incidental to the home's residential…
Read full rule →Gresham
Some RestrictionsGresham allows a home-based business as an accessory home occupation in any dwelling and its garage in any residential…
Read full rule →Hillsboro
Some RestrictionsRunning a home-based business in Hillsboro requires a City business license and compliance with Community Development…
Read full rule →Lane County
Some RestrictionsIn the unincorporated county, home occupations are allowed by Lane Code Chapter 16 zoning. A minor home occupation must…
Read full rule →Marion County
Some RestrictionsRural Marion County offers two paths: a Limited Home Occupation, allowed by meeting set standards, and a Conditional…
Read full rule →Medford
Some RestrictionsMedford confines home-based businesses to the interior of the dwelling or an enclosed accessory structure, bans visible…
Read full rule →Multnomah County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated Multnomah County allows a Type A Home Occupation by ministerial registration in any base zone, with…
Read full rule →Portland
Some RestrictionsPortland allows home-based businesses as an accessory use in any residential zone under City Code Chapter 33.203, split…
Read full rule →Salem
Some RestrictionsSalem allows home occupations as a special use in residential zones under SRC 700.020, but confines the business to the…
Read full rule →Washington County
Some RestrictionsWashington County requires a home occupation permit, renewed every year, before any home-based business operates in the…
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.
Gresham
Heavy RestrictionsGresham bans all signage for home occupations: no sign may reveal a home business exists, and nothing visible from the…
Read full rule →Lane County
Significant RestrictionsIn Lane County's Rural Residential (RR) zone, a minor home occupation or home office cannot display any advertising…
Read full rule →Multnomah County
Significant RestrictionsUnincorporated Multnomah County bars any signage for a registered Type A home occupation, while a Type B home…
Read full rule →Beaverton
Some RestrictionsBeaverton caps home-business signage at one name plate no larger than two square feet: no other exterior advertising…
Read full rule →Benton County
Some RestrictionsA home occupation in unincorporated Benton County can't display any external evidence of the business except a sign…
Read full rule →Clackamas County
Some RestrictionsFor home occupations in unincorporated Clackamas County, ZDO 822 allows signs only as permitted under the county's sign…
Read full rule →Eugene
Some RestrictionsA Eugene home occupation is limited to one non-illuminated sign, capped at a maximum of two signs per dwelling and 1½…
Read full rule →Hillsboro
Some RestrictionsA home business sign in Hillsboro is capped by the residential sign rules: 5 signs total per property, with one up to 6…
Read full rule →Washington County
Light RestrictionsA home-based business in unincorporated Washington County may display exactly one identification sign. In a…
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.
Multnomah County
Significant RestrictionsUnincorporated Multnomah County limits home-business foot traffic: Type A home occupations allow two customers on-site…
Read full rule →Beaverton
Some RestrictionsBeaverton limits home-business client visits to 8 per day between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., and requires a Home Occupation…
Read full rule →Benton County
Some RestrictionsEvery home occupation in unincorporated Benton County, no matter the parcel size, is capped at 10 vehicle trips per day…
Read full rule →Eugene
Some RestrictionsEugene's EC 9.5350 Home Occupation Standards cap the traffic a home business can generate: it can't create excessive…
Read full rule →Gresham
Some RestrictionsGresham home occupations must set aside two dedicated on-site parking spaces beyond the dwelling's normal requirement…
Read full rule →Hillsboro
Some RestrictionsHillsboro caps home occupation customer traffic at an average of 10 vehicle trips per day, with no more than 2 customer…
Read full rule →Lane County
Some RestrictionsLane County bars home occupations from generating excessive traffic and requires customer and client contact to happen…
Read full rule →Medford
Some RestrictionsMedford caps combined residential and business vehicle trips to a home-based business at an average of 10 per day over…
Read full rule →Portland
Some RestrictionsPortland limits Type B home occupations to customer visits between 7 am and 9 pm, capping traffic at 15 customers or…
Read full rule →Salem
Some RestrictionsSalem's home occupation standard, SRC 700.020(f), requires that customer and client parking not create a hazard or…
Read full rule →Washington County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Washington County, a home-based business's daily walk-in customer count is capped by which of three…
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.
Oregon: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsOregon lets a home kitchen sell food without any State Department of Agriculture license under ORS 616.723, provided…
Read full rule →Clackamas County
Some RestrictionsOregon's Cottage Food Exemption lets you sell non-potentially-hazardous baked goods and confections from your home…
Read full rule →Lane County
Some RestrictionsOregon's statewide Cottage Food Exemption lets residents make and sell certain low-risk foods from home with no ODA…
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.
Oregon: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsOregon licenses family child care homes through the Department of Early Learning and Care under ORS 329A.250-329A.450…
Read full rule →Beaverton
Some RestrictionsRunning a Beaverton home daycare that has parents or kids visiting requires a Home Occupation Two approval, capped at 8…
Read full rule →Benton County
Some RestrictionsIn unincorporated Benton County, family day care for fewer than 13 children is a permitted outright use in residential…
Read full rule →Eugene
Some RestrictionsEugene lets small day cares serving 4 to 16 people operate in residential zones under EC 9.5200, but at least one owner…
Read full rule →Lane County
Some RestrictionsLane Code 16.290 permits one home child care facility for up to ten children under 13, registered with the State under…
Read full rule →Medford
Some RestrictionsMedford licenses in-home child care as a home-based business, capping a "child day care home" at 16 children and…
Read full rule →Washington County
Some RestrictionsHome-based day care in Washington County's rural AF-10, AF-5 and RR-5 zoning districts is allowed as a Type II use…
Read full rule →Salem
Light RestrictionsA state-registered child day care home caring for up to 16 children, or an adult day care home for five or fewer…
Read full rule →Gresham
Few RestrictionsRegistered (up to 10 kids) and certified (up to 16 kids) family child care homes run by a resident are an accessory…
Read full rule →Hillsboro
Few RestrictionsSmall family child care homes in Hillsboro, licensed for 16 or fewer children, are exempt from the Community…
Read full rule →Multnomah County
Few RestrictionsFamily Day Care for 12 or fewer children run out of a residence is an allowed use, by right, in Multnomah County's…
Read full rule →Portland
Few RestrictionsPortland zoning exempts registered or certified family child care homes for up to 16 children from its accessory home…
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