Business Licensing & Operations in Los Angeles, CA (2026)
7 verified business licensing & operations rules for Los Angeles, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Los Angeles prohibits establishing adult entertainment businesses within 1,000 feet of another such business or 500 feet of schools, religious institutions, or public parks, and bars them from residential zones and several commercial zones entirely.
Business Licensing: Adult Entertainment
Significant RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 12.70 C
C. Prohibition. (Amended by Ord. No. 158,579, Eff. 1/23/84.) No person shall cause or permit the establishment, substantial enlargement or transfer of ownership or control of an adult entertainment business within 1,000 feet of another adult entertainment business, or within 500 feet of a religious institution, school, or public park within the City of Los Angeles. No person shall cause or perm...
Massage Establishments
Operating a Massage Establishment or Out-Call Massage Business in Los Angeles requires a Police Commission permit for each business location, in addition to any business tax registration certificate. Applicants must disclose prior convictions involving sex offenses or crimes of dishonesty.
Business Licensing: Massage Establishments
Some RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 103.205 (Amended by Ord. No. 183,603, Eff. 7/25/15) (source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/losangeles/latest/losangeles_ca/0-0-0-1)
(b) Massage Establishment or Out-Call Massage Business – Permit Required. No person shall engage in, promote, advertise, conduct, or carry on, in or upon any premises within the City of Los Angeles, the operation of a Massage Establishment or Out-Call Massage Business without a permit duly issued by the Board pursuant to this subsection for each business location. This required permit shall be ...
Tobacco Retail License
Electronic smoking devices (e-cigarettes, vape pens, e-hookahs) and all substances used in them are legally defined as tobacco products in Los Angeles, subjecting vape retailers to the full Tobacco Retailer's Permit requirement, the flavored-product ban, and 21+ age verification.
Tobacco: Vape Retail
Significant RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 46.90(c); § 46.90(k)(3); § 46.91
SEC. 46.90. DEFINITIONS. (c) "Electronic Smoking Device" shall mean any device that may be used to deliver any aerosolized or vaporized substances to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an e-cigarette, e-cigar, vape pen, or e-hookah. Electronic Smoking Device includes any component part of or accessory to the device, and also includes any substance that may ...
Secondhand Dealers
No person may operate a secondhand dealer or secondhand dealer-jewelry business in Los Angeles without a written permit from the Board of Police Commissioners. Police may place 90-day hold orders on acquired property, and dealers must hold all business-acquired goods for a Board-specified period before disposing of them.
Business Licensing: Secondhand Dealers
Some RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 103.311 (source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/losangeles/latest/losangeles_ca/0-0-0-1)
(b) Permit Required. No person shall engage in, manage, conduct or carry on the business of a secondhand dealer or a secondhand dealer-jewelry without a written permit from the Board. (f) Hold-Order. A police officer may place a hold-order upon property acquired by the permittee in the course of the permittee's business, for a period of 90 days, and upon release of such property, may require...
Pawnbrokers
Operating a pawnshop in Los Angeles requires a written permit from the Board of Police Commissioners. Police officers may place 30-day hold orders on property acquired by pawnbrokers, and auction sales at pawnshop premises are limited to a maximum of two days per calendar month.
Business Licensing: Pawnbrokers
Some RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) § 103.306 (Added by Ord. No. 111,348, Eff. 7/4/58) (source: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/losangeles/latest/losangeles_ca/0-0-0-1)
(b) Permit Required. No person shall engage in, manage, conduct or carry on the business of a pawnbroker without a written permit from the Board. (d) Hold-Order by Police. A police officer may place a hold-order upon property acquired by a pawnbroker in the course of the pawnbroker's business, for a period of 30 days, and upon release of such property may require such pawnbroker to keep a re...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Vehicle dismantling, repair, or work in the A or R Zones is prohibited unless the activity is incidental to a permitted use and conducted inside a building or an area entirely enclosed from view by a wall or fence.
Business Licensing: Auto Repair Residential
Significant RestrictionsLAMC § 12.21 A.8
8. Dismantling, Repairing and Storing of Vehicles – Where Prohibited. (a) No person shall dismantle, repair, or otherwise perform any work upon any vehicle, machine, motor, appliance or other similar device, other than to effect minor emergency repairs to a motor vehicle, on any property in the A or R Zones unless such activity is incidental to a permitted or a conditionally permitted u...
Towing Companies
Non-consent police-directed towing in Los Angeles runs only through "Official Police Garages" under LAMC § 80.77.4: companies awarded five-year City Council-approved contracts for one of 18 service areas, charged uniform fees and a 7% gross-receipts fee to the City.
Los Angeles Official Police Garage Towing Rules
Significant RestrictionsLos Angeles Municipal Code § 80.77.4(A), (D)
"Official Police Garage" shall mean a towing and garage business selected by the City to remove and store vehicles at the direction of any Police Officer or Traffic Officer employed by the City of Los Angeles including officers of the Port Police, Airport Police and Housing Authority Police... Each Official Police Garage shall pay to the general fund of the City a fee equal to seven percent (7%...
Looking for Los Angeles County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Los Angeles city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Los Angeles County →