Home Business in Washington (2026)

Running a business from home in Port Townsend requires a home occupation permit and compliance with strict…

Whatcom County sorts home-based businesses into four tiers under WCC § 20.80.970, Types I through IV, each carrying its…

Auburn allows home occupations in any residential zone under a business license, but ACC 18.60.020 imposes 11 numbered…

Bellingham confines home occupations to the main residential building, bars exterior signs of commercial use, and…

Benton County requires a home occupation permit from the Planning Department before running a business out of a house…

Clark County Code 40.260.100 allows home businesses in residential zones if they stay secondary to living use and…

CCC § 18.10.552 lets residents run a home occupation in unincorporated Cowlitz County without a special use permit if…

Edmonds permits home occupations as a secondary use in any residential zone, but ECDC 20.20.010(A) limits an…

Everett allows home occupations by right in any residential zone under Everett Municipal Code 19.13.220, capped at 25…

Federal Way allows home occupations in any residential zone under FWRC 19.270.030, provided the business runs from the…

In unincorporated Franklin County, a home business must stay subordinate to the residential use, be conducted entirely…

In unincorporated Grant County, a home occupation is allowed in any dwelling under Unified Development Code §…

The Planning Director can approve a home occupation in any Kennewick residential unit regardless of zoning designation…

Kent allows home occupations in every zone with a lawfully established dwelling, but caps the business to 300 square…

Unincorporated King County caps home businesses at 20% of a dwelling's floor area and one on-site nonresident employee…

Kirkland allows a home occupation as an accessory use in a single-family home, multifamily unit or Accessory Dwelling…

Kitsap County lets a home business operate in three escalating tiers under KCC § 17.415.275: a no-permit 'incidental'…

Lakewood, Washington permits home occupations in residential zones under LMC 18A.40.110(B)(7), but the business must…

Lynnwood allows a home occupation in any dwelling only after the operator secures a business license under LMC Title 5…

Marysville allows a home business as an accessory use in every residential zone, capped at 25% of dwelling floor area…

Pasco allows a home business only as a use clearly subordinate to a residence, licensed through the Business Licensing…

Unincorporated Pierce County allows home occupations as an accessory use in urban and rural zones under Pierce County…

Home occupations in Puyallup's RS and RM residential zones need a home occupation permit from the development services…

Renton allows home occupations in dwellings and accessory buildings only when the business stays clearly secondary to…

Seattle allows a home occupation outright in every zone as an accessory use to a residence, so no separate zoning…

Skagit County zones home occupations as one of three tiers under SCC 14.18.252: Home-Based Business 1, 2 or 3, each…

SCC 30.28.050 caps a basic home occupation at one outside employee, one-quarter of the dwelling's floor area, a 200-amp…

Spokane County zoning allows two tiers of home-based business in residential zones: a low-impact "home profession"…

Spokane Valley requires anyone running a for-profit enterprise out of a home to obtain a home business permit under…

Tacoma lets residents run home businesses by right in every zoning district under specific "Residential Business"…

Thurston County allows home occupations by right in any residential district, but bars exterior alterations, outdoor…

Yakima's Table 4-2 sorts home occupations into Type 1 (by-right), Type 2 (administrative review) or Type 3 (hearing…

Yakima County allows a minor or major home business inside a single-family dwelling or accessory dwelling unit under…

Everett Municipal Code 19.13.220(A)(12) bans signs of any kind for a home occupation, tying into the section's broader…

In unincorporated Franklin County, a home occupation cannot display any sign, advertisement or other display on the…

Pasco allows no signs, displays, or other advertisement on the property for a licensed home occupation, and bars…

A home occupation that wants to skip Grant County's approval process must post no sign at all under Unified Development…

A Renton home business gets exactly one sign: unilluminated, no larger than 2 square feet, mounted flat against the…

Auburn limits a home occupation to a single nonilluminated sign no larger than 18 by 24 inches under ACC 18.60.020(G)…

Bellingham limits a home-based business to one sign of no more than two square feet per face under BMC 20.12.040. In…

A Benton County home occupation permit under BCC 11.49.030(d) allows only one non-illuminating sign of up to four…

Clark County Code 40.260.100 allows one home-business sign of 2 square feet or less in urban areas, or 6 square feet or…

Kennewick home occupations can't post any exterior advertising except one "residential use sign," which KMC 18.09.1760…

A Kent home occupation gets no sign area beyond the standard residential identification sign: one sign, capped at three…

Unincorporated King County caps home occupation and home industry signs at one nonilluminated wall sign, no bigger than…

A Kirkland home occupation may display only one building-mounted, non-illuminated sign of up to two square feet, under…

Kitsap County's no-permit 'incidental' home business tier bars all advertising signs except a one-square-foot mailbox…

