Business Licensing & Operations in Hollywood, FL (2026)
7 verified business licensing & operations rules for Hollywood, Florida, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Hollywood requires a separate Adult Entertainment License for each activity type an establishment offers, issued by the Department of Planning and Development Services and collected by the Treasury Division. These businesses may open only in specific commercial and industrial zoning districts and must meet strict distance separations from other adult uses, churches, schools and residential areas, with no variances allowed.
Hollywood FL Adult Entertainment License and Spacing
Significant RestrictionsHollywood Code of Ordinances § 11.30
A. Zoning. Notwithstanding any other provision of the City of Hollywood Zoning and Land Development Regulations, no person shall propose, cause or permit the operation of or enlargement of (except when an enlargement is required by law) an adult entertainment establishment except in districts with the following zoning designations: C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, IM-1, IM-2, IM-3, IM-4, PEDD (or the e...
Massage Establishments
Every massage establishment in Hollywood must hold a Certificate of Use under § 3.23(F) and post it, along with each therapist's state and local license, in plain view. New locations must also clear a 2,500-foot buffer from any other massage establishment before the city issues that certificate.
Hollywood Massage Establishment Licensing Rules
Some RestrictionsHollywood Code of Ordinances § 3.23(F)
F. There shall be a 2,500 linear foot distance separation requirement between a massage establishment and another massage establishment. All massage establishments shall adhere to any and all state law requirements and shall abide by the following provisions: 1. All massage establishments shall ensure that all massage therapists shall post in an easily viewable conspicuous place his or her st...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Hollywood classifies tattoo and body piercing establishments as adult businesses under City Code Article VI. Shops may operate only in the IM-1 industrial zoning district, must sit at least 1,000 feet from any residential-zoned area and 500 feet from a pre-existing church or school, and the city grants no variance from those distances for any reason. Operators must also submit the tattooist's medical or dental license and the names of supervised staff.
Hollywood FL Tattoo Shop Licensing Rules
Significant RestrictionsHollywood Code of Ordinances §§ 11.102, 11.104
A. Zoning. Notwithstanding any other provision of the City of Hollywood Zoning and Land Development Regulations, no person or entity shall propose cause or permit the operation of an adult business except in a district with a zoning designation of IM-1. B. Distance limitation. None of the adult businesses set forth in this chapter shall be located within any of the following distances: 1. 1000 ...
Tobacco Retail License
Hollywood's code defines a smoke shop to include vape and e-cigarette retailers, and § 3.23(J) keeps every smoke shop 2,500 feet from the next one, 1,200 feet from a social service facility, 500 feet from a school, day care, or place of worship, and 2,500 feet from a marijuana dispensing facility.
Hollywood Smoke Shop and Vape Zoning Rules
Significant RestrictionsHollywood Code of Ordinances § 3.23(J)
J. The distance separation requirement minimums for smoke shops shall be as follows: 1. 2,500 linear feet between smoke shops; 2. 1,200 linear feet from a preexisting social service facility; 3. 500 linear feet from an established place of worship or school/licensed day care center; 4. 2,500 linear feet of an established medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility.
Secondhand Dealers
Anyone buying, selling, bartering, or pawning secondhand goods in Hollywood needs an annual local business tax receipt from the Director of Financial Services under City Code Chapter 121. The tax runs $250 to $1,500 a year based on sales volume, and the term "secondhand dealer" expressly folds in pawnbrokers and anyone lending money against pledged goods.
Secondhand Dealer Licensing (Hollywood, FL)
Significant RestrictionsHollywood Code of Ordinances § 121.02(A)(1)
Every applicant for a local business tax receipt to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer shall file with the Director of Financial Services or his/her designee a written application upon a form prepared and provided by the city, signed by the applicant. The local business tax shall be as follows: (a) For businesses which transact less than $5,000 a year worth of business in secondhand ...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Hollywood's home-based business tax receipt flatly bars using a residence for manufacturing, storing, distributing or repairing merchandise, so a home garage cannot operate as a paid auto repair shop. Code of Ordinances § 110.21(A) makes this a condition of the home-based tax receipt, enforced by the Director of Financial Services.
Hollywood Bars Home-Based Repair Business
Heavy RestrictionsHollywood Code of Ordinances § 110.21(A)
Any person engaged in a personal profession or occupation which requires the use of his/her own personal residence and which does not involve the manufacturing, storing, distribution or repair of any merchandise in the home or on the premises may apply for a home-based local business tax receipt. Such home-based profession or occupation shall not be detectible in any way from the outside of the...
Towing Companies
Hollywood tightly regulates non-consent towing from private property under Code of Ordinances Chapter 111. A wrecker and towing service can only tow an unauthorized vehicle after the property posts a compliant warning sign or gives personal notice, and after getting dated, signed written direction from the property owner for most properties.
Hollywood Private Property Towing Rules
Significant RestrictionsHollywood Code of Ordinances § 111.02
(A) When ordered by someone other than the owner or custodian of a vehicle or the authorized agent of such owner or custodian or by someone other than law enforcement personnel, a vehicle may be towed or otherwise removed, except by vehicle entry, from private property by a wrecker and towing service when the property is appurtenant to or obviously a part of a single-family residence or in th...
Looking for Broward County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Hollywood city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Broward County →