Business Licensing & Operations in Davis, CA (2026)
5 verified business licensing & operations rules for Davis, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Davis confines sex oriented entertainment businesses to industrial and industrial research districts under Municipal Code Section 40.26.410 and imposes strict buffers: 500 feet from residential areas, schools, parks, and churches, and 1,500 feet from any other sex oriented business. A waiver process exists through the Planning Commission.
Davis Sex Oriented Business Spacing
Significant RestrictionsDavis Municipal Code § 40.26.410(c)(1)
No sex oriented entertainment business shall be established: (A) Except in an industrial (I) or industrial research (I-R) district, or in those areas of a planned development (P-D) district designated for industrial (I) or industrial research (I-R) uses; (B) Within five hundred feet of any area zoned or used for residential purposes; (C) Within one thousand five hundred feet of any other sex or...
Tobacco Retail License
Davis regulates who may sell tobacco, vape products and paraphernalia by adopting Yolo County's tobacco retailer permit code wholesale, with city officials, not county officials, running enforcement, hearings and revocation inside city limits.
Davis Tobacco Retailer Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsDavis Municipal Code § 34.06.010
(a) Title 6, Chapter 15 of the Yolo County Code, pertaining to tobacco retailer permits, and a copy of which is on file in the office of city clerk is hereby adopted, except for Sections 6.15.04, 6.15.10(b)(2), and 6.15.15(f)(1)(A)(ii), by reference into this Code and shall be enforced within the limits of the city. The provisions of such are hereby referred to, adopted, and made a part hereof ...
Secondhand Dealers
Davis requires anyone running a fixed-location business buying or selling junk, rubbish, or used articles such as scrap metal, tires, and precious metals to hold a city business license and pay a $600 annual tax under the municipal code's business license tax schedule.
Davis Junk and Secondhand Dealer License
Some RestrictionsDavis Municipal Code § 19.04.090(g)
Junk dealers or dealers in old and/or used articles. Every person, at a fixed place of business in the city, engaged in the business of carrying on or collecting, buying or selling, at either retail or wholesale, or otherwise dealing in junk and/or rubbish, waste material, refuse and/or any old rags, sacks, bottles, cans, papers, metals, jewelry, precious metals, rubber, bric-a-brac, cordage, t...
Pawnbrokers
Davis pawnbrokers must hold a city business license and pay a flat $600 annual tax under Municipal Code Section 19.04.090(h), separate from the percentage-of-receipts formula that applies to most other licensed businesses in the city.
Davis Pawnbroker Business License Tax
Some RestrictionsDavis Municipal Code § 19.04.090(h)
Pawnbrokers. Six hundred dollars per year.
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Davis Municipal Code Section 40.26.150(b)(11) flatly prohibits auto, motorcycle, boat, and trailer repair shops as home occupations. A resident cannot obtain a home occupation permit for a vehicle repair business no matter the lot size, and the same subsection also bars kennels, funeral homes, and medical clinics from residential zones.
Davis Bars Home Auto Repair Shops
Heavy RestrictionsDavis Municipal Code § 40.26.150(b)(11)
(b) Exclusions. ... The following uses are examples of those uses which are specifically prohibited: ... (11) Auto or motorcycle, boat or trailer, similar type repair shops;
Looking for Yolo County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Davis city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Yolo County →