A Lynnwood home business sign is capped at two square feet, whether wall-mounted or freestanding, with freestanding…

Home occupation signs in Marysville can't exceed three square feet and must be a wall sign, monument sign, or one…

A Pierce County home occupation's signage isn't covered by a home-business-specific rule: PCC 18A.37.110(A)(1)(g) sends…

Port Townsend limits home occupation signage to one sign, capped at three square feet, unlit and mounted flat to the…

A Puyallup home occupation is allowed exactly one sign under PMC § 20.75.015(3): up to six square feet, mounted flush…

A Seattle home business may post exactly one sign in a residential zone, and SMC 23.55.020.D.8 caps it at 5 square feet…

Skagit County bars any outside sign at all for a Home-Based Business 1 under SCC 14.18.252(3)(c). Stepping up to…

Unincorporated Snohomish County caps a home occupation sign at two square feet under SCC 30.28.050(1)(f). The sign must…

A Spokane County "home industry" may put up exactly one sign identifying the business, and that sign must be unlighted…

Spokane Valley allows exactly one sign for a home business: SVMC § 19.65.180(A)(2)(e) permits a single unlighted sign…

Tacoma caps home-based business signage at one non-illuminated nameplate under one and one-half square feet, mounted…

A home occupation sign in unincorporated Thurston County is capped at two square feet under Code Section…

Unincorporated Whatcom County caps a home-based business at one on-site sign under WCC § 20.80.470(8), and it cannot…

Yakima limits home-business signage to a single nameplate on the dwelling, capped at two square feet and barred from…

A home business in unincorporated Yakima County can post exactly one nameplate: up to 2 square feet inside the Urban…

A home occupation in unincorporated Cowlitz County can post one sign at the house and one more near the road, but CCC §…

A home occupation sign in Edmonds cannot exceed four square feet, counts against the property's total permitted sign…

Kitsap County's no-permit 'incidental' home business tier bars any client or customer from visiting or meeting at the…

Bellingham exempts home-based businesses that draw no clients or workers to the house, but any home occupation that…

Everett Municipal Code 19.13.220(A)(6)(g) bars any home occupation that operates as an office receiving client visits…

In unincorporated Franklin County, a home occupation cannot require a customer or client to be present while the work…

Thurston County lets home-based businesses see customers on-site, but the traffic that brings creates the tightest tier…

Auburn caps home occupation traffic at eight two-way client or delivery trips per day for appointment-only businesses…

An Edmonds home occupation that draws customer visits caps them at one vehicle per hour, bars visits between 9:00 p.m…

Federal Way caps a home-based business at four visitors a day. FWRC 19.270.030(1)(f) bars any home occupation from…

Unincorporated Grant County home occupations that draw customers to the site must provide off-street parking under…

Kennewick caps home occupation client traffic at four appointment-only customer visits per day, with no more than one…

Kent caps client traffic to a home-based business at four two-way trips per day and requires appointments: only one…

Home occupations in unincorporated King County's R, UR, NB, CB, and RB zones may host customer visits and deliveries…

Kirkland caps a home-based business at six client or customer visits per day and no more than two visitors on site at…

Lakewood, Washington allows on-site client contact for a home occupation, but LMC 18A.40.110(B)(7)(d) caps it at no…

Lynnwood limits any home occupation's traffic and parking impact to normal residential levels and confines…

Marysville limits home-based businesses to no more than 10 average daily round trips by customers: beyond that, the use…

Pasco caps home business client access under PMC 25.150.040(9)-(10): visits run at most four hours a day between 8 a.m…

Pierce County caps when a home-based business can see customers: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. only, under PCC 18A.37.110's general…

Port Townsend caps home occupation permits at five customer or business visits per day: exceed that and the activity…

Puyallup caps home occupation customer traffic with a formula in PMC § 20.75.015(6): lot acreage times a…

Renton caps home occupation customer traffic at eight visits a day, all by appointment only, with just one customer on…

Seattle's home-occupation ordinance caps the vehicle traffic a home business can generate rather than counting…

Skagit County's home-based business tiers turn on client traffic: a Home-Based Business 1 under SCC 14.18.252(3)(f) may…

A "home industry" (a broad-scope home business or bed-and-breakfast operating in agricultural or forest zones) does not…

Spokane Valley caps how much traffic a home business can bring to a residential street: SVMC § 19.65.180(A)(2)(j)…

Tacoma allows on-premises sales at a home-based Residential Business only if customer visits are scheduled by…

Whatcom County caps home-based business client traffic by tier: Type I allows one client at a time and up to five per…

Yakima caps home-business traffic: the operation cannot generate materially greater traffic volumes than an ordinary…

Yakima County caps how much customer and employee parking a home business can create and bans deliveries or customers…

