Business Licensing & Operations in North Charleston, SC (2026)
4 verified business licensing & operations rules for North Charleston, South Carolina, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
The City of North Charleston confines sexually oriented businesses to M-1 and M-2 industrial zones and bars them within 1,000 feet of churches, schools, parks, and residential areas.
North Charleston Sexually Oriented Business Zoning
Significant RestrictionsNorth Charleston Code of Ordinances, Appendix A (Zoning Regulations) § 4-14(e)
(e) Location of sexually oriented business. (1) All sexually oriented businesses shall be located within an M-1 or M-2 zoning district. A person commits a misdemeanor if he operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business outside of an M-1 or M-2 district. (2) A person commits a misdemeanor if he operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business within one thousand (1...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Tattoo parlors are a permitted use only in North Charleston's M-1 light industrial district, and Section 5-5(b)(5) keeps them 1,000 feet from churches, schools, parks and residential property, with distance measured in a straight line from the building housing the parlor to the nearest edge of the protected use.
North Charleston Tattoo Parlor Zoning Buffer
Significant RestrictionsNorth Charleston Code of Ordinances, Appendix A (Zoning Regulations) § 5-5(b)(5)
5.Tattoo parlors, provided that such uses shall not be established within one thousand (1,000) feet of:a.The property line of a lot devoted to use by a church or other place of worship;b.A boundary line of any residential district or residential use;c.The property line of a public park adjacent to any residential district or any public or private elementary or secondary school;d.The property li...
Secondhand Dealers
North Charleston requires anyone operating a salvage or junk business in the city to obtain an annual business license and screen the operation from view behind an eight-foot opaque barrier.
North Charleston Junk Dealer License
Some RestrictionsNorth Charleston Code of Ordinances § 9-71.1
No person, firm or corporation shall engage in or operate any business defined herein as a salvage or junk business in the city without having first procured the proper annual business license therefor from the city. No salvage or junk business may be operated within the city limits unless the materials as herein defined as salvage or junk are entirely enclosed by an opaque barrier of trees, sh...
Towing Companies
Wrecker services must hold a city towing permit and decal, carry heavy liability insurance, and follow strict rules for nonconsensual private-property tows.
North Charleston Towing Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsNorth Charleston Code of Ordinances § 10.5-1110
No towing carrier engaged in the business of performing nonconsensual tows shall operate within the corporate limits of the city without obtaining a towing permit.(b)Every towing company shall have an insurance policy covering the operation of the towing service's business equipment and vehicles for any bodily injury or property damage in any amount of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,...
Looking for Charleston County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement North Charleston city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Charleston County →