Castlegar home-based business rules
Can I run a business from my home?
Short answer
Yes, where your zone allows it. In Castlegar a home-based business is an accessory use of your home. It needs a City business licence (the Home Occupations fee is $100) and must meet limits on floor area, customer visits, employees, hours and signs in Zoning Bylaw 1428.
Key facts
| Allowed | Yes, as an accessory use to a home, done mainly by people who live there. It is a permitted use in the R1, R2, R3, R4, RU, CPA, RMU and C1 to C4 zones. Up to 2 home-based businesses per lot; allowed in accessory buildings and accessory dwelling units.Zoning Bylaw 1428 (consolidated, PDF), sections 5.2 and Table 2, s. 5.2.1, 5.2.2; Zoning Bylaw 1428 (consolidated, PDF), sections 5.2 and Table 2, s. 7.1.2, 7.2.2; Zoning Bylaw 1428 (consolidated, PDF), sections 5.2 and Table 2 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingA Home-Based Business is an Accessory Use to the Principal Residential Use of a Lot. Business activity shall be performed by person(s) residing in the Dwelling unless R1: Low Density Residential R2: Ground-Oriented Multi-Unit Residential Maximum number of Home-Based Businesses The Home-Based Business is permitted in an |
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| Business licence | Yes. Home-based businesses must get the appropriate business licence and building permit where required. The Home Occupations licence fee is $100.Zoning Bylaw 1428 (consolidated, PDF), sections 5.2 and Table 2, s. 5.2.3; Business Licencing Bylaw 1337 (consolidated March 2024, PDF), Schedule A · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingHome-Based Businesses shall obtain the appropriate Business License and Building $150 COMMERCIAL SERVICES (FOOD SERVICES, ENTERTAINMENT, DAYCARES, OTHER) $100 CONTRACTORS $100 HOME OCCUPATIONS $100 INTER-COMMUNITY BUSINESS LICENCE $250 INDUSTRIAL LIGHT TO MEDIUM (SERVICE STATIONS, TRUCK DEPOTS, LUMBER YARDS) |
| Limits | Business may use up to 40% of the home's gross floor area; up to 20 customer visits a week; up to 3 full-time-equivalent employees who live elsewhere; 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; one unlit sign up to 0.3 m². Outdoor storage only in the fenced or screened rear yard, up to 40% of it. Parking: 1 space if clients visit or non-resident staff work there.Zoning Bylaw 1428 (consolidated, PDF), sections 5.2 and Table 2, s. 5.2.14 to 5.2.21 (Table 2); Zoning Bylaw 1428 (consolidated, PDF), sections 5.2 and Table 2, Table 6 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingMaximum Gross Floor Area Percentage Maximum number of customer visits allowed Maximum number of full-time equivalent Shall not exceed 40% of the Rear Yard. 8:00 am-8:00 pm plate not exceeding 0.3m2. If the business has client visits or non-resident employees a minimum of 1 space is required |
| Businesses not allowed | None set. Castlegar's bylaw and City pages list no banned home business types. |
| Bylaw | Zoning Bylaw No. 1428, s. 5.2 and Table 2 (Home-Based Business Regulations); Business Licencing Bylaw No. 1337, 2020Zoning Bylaw 1428 (consolidated, PDF), sections 5.2 and Table 2, s. 5.2.10; Business Licencing Bylaw 1337 (consolidated March 2024, PDF), s. 1.1 · Wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06Official wordingHome-Based Business Use shall comply with the regulations in Table 2: Home-Based This Bylaw may be cited for all purposes as ‘Business Licencing Bylaw No. 1337, 2020’. |
How it works
Under Zoning Bylaw 1428, a home-based business is an accessory use to a home, carried out mainly by the people who live there. It is a permitted use in the R1, R2, R3, R4, RU, CPA, RMU and C1 to C4 zones. You can run up to 2 per lot, including in accessory buildings and accessory dwelling units. Zones not listed do not allow it.
You must get the appropriate business licence and a building permit where required.
Steps
- Confirm your zone allows it (see zoning-lookup) and that your activity fits the limits below.
- Apply for a business licence from Development Services. The Home Occupations fee is $100.
- If you offer food service or personal services such as a hair salon or massage, you must pass a Health Authority inspection.
- Renew by January 31 each year; a $50 penalty applies after that.
Good to know
- Limits (Table 2): up to 40% of the home's gross floor area; up to 20 customer visits a week; up to 3 full-time-equivalent employees who live elsewhere; 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; one unlit sign up to 0.3 m².
- Outdoor storage is allowed only in the fenced or screened rear yard, up to 40% of it.
- Parking: 1 space if clients visit or non-resident staff work there.
- No odour, noxious matter, smoke, fumes, glare, recurring noise, vibration, fire hazard or electrical interference may reach beyond the lot.
- On-premises retail sales and food prepared or sold on site are permitted under Table 2.
- Breaking the Table 2 rules can bring a municipal ticket of $200 for a first offence and $400 for a second (Municipal Ticketing Bylaw 1179).
- The bylaw does not list banned types of home business; Table 2 limits the activity instead. Short-term rentals are handled separately (see short-term-rental).
Official forms and pages
The same question in other places
Fruitvale · Trail · Warfield · Rossland · Montrose · Nelson
Home-based business rules in British Columbia, by municipality →
Sources
- Zoning Bylaw 1428 (consolidated, PDF), sections 5.2 and Table 2 (read 2026-11-05)
- Business Licencing Bylaw 1337 (consolidated March 2024, PDF), City of Castlegar (read 2026-11-05)
- Municipal Ticketing Bylaw 1179 (consolidated, PDF), City of Castlegar (read 2026-11-05)
Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 4 of 5 facts was matched to the official text; 1 is recorded as not set. How answers are checked.