Business Licensing & Operations in Gary, IN (2026)
6 verified business licensing & operations rules for Gary, Indiana, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
A sexually oriented business in the City of Gary cannot open before 10:00 a.m. or stay open past 11:00 p.m., and it cannot operate at all without a sexually oriented business license from the city controller. Employees also need their own license. The controller can suspend a license for up to 30 days or revoke it for a full year for knowing violations.
Gary Sexually Oriented Business License Rules
Significant RestrictionsGary Municipal Code §§ 10-59, 10-83(a)
No sexually oriented business shall open to do business before 10:00 a.m. or remain open after 11:00 p.m.; provided a sexually oriented business which has obtained a license to sell alcoholic beverages from the state may remain open to sell alcoholic beverages under the terms of that license, but may not conduct sexually oriented entertainment activity after 11:00 p.m. ... It shall be unlawful ...
Massage Establishments
A massage establishment in the City of Gary cannot operate at all without a license from the city controller, and it must stay closed on Sundays and outside the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on other days. The establishment license costs $600.00 a year, and individual masseurs and masseuses need their own $30.00 annual license.
Gary Massage Establishment License and Hours
Significant RestrictionsGary Municipal Code §§ 10-162(14), 10-214(a)
(14)A massage establishment shall not carry on, engage in, or conduct business on Sunday and on other days shall not carry on, engage in, or conduct business before 10:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. ... (a)It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in, conduct, carry on, or to permit to be engaged in, conducted, or carried on, in or upon any premises in the city, the operation of a massage esta...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Gary's Municipal Code doesn't license tattoo or body-piercing shops directly; Sec. 123-217(b)(1)g instead lists tattoo and body piercing establishments, licensed by the state, as a permitted retail and service use in the M1 Limited Manufacturing District, so zoning placement, not a city business-license chapter, controls where one may open.
Gary Zones Tattoo Shops to M1 Manufacturing
Some RestrictionsGary Municipal Code § 123-217(b)(1)g
(1)Retail and service uses, as follows:a.Any use permitted in a business district, excluding all residential dwelling units (including hotels and motels), churches; schools; public auditoriums; open air assembly units; amusement places of any kind. ... g.Tattoo and body piercing establishments, licensed by the state.
Secondhand Dealers
In the City of Gary, Municipal Code § 32-70(b) makes it unlawful to operate as a junk dealer, buying, selling or dismantling scrap metal, rags, paper or old vehicles, without a city license. Section 32-71 requires a written application showing good moral character, and § 32-72 requires a $1,000.00 bond to the city before the city controller will issue the license.
Gary Requires Junk Dealer Licenses and Bonds
Significant RestrictionsGary Municipal Code §§ 32-70, 32-71, 32-72
(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to exercise, carry on, or engage in business as a junk dealer without having first obtained a license from the city for that purpose as provided by this division. ... Every junk dealer and every person desiring to engage in the business of being a junk dealer shall make application in writing to the city controller, setting forth the place at which the app...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Gary's zoning code flatly excludes auto repair from the home occupations residents are allowed to run. Municipal Code § 123-1 defines home occupation to exclude any repair shop on the premises and separately names 'machine shop or automobile repair shop' as a use that can never qualify as a home occupation.
Gary Ban on Home-Based Auto Repair
Heavy RestrictionsGary Municipal Code § 123-1
Home occupation means a gainful occupation or profession customarily carried on by an occupant of a dwelling unit as a use which is clearly incidental to the use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes, and therefore not involving the conduct of a retail business, manufacturing business, or a repair shop of any kind on the premises. ... (2)Shall not be construed to include such uses as th...
Towing Companies
Towing companies that contract with the City of Gary to remove vehicles at a police officer's order must carry $1,000,000 in liability insurance, mark trucks with four-inch owner identification, and stay open 24 hours a day. Article III of Chapter 40 sets the towing rates vehicle owners pay and the per-tow fee the city collects into its general fund.
Gary Contract Towing Company Rules
Some RestrictionsGary Municipal Code §§ 40-154, 40-155, 40-156, 40-161, 40-162
The provisions of this article apply only to towing services while operating under contract with the city. ... Should any towing company violate any provisions of this article, it shall be subject to suspension and or termination of its contract with the city after notice of hearing before the common council's towing committee. ... All commercial towing vehicles operating within the city shall ...
Looking for Lake County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Gary city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Lake County →