Business Licensing & Operations in Duluth, MN (2026)
7 verified business licensing & operations rules for Duluth, Minnesota, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Duluth requires a city license to operate an adult bookstore or adult entertainment establishment and bars them within 2,000 feet of churches, schools, parks, residential zones, skywalks, pedestrian plazas, and other adult businesses.
Duluth Adult Entertainment Licensing & Spacing
Significant RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 5-21
No license for the ownership or operation of an adult book store or adult entertainment establishment shall be issued and operation of any adult entertainment establishment shall not be allowed within the following areas: ( ... a) Within 2,000 feet of a church, school, public park or building in which programmed, scheduled or supervised educational activity, recreational activity, religious tra...
Massage Establishments
No one may operate a massage establishment in the City of Duluth without a license for each location, and every massage therapist working there must separately hold a city license approved by the chief of police.
Massage Establishment License in Duluth
Significant RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 14-2, § 14-3
Sec. 14.2. License required. No person shall engage in the business of operating a massage establishment either exclusively or in connection with any other business enterprise without first obtaining a license for each massage establishment. Sec. 14.3. Massage establishments; Licenses required. Application for a massage establishment license shall be made to the city clerk on forms supplied by ...
Tobacco Retail License
No one may manufacture, sell, exchange, barter or keep tobacco or tobacco related devices, including electronic cigarettes, for sale in the City of Duluth without first obtaining a license from the city clerk under Chapter 11.
Tobacco and Vape Retail License in Duluth
Significant RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 11-1
(a) For the purposes of this Chapter, the terms "tobacco" and "tobacco related devices" shall have the meanings given them in Section 609.685 of the Minnesota Statutes ... and shall include electronic cigarettes defined as any electronic-smoking device that can be used to deliver nicotine or any other substances to the person inhaling from the device. ... (b) No person or any clerk, servant, em...
Secondhand Dealers
In the City of Duluth, a secondhand dealer who buys or sells items containing gold, silver or platinum must hold a precious metal dealer license under Duluth Legislative Code § 36-17, since the ordinance's definition of 'precious metal dealer' expressly includes secondhand dealers, antique dealers, consignment house dealers and auction house dealers.
Duluth Secondhand Precious-Metal Dealer License
Significant RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code §§ 36-16, 36-17
Precious metal dealer. ... Any person except banks or financial corporations regulated under Title 12, U.S. Code or chapters 47, 48 or 80A of Minnesota Statutes who engages in the business of buying or selling secondhand items containing precious metal, including, but not limited to, jewelry, coins, watches, eating utensils and tableware, candlesticks, religious and decorative objects, ingots a...
Pawnbrokers
In the City of Duluth, no one may operate as a pawnbroker without a license from the city clerk under Duluth Legislative Code § 36-2, and a pawn transaction made without one is void. Licensees must post a $2,000 corporate surety bond under § 36-5 and meet the eligibility standards in Minnesota Statutes § 325J.03(a).
Duluth Pawnbroker License Requirement
Significant RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code §§ 36-2, 36-5
No person shall exercise, carry on, or be engaged in the trade or business of a pawnbroker or act as a pawnbroker within the city unless the person is currently licensed pursuant to the provisions of this Article. A pawn transaction made without the benefit of a license is void. Such license shall authorize the licensee to engage in the pawnbroking business at the premises named on the license....
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Duluth flatly bars motor vehicle repair as a home occupation. Unified Development Chapter § 50-20.5.G.10 prohibits any accessory home-based auto repair, and separately bars repairing vehicles not registered to the owner or leaseholder even without payment.
Duluth Bans Home-Based Auto Repair
Heavy RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 50-20.5.G.10
10. No motor vehicle repair is permitted as an accessory home occupation and repair of motor vehicles not registered to the owner or leaseholder of the property is prohibited regardless of whether the repair is being made for compensation;
Towing Companies
In the City of Duluth, no company may offer emergency wrecker service without a city license under Duluth Legislative Code § 33-246, and licensees must carry liability coverage up to $750,000 per accident and follow a rotation list kept by the chief of police.
Duluth Emergency Wrecker Service Licensing
Significant RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 33-246
No person shall provide or offer to provide emergency wrecker service within the city without being licensed in accordance with this Article, except that persons summoned by the owner or operator of a disabled vehicle or his agent need not be licensed.
Looking for St. Louis County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Duluth city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in St. Louis County →