Business Licensing & Operations in Bensalem, PA (2026)
7 verified business licensing & operations rules for Bensalem, Pennsylvania, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Bensalem Township confines adult establishments and sexually-oriented businesses to general industrial districts and bars them within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, residential district boundaries, parks, day-care centers, or other adult establishments. Section 232-702 sets the buffer; the Zoning Hearing Board can waive it under Section 232-703.
Bensalem Adult Business Zoning Buffers
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township Code §§ 232-702, 232-703, 232-707
(a)An adult establishment and/or sexually-oriented business shall be permitted only in general industrial districts, subject to all the regulations applicable to such a zoning district, and further subject to the following additional regulations:(1)It shall be unlawful to establish an adult establishment within 1,000 linear feet of:a.A church, synagogue or regular place of religious worship;b.A...
Massage Establishments
Bensalem's Chapter 142 bars any massage business, health center, or health salon from letting a masseur or masseuse treat a client of the opposite sex, with narrow exceptions for licensed medical providers. Bensalem Township Police and the Bucks County Department of Health can inspect any massage premises during normal hours, and violators face fines up to $600 or 30 days in Bucks County Prison.
Bensalem Massage Business Restrictions
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township Code § 142-1
No person shall operate a massage business, health center or health salon whereby a masseur or masseuse or any other person shall treat a person of the opposite sex. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any of the following type treatments.(1)In the office of a licensed physician, osteopath, chiropractor or a physical therapist.(2)In a regularly established medical center, hospital...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Bensalem's Planned Commerce Park Unified Development (PCD-UD) District, the zoning classification covering large unified retail and office developments, expressly prohibits tattoo parlors as a retail or commercial service use under Code Section 232-493. The ban sits alongside a prohibition on pawn shops, check-cashing facilities, and adult uses in the same district, and applies to any tract developed under either the standard or unified-development use formula.
Tattoo Parlors Banned in Bensalem's PCD-UD District
Heavy RestrictionsBensalem Township Code § 232-493(a)(2)(a), (b)(3)
a.Retail sales and commercial services, provided however that no pawn shops, check cashing facilities, tattoo parlors, or adult uses shall be permitted. ... (3)Retail sales and commercial services. Stores for retail purposes only, provided no goods shall be displayed on the exterior of the premises excluding areas displaying supplies used for landscaping and gardening and all storage shall be w...
Tobacco Retail License
Bensalem Township confines tobacco shops and smoke shops, including vape and e-cigarette retailers, to general industrial districts and requires a special exception before one can open. Section 232-601 also bars any two such shops within 1,000 feet of each other and caps their exterior signage.
Bensalem Tobacco and Smoke Shop Zoning
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township Code § 232-601
Tobacco shop/smoke shop. A retail establishment whose primary or principal product offered for sale is tobacco, smokeless tobacco, tobacco products, vape pens, vape refills, smoking products or similar products. (b)Locational restriction.(1)A tobacco shop or smoke shop be permitted only in general industrial districts by special exception only, subject to all the regulations applicable to such ...
Secondhand Dealers
Bensalem Township requires every secondhand and antique dealer to hold a license from the Building and Planning Department and pay a $200 annual registration fee per location. Dealers must log every transaction, hold items ten working days, and upload sales data daily under Chapter 234 of the Township Code.
Bensalem Township Secondhand Dealer License
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township Code §§ 234-1, 234-2, 234-10
Secondhand dealer or antique dealer. An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other business entity including an itinerant merchant doing business in the Township that purchases or makes appraisals of secondhand or used goods for resale or refining, or an individual who acts as an agent for such individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other business organization or...
Pawnbrokers
Bensalem pawnbrokers must first hold a Pennsylvania pawnbroker license under the 1937 state pawnbroker act before the Township Building and Planning Department will issue a local license under Section 234-2(c). Local rules add a $200 registration fee, recordkeeping, a ten-day holding period, and license suspension tied to state action.
Bensalem Township Pawnbroker License Rules
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township Code §§ 234-1, 234-2(c), 234-10(c)
Pawnbroker. ... An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other business entity, including an itinerant merchant, doing business in the Township that lends money in exchange for personal property deposited by a pledger as security that can be sold if the loan is not repaid within a specified period, and/or engages in purchase and re-sale of any merchandise from a pledger or selle...
Towing Companies
Bensalem Township caps active licensed towers at ten per year and requires anyone offering towing services to the Township or Police Department to hold an annual license, with violations of the towing article fined up to $600 plus jail up to 30 days.
Bensalem Towing License, Ten-Tower Cap
Significant RestrictionsBensalem Township Code §§ 229-22, 229-23(f), 229-32
No person shall offer his services to or be called by the Township or its Police Department as a tower unless that person is the holder of a current towing license as hereinafter provided. ... In order for the police department to provide for the efficient administration and oversight of the licensees, the Township will limit the number of active licensed towers to ten in a year. ... Any person...
Looking for Bucks County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Bensalem city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Bucks County →