- Home occupation permit required:
- Conditional
- Details:
- Roanoke City requires a Business License Zoning Verification form for home occupations (Section 36.2-413). Standard home occupations prohibit clients/customers visiting the home. Sales from home to customers visiting in person may be restricted under the 'no customer visit' standard. Operators should contact Roanoke Planning, Building & Development at (540) 853-1090 to confirm whether cottage food customer pickup triggers the 'personal service home occupation' classification or falls under general home occupation standards.
- Home kitchen:
- Virginia state law (Va. Code §3.2-5130) allows home kitchen production of non-TCS shelf-stable cottage foods with no registration or inspection required. Direct sales only; no wholesale. Tiered cap: no stated cap for most cottage foods; $9,000 annual cap for pickles/acidified vegetables. Roanoke City Zoning Code Section 36.2-413 regulates home occupations: must be conducted entirely within the interior of the principal residential structure, limited to 250 sq ft, no exterior changes, no outdoor storage, no commercial vehicles, no clients visiting home for standard home occupations.
Last verified 2026-05-05. Not legal advice.