Washington runs a cottage food permit through the state Department of Agriculture, not through the local health…

Auburn follows WA Cottage Food Law RCW 69.22. Home food producers may sell up to $25,000/year of approved low-risk…

Bellevue cottage food producers are regulated by Washington State under RCW 69.22 via WSDA. Sales up to $25,000 per…

Washington lets you sell certain homemade shelf-stable foods from a Benton County kitchen under a WSDA Cottage Food…

Selling home-baked goods requires a Washington State Department of Agriculture cottage food permit under RCW Chapter…

Washington Cottage Food Law (RCW 69.22) allows home production of certain non-hazardous foods with a state Cottage Food…

Home-based food production in Kirkland needs a WSDA Cottage Food Operations permit under RCW 69.22, with sales capped…

Selling homemade non-hazardous foods from a Pierce County home requires a Washington Cottage Food Operation permit from…

Home food businesses in Redmond operate under the Washington Cottage Food Operations Law (RCW 69.22) which allows…

WA Cottage Food Operation Law (RCW 69.22) allows home sale of certain shelf-stable foods with a WSDA permit. Renton…

Selling home-baked or other non-hazardous foods from a Spokane-area home requires a Washington State Department of…

Washington lets you sell certain homemade shelf-stable foods from a Whatcom County kitchen under a WSDA Cottage Food…

Washington lets you sell certain homemade shelf-stable foods from a Yakima County kitchen under a WSDA Cottage Food…

Washington has no microenterprise home kitchen permit. WAC 246-215-08300 bars operating a food establishment without a…

Washington licenses family home child care providers through DCYF and preempts local zoning that would treat licensed…

Family home child care in Bellevue is licensed by Washington DCYF under WAC 110-300. Up to 12 children with required…

A home-based day care in unincorporated Benton County caring for 12 or fewer children is a Child Day Care Facility…

Auburn permits home-based (family) daycare as a right in every residential zone under ACC 18.07.020, provided the…

Bellingham treats state-licensed family child care homes serving up to 12 children as an outright accessory use, but…

Family home child care in Washington is licensed by the Department of Children, Youth, and Families under Chapter…

Edmonds allows a family home day care outright in any residential zone with no permit, but a mini day care center needs…

Federal Way permits family home child care in single-family homes. State-licensed providers caring for 12 or fewer…

A day care facility operated out of a private residence in unincorporated Grant County must meet GCC UDO Section…

Kennewick permits family day care homes by right in every zoning district that allows residences, provided the operator…

Kent permits family home child care in single-family homes. State-licensed providers caring for 12 or fewer children…

King County's zoning code classifies in-home child care by headcount: up to 12 people in a 24-hour period is "Daycare…

Family daycare homes serving 12 or fewer children are allowed as a home occupation in Kirkland residential zones…

Kitsap County allows family day care providers in unincorporated zones where the use is permitted, but conditions the…

Lakewood, Washington treats family day care as a permitted residential use under LMC 18A.40.110(B)(6), provided the…

Lynnwood allows a small home day care, what the code calls 'Mini Day Care' for fewer than 13 individuals, by right in…

Marysville requires a nontransferable day care I permit for home-based child and adult family day care, plus a state…

Pasco allows family day care homes as a permitted accessory use in every single-family zone, but only if the operator…

A home-based day care in unincorporated Pierce County may operate from a residence under PCC 18A.37.100, serving up to…

Family home child care is permitted in every zoning district in Port Townsend, but providers must register with the…

Redmond permits family home child care in residential zones under RCW 35.63.185. Providers need a DCYF state license…

Renton allows family home child care in residential zones. Providers serving up to 12 children must be DCYF-licensed…

Skagit County Code § 14.18.246 allows a family day care provider as an accessory use to a single-family home in…

SCC 30.91F.100 caps a family day care home at 12 or fewer people total, counting both children and adults in care…

Running a child care in your Spokane-area home requires a Washington DCYF family home license. A licensed family home…

Washington law, not the county's home-business chapter, controls in-home daycare in unincorporated Whatcom County: WCC…

Washington law bars Yakima County from zoning family day-care homes out of any residential or commercial district. The…

Franklin County allows home-based day-care in any home in unincorporated Franklin County regardless of its zoning…

Puyallup allows a family day care provider as a permitted use in every RS single-family zone, meaning no conditional…

Seattle treats a licensed family child care business as a home occupation under SMC 23.42.050, permitted outright in…

Licensed family day care providers get special treatment under CCC § 18.10.552. Unlike other home occupations in…

Spokane Valley treats a home day care serving 12 or fewer children as a permitted use in every zoning district in the…

Family day care homes and child care centers are permitted outright in every Tacoma residential zoning district under…

Family day care homes are a permitted use in every residential-allowing zone of the Lacey UGA, no special permit needed.