Business Licensing & Operations in Dunwoody, GA (2026)
7 verified business licensing & operations rules for Dunwoody, Georgia, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Dunwoody requires a city license to operate or work at a sexually oriented business and bars them within 500 feet of residential zoning, 600 feet of any alcohol-licensed business, and 1,000 feet of any place of worship or school. Businesses must also close between midnight and 6:00 a.m. under Code of Ordinances Chapter 10, Article VIII.
Dunwoody Sexually Oriented Business Rules
Significant RestrictionsDunwoody Code of Ordinances §§ 10-232(a), 10-249(a)
(a)Business license. ... It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a sexually oriented business in the city without a valid sexually oriented business license. ... (a)Distance. It shall be unlawful to establish, operate, or cause to be operated a sexually oriented business in the city, unless said sexually oriented business is at least:(1)500 feet from any parcel in the city zoned R-200, R...
Massage Establishments
Dunwoody requires every massage or spa establishment to hold a separate city license in addition to its occupation tax certificate, pass a ten-year criminal background check on owners and managers, and operate only between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., with a nonrefundable annual fee due each December.
Dunwoody Massage Establishment License
Significant RestrictionsDunwoody Code of Ordinances §§ 10-269(a), 10-270(a)-(b), 10-272(g)
(a)In addition to obtaining an occupation tax certificate pursuant to this chapter, all persons, firms or corporations operating or desiring to operate a massage or spa establishment shall, before engaging in such trade, business or profession, make application for a license in the form and manner prescribed in this article. ... (a)There shall be an annual regulatory fee, consisting of a nonref...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Dunwoody's zoning code allows body art establishments, meaning tattoo, piercing, cosmetic tattoo, branding and scarification businesses, only in the C-2 community commercial and M industrial districts. The § 27-72 use table marks every office, retail and neighborhood-commercial district closed to the use, and the city has no separate body-art licensing article.
Dunwoody Body Art Business Zoning Limits
Some RestrictionsDunwoody Code of Ordinances § 27-72 (use table); § 27-114(1)a
USES DISTRICTS Supplemental Regulations O-I O-I-T O-D OCR NS C-1 CR-1 C-2 M ... Adult Use Body art service P P ... Body art service. Provision of any of the following procedures: body piercing, tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, branding or scarification. This definition does not include practices that are considered medical procedures by the Georgia Composite Medical Board, which may not b...
Secondhand Dealers
Dunwoody requires anyone who buys, sells or trades regulated secondhand items, including precious metals, gems and pledged goods, to hold a city permit. New dealerships cannot open within 2,500 feet of an existing one, and applicants face a ten-year criminal history bar.
Dunwoody Secondhand Dealer Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsDunwoody Code of Ordinances §§ 10-52, 10-55(a), 10-57(2)
No person shall acquire any regulated secondhand items or transfer any previously acquired regulated secondhand items as a secondhand dealer, or become an employee of a secondhand dealer, without a permit. ... (a)Qualifications. All secondhand dealers and employees, as defined herein, shall be not less than 18 years of age. Any person who has been convicted of or pled guilty to any felony, any ...
Pawnbrokers
Dunwoody's secondhand dealer ordinance defines pawnbroker separately from an ordinary secondhand dealer and layers pawnbroker-specific duties on top of the general permit, including a duty to replace lost or damaged pledged goods with like-kind merchandise. The city is explicit that its rules are cumulative to, not a substitute for, Georgia's Pawnshop Act.
Dunwoody Pawnbroker Licensing Rules
Significant RestrictionsDunwoody Code of Ordinances §§ 10-51, 10-68, 10-70
Pawnbroker means any person engaged in whole or in part in the business of lending money on the security of pledged goods, or in the business of purchasing tangible personal property on the condition that it may be redeemed or repurchased by the seller for a fixed price within a fixed period of time, or in the business of purchasing tangible personal property from persons or sources other than ...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Dunwoody's home occupation rules flatly prohibit running a vehicle repair business out of a residence. Section 27-168(d)(1) bars any assembly, cleaning, maintenance, or repair of vehicles or equipment with internal combustion engines as a home occupation, alongside large-appliance repair, tow-truck dispatching, and several other listed trades.
Dunwoody Bans Home Auto Repair Businesses
Heavy RestrictionsDunwoody Code of Ordinances § 27-168(d)(1)
(d)Prohibited home occupations. The following uses are expressly prohibited as home occupations:(1)Any type of assembly, cleaning, maintenance or repair of vehicles or equipment with internal combustion engines or of large appliances (such as washing machines, clothes dryers or refrigerators).
Towing Companies
Dunwoody bars parking on private residential property without the owner's permission and lets the property owner have a trespassing vehicle towed. Under section 30-6, city police give the property owner the name and phone number of the city's authorized wrecker service rather than call the tow truck themselves, keeping the removal decision with the property owner.
Dunwoody Private Property Trespass Towing Rules
Some RestrictionsDunwoody Code of Ordinances § 30-6
Wrecker orwrecker service means an automotive vehicle with hoisting apparatus and equipment for towing vehicles which meets the qualifications imposed by the state public service commission and the city for nonconsensual towing pursuant to the provisions of O.C.G.A. § 44-1-13, as may be amended from time to time, and chapter 11 of the transportation rules of the state public service commission,...
Looking for DeKalb County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Dunwoody city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in DeKalb County →