---
title: Merritt home-based business rules
question: "Can I run a business from my home?"
place: Merritt, British Columbia, Canada
place_path: ca/bc/merritt
category: Starting and running a business
owner: municipal
owner_body: City of Merritt
sources_read: 2026-11-05
review: machine_checked
canonical: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/home-based-business/"
json: "https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/home-based-business.json"
---

# Merritt home-based business rules

**Question:** Can I run a business from my home?

**Short answer:** Yes. In the City of Merritt a home-based business with a valid business licence is allowed in every zone except RC1, as a secondary use to a dwelling. Limits include 40% of the home's floor area, one non-resident employee and two clients at a time.

**Who handles it:** Municipal (City of Merritt, https://www.merritt.ca)  
**Cost:** Same as any business licence: $150 a year plus a $50 one-time non-refundable application fee. Inspections are $50 each if required.  
**Where:**
- Phone: Licensing (Bylaw Services), 250-378-4224
- Email: Licensing, bylaw@merritt.ca
- Phone: Planning & Development Services (zoning questions), 250-378-8615

## Key facts

- **Allowed:** Yes. A home-based business with a valid business licence is permitted in all zones except RC1 (Residential Care Housing), as a secondary use to a dwelling. More than one is allowed per dwelling or parcel.
  - Source: [City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020, 2026 consolidation, s. 4.32.1, 4.32.2](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2284_Zoning-Bylaw_2026.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Home-based Businesses with a valid business licence are permitted in all zones," … "except the RC1 zone, as a Secondary Use to a Dwelling Unit." … "More than one Home-based Business is permitted at a Dwelling Unit or Parcel."
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Business licence:** Yes. Home-based businesses need a business licence: regular licence $150 a year plus a $50 one-time non-refundable application fee. Inspections cost $50 each if required.
  - Source: [City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020, 2026 consolidation, s. 4.32.1](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2284_Zoning-Bylaw_2026.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Home-based Businesses with a valid business licence are permitted in all zones,"
  - Source: [Renew your business licence, Renew page](https://www.merritt.ca/renew-your-businesses-licence-due-march-1/)
  - Official wording: "including home-based operations and transient operators like couriers, are required to maintain a current business licence."
  - Source: [City of Merritt Business Licence Bylaw No. 2268, 2019, Schedules A and B](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Business-Licence-including-ICBLs.pdf)
  - Official wording: "The Regular Business Licence fee in the City of Merritt shall be $150." … "All Applicants, except those listed in section 4 of this Schedule A, shall pay $50 at the" … "For each Inspection by the Building Inspector, Fire Prevention Officer, or Cross"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Limits:** Up to 40% of the main dwelling's floor area (25% with a B&B), no limit in a detached secondary dwelling or accessory building; no exterior storage; one sign in AR1, R1 and R3 only (0.3 m²); one non-resident employee; no commercial deliveries; two clients at a time; 1 parking space per business. (Sources differ: No floor area limit applies in a detached secondary dwelling or accessory building (s. 4.32.4). Sign zones differ: the City web page says one sign in R1 and R2 only; the Zoning Bylaw (s. 4.32.6) says AR1, R1 and R3 'as permitted by the Sign Bylaw'. Bylaw followed. Sign Regulation Bylaw 1900 was not read.)
  - Source: [City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020, 2026 consolidation, s. 4.32.3-4.32.11, Table 5.18](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2284_Zoning-Bylaw_2026.pdf)
  - Official wording: "must not occupy more than 40% of the Floor Area of" … "The Floor Area of the Dwelling used for the Home-based Business is limited to 25% if" … "No exterior storage for a Home-based Business is permitted." … "No more than one person, other than residents of the relevant residence, may be" … "A Home-based Business must not involve delivery of materials to or from the residence" … "must not generate more than two clients to the site at any given time." … "1 per Home-based" … "There is no Floor Area limitation for a Detached Secondary Dwelling or Accessory" … "being so used, except for one home occupation sign in the AR1, R1, and R3 zones, as"
  - Source: [Business Licence, Business Licence page, Sign section](https://www.merritt.ca/business-development/business-licence/)
  - Official wording: "Sign Area: the area of a home occupation sign shall not exceed 0.3 square metres"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Businesses not allowed:** Not allowed in the RC1 zone. Bed and breakfast and short-term rental are separate uses with their own rules, not home-based businesses. A home business must not create a nuisance.
  - Source: [City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020, 2026 consolidation, s. 4.32.1, 4.32.8, definition](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2284_Zoning-Bylaw_2026.pdf)
  - Official wording: "except the RC1 zone, as a Secondary Use to a Dwelling Unit." … "A Home-based Business must not create a Nuisance." … "HOME-BASED BUSINESS means any business other than a Bed and Breakfast or Short-"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06
- **Bylaw:** Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 (s. 4.32); Business Licence Bylaw No. 2268, 2019.
  - Source: [City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020, 2026 consolidation, s. 4.32](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2284_Zoning-Bylaw_2026.pdf)
  - Official wording: "4.32 Home-Based Businesses 4.32.1 Home-based Businesses with a valid business licence are permitted in all zones, except the RC1 zone, as a Secondary Use to a Dwelling Unit. *" … "City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 ____________________________________________________________________________"
  - Source: [City of Merritt Business Licence Bylaw No. 2268, 2019, title](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Business-Licence-including-ICBLs.pdf)
  - Official wording: "Business Licence Bylaw No. 2268, 2019"
  - Check: wording matched the official text retrieved 2026-11-06

