Business Licensing & Operations in Inglewood, CA (2026)
8 verified business licensing & operations rules for Inglewood, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Inglewood requires adult cabarets and adult live entertainment theaters to hold three separate approvals before opening: a business license from the Finance Department, a Special Use Permit from the Planning Commission or City Council, and a Building Permit from the City Building Official, per Municipal Code § 8-69.
Inglewood Adult Cabaret & Theater Permits
Significant RestrictionsInglewood, CA, Municipal Code § 8-69
It shall be unlawful for any owner, operator, licensee, landlord, tenant, manager, agent, independent contractor, or employee to operate, encourage or maintain any of the following types of businesses without first obtaining a business license from the Finance Department after the approval of the Permits and Licensing Committee, a Special Use Permit from the Planning Commission or City Council,...
Massage Establishments
Massage establishments in Inglewood need a business license, Special Use Permit, and Building Permit under § 8-69, and every individual masseur or masseuse must separately hold a permit from the Chief of Police under § 8-69.1 before performing or being employed to perform massage.
Inglewood Massage Establishment Licensing
Significant RestrictionsInglewood, CA, Municipal Code § 8-69.1; § 8-69
It shall be unlawful to administer to any other person any massage, any alcohol rub or similar treatment, fomentation, any bath or any electric or magnetic treatment without a permit from the Chief of Police. It shall be unlawful for any person to be employed in any such establishment where any such massage, alcohol rub or similar treatment, fomentation, any bath or any electric or magnetic tre...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Tattoo parlors, including body piercing shops, may only operate in Inglewood's C-1 Limited Commercial Zone with a Special Use Permit under Section 12-23.0(A)(22); the same use is flatly prohibited in the R-M Residential and Medical Zone under Section 12-22.20.1. The Special Use Permit route means discretionary city review before any tattoo studio can open its doors.
Inglewood Tattoo Parlor Permit Rule
Significant RestrictionsInglewood, CA, Municipal Code Sec. 12-23.0(A)(22) (C-1 Zone Permitted Uses)
(22) Tattoo parlors, (including body piercing), subject to Special Use Permit approval.
Tobacco Retail License
Inglewood requires every retailer of cigarettes, vape products, hookah tobacco or paraphernalia to hold a City tobacco retailer's license under Municipal Code § 8-111, with a separate nontransferable license for each location. Operating unlicensed is both a misdemeanor and a declared public nuisance, and retailers face escalating fines plus suspension or revocation for repeat violations.
Inglewood Tobacco Retailer License Required
Significant RestrictionsInglewood, CA, Municipal Code § 8-111(a), (c) (Tobacco Retailer License Required)
No person shall engage in or operate as a tobacco retailer without first obtaining and maintaining a valid tobacco retailer's license pursuant to this Article for each location at which that activity is to occur. In addition to the criminal penalties attached to violations of this Section, tobacco retailing without a valid tobacco retailer's license is hereby declared a public nuisance. ... The...
Secondhand Dealers
Inglewood requires a Committee-issued permit before anyone opens a pawn shop or secondhand goods business, at a $100 Category 3 fee, and a separate $25 Category 1 permit for junk and salvage dealers. Both run through the same Permits and Licenses Committee process and can be denied or pulled for cause.
Inglewood Secondhand & Junk Dealer Permits
Significant RestrictionsInglewood, CA, Municipal Code § 8-53; § 8-53.1(18); § 8-53.3(8)
§ 8-53. Permit Required. Committee on Permits and Licenses. Category of Fees. A written permit shall be obtained from the Committee on Permits and Licenses for the following businesses and activities and the application fee required in Section 8-36 shall be in the amount designated for the respective categories: ... § 8-53.3. Category 3—$100.00. ... (8) Pawn shop, secondhand dealer. ... § 8-53....
Pawnbrokers
Inglewood pawnbrokers must file a daily 'Buy-Form' with the Chief of Police for every transaction within three hours of closing, hold pledged merchandise through mandatory waiting periods before disposal, and comply with police hold orders of up to ninety days under Municipal Code § 8-73.
Inglewood Pawnbroker Buy-Form Requirements
Significant RestrictionsInglewood, CA, Municipal Code § 8-73; § 8-73.9
Any person engaged in the business of operating or managing a pawn shop or acting as a pawn broker shall complete and file with the Chief of Police a "Buy-Form" covering each days' transactions of said designated business in a form and manner as required by the Chief of Police. Such fully completed Buy Form shall be delivered or mailed to the Chief of Police within three hours after the close o...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Inglewood bans vehicle servicing, repair, washing or storage as a home occupation outright. Section 12-17.1(a) of the Municipal Code names cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles and bicycles specifically, so no home-based auto repair business, however small, can ever be authorized in a residential zone.
Inglewood Home Auto Repair Ban
Heavy RestrictionsInglewood, CA, Municipal Code Sec. 12-17.1(a)
A home occupation under this Code shall not include a trade, business service, store, profession, manufacture or fabrication which consists of the following activities: (a) Vehicle servicing, repair, washing or storage, including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles or bicycles.
Towing Companies
Inglewood caps police-referral towing permits at three vendors citywide; operators need a 36-month permit from the City Council after a public hearing, must respond within fifteen minutes, and pay the city seven percent of gross receipts from referred tows under Municipal Code § 8-90.1.
Inglewood Police-Referral Towing Permits
Significant RestrictionsInglewood, CA, Municipal Code § 8-90.1
In order to be able to receive City referrals, a towing business shall beforehand have duly obtained a referral towing service permit; these permits shall be for a period of thirty-six months. ... The City shall limit the number of permits to three vendors provided however, that in an emergency, or if no permit holder is able or willing to provide the service required, the Police Chief or his d...
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