Business Licensing & Operations in Gulfport, FL (2026)
6 verified business licensing & operations rules for Gulfport, Florida, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Gulfport requires a city adult use permit before any adult arcade, bookstore, theater, special cabaret or physical culture establishment can open, and bars these businesses within 300 feet of a home, 1,000 feet of a church, school or child care facility, and 1,500 feet of any other adult use.
Gulfport Adult Use Permit and Spacing Rules
Significant RestrictionsGulfport Code of Ordinances § 22-19.05
No adult use business establishment may be located within three hundred (300) feet of any residential land use property, nor within one thousand (1,000) feet of any church, school, child care facility, or public recreation area which has been established or which has received legal authority to be established, whether the same is located within the City of Gulfport or not. ... No adult use busi...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Gulfport's zoning code does not license tattoo or body piercing shops directly, but it names them outright as a prohibited use within the Waterfront Redevelopment Overlay District, the corridor along Beach Boulevard, under Code of Ordinances § 22-5.08(b)(8)e. No other tattoo-specific zoning restriction appears elsewhere in the reviewed code.
Gulfport Bans Tattoo Shops on Beach Blvd
Significant RestrictionsGulfport Code of Ordinances § 22-5.08(b)(8)e
e.Prohibited uses. The uses listed below are prohibited from locating in the WROD.1.Restaurants.2.Bars, pubs and other businesses reliant on the sale of alcoholic beverages.3.Raves, dance clubs and other like assembly uses.4.Tattoo/body piercing establishments.5.Lingerie shops in conjunction with modeling services.6.Medical offices.7.Medical clinics.8.Dental services.9.Gun shops.10.Pawn shops.1...
Secondhand Dealers
Secondhand stores in Gulfport need a city occupational license before opening, priced by what they sell: $60.00 a year for clothing dealers and $80.00 for dealers in any other secondhand commodity. The fee schedule keeps true secondhand stores separate from junk dealers, a different license category entirely.
Gulfport Secondhand Store License Fees
Some RestrictionsGulfport Code of Ordinances §§ 13-1(4), 13-2, 13-34(281)
Junk dealers: Any person buying and selling junk, waste and used materials; provided, however, this definition shall not include duly licensed wrecking yards or secondhand stores duly licensed as such under the provisions of this chapter when such secondhand stores confine their sales to household furnishings or the sale of wearing apparel. ... (281)Secondhand Stores: ... ..(a)Dealers in clothi...
Pawnbrokers
Anyone lending money in Gulfport against pledged personal property must hold a city occupational license as a pawnbroker before opening. City Code defines the trade and requires a license under the general business-license article, and the fee schedule sets the annual charge at $300.00, one of the highest flat fees on the city's list.
Gulfport Pawnbroker License Required
Some RestrictionsGulfport Code of Ordinances §§ 13-1(9), 13-2, 13-34(230)
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for any person to engage in, conduct, manage, practice, carry on or otherwise do business, within the city, any business, trade, occupation, profession or other calling, for which a license is required under this chapter, unless such person ... obtains from the city such license and pays in advance therefor the fee required for such license. ...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Gulfport's zoning code lists auto repair among the home occupations it will not license. Sec. 22-6.03(d)(13)a bars auto repair, along with engine and machine repair, boat building, welding and metal fabrication, from operating out of a residential dwelling anywhere in the city.
Gulfport Bans Home-Based Auto Repair
Heavy RestrictionsGulfport Code of Ordinances § 22-6.03(d)(13)
(13)The following, and all similar uses, shall not be permitted as home occupations:a.Auto repair;b.Engine, machine, tools, electronic equipment or appliance repair;c.Personal services, including massage, hair styling or cutting, grooming and cosmetology;d.Tea rooms;e.Food sales, service or processing;f.Animal sales, grooming or boarding;g.Construction contracting;h.Medical office;i.Real estate...
Towing Companies
Gulfport requires a wrecking or towing service to carry an annual city business license under Code Section 13-34, priced at $40.00 unless the company already holds one of the higher automobile dealer, agency or garage license classes. Licenses run on the city's October 1 renewal cycle.
Gulfport Towing and Wrecker Service License
Some RestrictionsGulfport Code of Ordinances §§ 13-2, 13-34(23)(d)(5)
It shall be unlawful and a violation of this chapter for any person to engage in, conduct, manage, practice, carry on or otherwise do business, within the city, any business, trade, occupation, profession or other calling, for which a license is required under this chapter, unless such person, prior to the time he first engages in, conducts, manages, practices or otherwise carries on, within th...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Gulfport city rules.
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