Business Licensing & Operations in Laredo, TX (2026)
6 verified business licensing & operations rules for Laredo, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Laredo requires a city-issued license for any sexually oriented business and confines them to M-1 or M-2 industrial zoning. Each must sit at least 2,000 feet from churches, schools, parks, and residential districts, and 1,500 feet from another such business.
Laredo Adult Business Permit and 2,000-Foot Spacing
Significant RestrictionsLaredo Code of Ordinances § 18A-45 (Location of sexually oriented businesses)
(a) A person commits an offense if that person operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business in any zoning district other than an M-1 or M-2 district as defined and described in the land development ordinance. (b) A person commits an offense if the person operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business within two thousand (2,000) feet of: (1) A church; (2) A publ...
Massage Establishments
Every massage establishment in Laredo needs a city business license, and every massage therapist needs a separate massagist's permit, under Code of Ordinances Sec. 21-102. The police department investigates each applicant's background and fingerprints them, the license costs $100.00 a year, the massagist's permit costs $75.00 a year, and businesses must close between midnight and 8:00 a.m.
Laredo Massage Establishment License Rules
Significant RestrictionsLaredo Code of Ordinances Sec. 21-102
(a)Business License Required: No person shall engage in or carry out the business of massage unless he has a valid massage business license issued by the city pursuant to the provisions of this article for each and every separate office or place of business conducted by such person.(b)Massagist's Permit Required: No person shall practice massage as a massagist, employee or otherwise unless he h...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Every tattoo and body piercing studio in Laredo must hold a health department permit, renewed annually by June 1. Fees run $150 per location for tattoo-only or piercing-only studios and $200 for a combined studio, and operators must also hold a state license from the Texas Department of Health. Violations run $500 to $2,000 per offense, with each day a separate offense.
Laredo Tattoo & Body Piercing Studio Permit
Some RestrictionsLaredo Code of Ordinances Sec. 15-112
All tattoo and body piercing studios located within the city limits shall be required to obtain a permit to operate issued by the health department director.
Tobacco Retail License
Laredo treats vape and e-cigarette retailers as "Tobacco Shops" under the Land Development Code, a definition that expressly includes e-cigarettes and e-cigarette related products. Operating one requires a Council-granted special use permit: hours capped at 8 a.m. to midnight, no unaccompanied minors under 18, an 800-foot buffer from schools, churches, parks and residential districts, and posted age-restriction signage at every entrance.
Laredo Vape and Tobacco Shop Zoning Permit
Significant RestrictionsLaredo Land Development Code Appendix A ("Tobacco Shop" definition); Section 24-93.6(1),(2),(5)
Tobacco Shop - shall mean an establishment whose main purpose is the sale of tobacco products (i.e. cigars, cigarettes, chewing and dipping tobacco, e-cigarettes, e-cigarette related products, and related tobacco smoking accessories) and in which the sale of other products is merely incidental and does not account for more than forty-five percent (45%) of the establishment's gross revenue. The ...
Secondhand Dealers
Laredo requires any junk, salvage or used-appliance dealer handling three or more junked items to secure a Council special use permit before opening, unless the operation sits fully inside a building or within the M-2 Heavy Industrial District. The Land Development Code then locks the yard behind a seven-foot opaque fence with strict setbacks from residential property and arterial streets.
Laredo Junk and Used Appliance Yard Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsLaredo Land Development Code Section 24-93.3.1; Section 24-93.3.2(a)(1)
No business whereon three (3) or more junked items or used appliances are located temporarily or permanently, for whatever purpose, except where located within an enclosed building or which is located in an M-2 Heavy Industrial District and which is otherwise in conformance with this section, shall be established without a special use permit granted by the Council. Both new and any legal non-co...
Towing Companies
Laredo repealed its local tow-service permit ordinance on January 20, 2026. Towing companies and non-consent tows in the city are now licensed and regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation under Occupations Code Chapter 2308, not by City Hall.
Laredo Towing: No Local Permit, State Law Governs
Few RestrictionsLaredo Code of Ordinances ch. 32 (Vehicles for Hire), editor's note (Ord. No. 2025-O-215, § 1, adopted Jan. 20, 2026)
Chapter 32 - VEHICLES FOR HIRE … Editor's note— Ord. No. 2025-O-215, § 1, adopted Jan. 20, 2026, repealed the former Ch. 32, §§ … 32-104—32-112, … and enacted a new Ch. 32 as set out herein. The former Ch. 32 pertained to similar subject matter…