## How it works

Under s. 4.32 of the [Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2284_Zoning-Bylaw_2026.pdf), a City of Merritt home-based business with a valid business licence is a permitted secondary use to a dwelling in all zones except RC1 (Residential Care Housing). More than one is allowed per dwelling or parcel. Some comprehensive development zones (for example CD1-RC) set stricter conditions, so check your zone.

## Steps

1. Confirm your zone with Planning at 250-378-8615.
2. Apply for a City business licence ($150 a year plus a $50 one-time non-refundable application fee). A first-year licence is pro-rated monthly, minimum $25.
3. Pay for any inspections the City requires ($50 each).

## Good to know

- **Size:** up to 40% of the main dwelling's floor area (25% with a bed and breakfast). There is no floor area limit in a detached secondary dwelling or accessory building.
- **Staff and visitors:** one non-resident employee, no commercial deliveries, two clients at a time, and 1 parking space per business.
- **Storage and signs:** no exterior storage. One sign (0.3 m2) is allowed in AR1, R1 and R3 only. The City's web page says R1 and R2 only; the bylaw is followed here, so confirm with the City.
- **Not allowed:** RC1 zone. A bed and breakfast and a short-term rental are separate uses with their own rules. A home business must not create a nuisance.
- No list of banned business types was found in the bylaw or licence materials.

## Official forms and pages

- [Zoning Bylaw 2284, section 4.32 (PDF)](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2284_Zoning-Bylaw_2026.pdf)
- [Business Licence (City of Merritt)](https://www.merritt.ca/business-development/business-licence/)

## Related questions

- [Merritt business licences: who needs one, fees and how to apply](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/business-licence.md)
- [Merritt short-term rental rules (Airbnb, Vrbo)](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/short-term-rental.md)

## The same question elsewhere

- [Home-based business rules in British Columbia, by municipality](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/home-based-business.md)
- [Logan Lake](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/logan-lake/home-based-business.md)
- [Lytton](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/lytton/home-based-business.md)
- [Kamloops](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/kamloops/home-based-business.md)
- [Princeton](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/princeton/home-based-business.md)
- [Ashcroft](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/ashcroft/home-based-business.md)
- [Peachland](https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/peachland/home-based-business.md)

## Sources

- [City of Merritt Zoning Bylaw No. 2284, 2020 (PDF), 2026 consolidation](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2284_Zoning-Bylaw_2026.pdf) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Business Licence, City of Merritt](https://www.merritt.ca/business-development/business-licence/) (read 2026-11-05)
- [City of Merritt Business Licence Bylaw No. 2268, 2019 (PDF)](http://www.merritt.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Business-Licence-including-ICBLs.pdf) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Renew your business licence, City of Merritt](https://www.merritt.ca/renew-your-businesses-licence-due-march-1/) (read 2026-11-05)
- [Contact, City of Merritt](https://www.merritt.ca/contact/) (read 2026-11-05)

_Checked by script, not yet by a person: the official wording behind 5 of 5 facts was matched to the official text. Gov Handbook is an independent guide, not affiliated with City of Merritt. How answers are checked: https://govhandbook.com/methods/ · Canonical page: https://govhandbook.com/ca/bc/merritt/home-based-business/_