A Home Occupation Permit is required for any home occupation that is primarily conducted within a residential dwelling unit and is considered an accessory use of the dwelling unit.

• Home Occupation Permit Application(DOCX, 196KB)

Note: Home Occupation Permits are not required for "home offices" when they are used for tele-working or are not associated with a particular business. They are required when the primary location of a business, or any location where goods and services are provided or shipped, is a residential dwelling unit.

One of the following permits is required to operate a childcare facility in Chapel Hill. There are two types of Child Care Licenses:

1. Family Child Care Home
Requires a Home Occupation Permit ✔
GS 110-86(3) Family childcare home is allowed to provide care for one of the following groups of children, including the operator's own preschool-age children and excluding the operator's own school-age children up to 13 years of age:

1. A maximum of eight children, with no more than five children who are from birth to 5 years of age, plus three school-age children.
2. A maximum of three children from birth to 24 months of age, plus three children from 2 to 5 years of age and three school-age children up to 13 years of age, for a total of nine children.
3. A maximum of 10 children if all children are older than 24 months of age.

 2. Child Care Center- the Town of Chapel Hill

1.  Requires a Business Occupancy Application ✔
2. In addition, you may also need to submit a separate application to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services- Division of Child Development and Early Education.
3. Learn more about the NC Department of Health and Human Services application.

All signs visible from the public right of way require an approved sign permit and must meet the specifications listed in LUMO 5.14.

• Sign Permit Application(PDF, 266KB)

Signs exempt from a sign permit are listed in LUMO 5.14.3, and include signs like:
Temporary real estate, construction, political, yard sale, public event, and grand opening signs.

Permits to sell alcoholic beverages are administered by the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC). To sell alcoholic beverages in Chapel Hill you must:

1. Go to the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) website and complete their forms.

2. Email the Inspection Zoning Compliance form from the NC ABC’s permit package to the Town of Chapel Hill Inspection department: permits@townofchapelhill.org

3. The Town's Inspections Department will help you schedule Building and Fire Inspections

4. Obtain a Town license through Revenue

ABC License Forms and Fees

View Form(DOCX, 113KB)

ABC License Fees

Code of Ordinances

Chapter 10 LICENSES AND BUSINESS REGULATIONS

ARTICLE VII. LICENSES FOR SPECIFIC BUSINESSES

Sec. 10-151. Alcoholic beverages--retail.

(a)   Every person engaged in the business of selling at retail within the corporate limits of the town malt beverages, including beer, as defined in North Carolina General Statutes Section 105-113.68 shall pay a license tax of:

(b)   Every person engaged in the business of selling at retail within the corporate limits of the town unfortified wine, as defined in North Carolina General Statutes Section 105-113.68 shall pay a license tax of:

(c)   The privilege license tax for retailers of fortified wines shall be the same as for retailers of unfortified wines; retailers of both unfortified and fortified wine shall pay only the license tax rate applicable to unfortified wine.

(d)   The rate of license tax levied under this section shall be for the first license issued to one (1) person; for each additional license issued to one (1) person an additional tax of ten (10) percent of the base tax shall be levied, such increase to apply progressively for each additional license issued to one (1) person.

(e)   All licenses issued under this section are annual licenses for the period May 1 to April 30.

(Ord. No. 2001-4-09/O-5, § II; Ord. No. 2010-03-08/O-1, § 1

Permits are required when food truck/food carts operate in the following places and conditions:

• On private property.

• For temporary events on Town property, vendors wishing to sell food must apply for an Outdoor Special Events Permit from the Town Parks and Recreation Department.

Vendor Application  

• Zoning Compliance Permit for Food Truck Vending - Vendor Application (PDF, 68KB)

Owner Application 

• Zoning Compliance Permit for Food Truck Vending – Property Owner Application(PDF, 116KB) (PDF, 116KB)

• Orange County Health Department Permit

• Your food truck must have a restaurant or commissary that serves as a base of operations for the food truck.

• Permitting and inspection of the mobile food unit is the responsibility of the county health department that holds jurisdiction over the vendor's restaurant or commissary.

• Each food truck is assigned a number that is tracked by NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 

• Food trucks may cross county lines to conduct business, and they are subject to inspection by each county health department where they are doing business. Health inspection violations are handled in the same manner as restaurant health inspections.

A Food Truck Permit is not required: when food truck/food carts operate in the following places and conditions:

• On private residential property for one day only (catering a private party, for example), and the food is not being sold to the general public.

• On UNC-Chapel Hill property. The vendor must make arrangements directly with UNC administration.

• Temporary events on private property (shopping center, office park, community clubhouse, or public school, for example) as these events are covered under a separate event permit obtained by the event organizer. In this case, the food truck vendor will not be required their own permit.

• If concerned with unsanitary conditions of a food truck: Contact the Orange County Health Department at 919-245-2360. 

Visit this page for information about the following types of outdoor event permits: 

• Events that are on public property – Town parks, sidewalks, public streets, parking lots, etc.
• Events on private property that meet the following conditions: 
  •  The event size or activities may impact nearby residents or businesses; or
  • The event is publicly advertised and open to the public; or
  • The event is near a public street or parking lot