Business Licensing & Operations in Cupertino, CA (2026)
3 verified business licensing & operations rules for Cupertino, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Cupertino bars adult bookstores, adult theaters, adult cabarets, public dancehalls and massage parlors within 1,000 feet of each other, of any hotel or motel, or of residential, public or quasi-public property, unless the city issues a conditional use permit under Chapter 19.156.
Cupertino Adult Business Spacing Rules
Significant RestrictionsCupertino Municipal Code § 19.128.030
no lot or parcel of any property in any zoning district or any building or structure thereon or any portion thereof, shall be used for an adult bookstore, adult motion picture theater, adult cabaret, public dancehall or massage parlor at a location closer than one thousand feet to any other such use situated within or outside the City or closer than one thousand feet to any hotel, motel or lodg...
Massage Establishments
Cupertino requires anyone operating a massage establishment to hold a separate City Manager license for each location, on top of a standard business license. Chapter 9.06 exempts establishments that employ only CAMTC-certified therapists from the establishment license, but licensed or not, operating with a suspended, revoked, or expired license is unlawful.
Cupertino Massage Establishment License Requirement
Significant RestrictionsCupertino Municipal Code § 9.06.040
It is unlawful for any person to engage in, conduct or carry out, in or upon any premises within the City, the operation of a massage establishment without a massage establishment license obtained from the City Manager. In addition to a City business license, a separate establishment license shall be obtained for each separate massage establishment operated by such person. ... It is unlawful to...
Tobacco Retail License
Cupertino requires a Tobacco Retailer Permit from the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health before any store may sell tobacco products, but Municipal Code Section 5.50.030 bars the sale or distribution of Electronic Cigarette Products outright, so no permit, zoning approval, or storefront licensing path exists for vape retailing anywhere in the city.
Cupertino Tobacco Retailer Permits Ban Vape Sales
Heavy RestrictionsCupertino Municipal Code § 5.50.030
Permit required. ... It shall be unlawful for any Person to act as a Retailer without first obtaining and maintaining a Permit pursuant to this Chapter for each location at which Retailing occurs. ... Prohibition on Sale or Distribution of ... Electronic Cigarette Products. No person, whether or not issued a Permit, shall Sell or Distribute Electronic Cigarette Products.
Looking for Santa Clara County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Cupertino city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Santa Clara County →