Business Licensing & Operations in Pawtucket, RI (2026)
6 verified business licensing & operations rules for Pawtucket, Rhode Island, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Sexually oriented businesses in Pawtucket need a $3,000 annual license from the City Council and can't locate within 1,000 feet of a school, church, park, hospital or residential district, or within 500 feet of another such business, under §§ 193-10, 193-12 and 193-16.
Pawtucket Sexually Oriented Business Rules
Significant RestrictionsPawtucket City Code § 193-16
No sexually oriented business may be located within 1,000 feet of: (1) A church. (2) A public or private elementary or secondary school. (3) A boundary of a residential district or residential or related use as defined in this article. (4) A public park. (5) A hospital. ... A person commits an offense if that person causes or permits the operation, establishment, substantial enlargement or tran...
Massage Establishments
Anyone operating a massage or body-works business in Pawtucket needs a $250 annual license from the Board of License Commissioners under Chapter 130, § 130-1, with fines up to $500 for repeat violations and each day of noncompliance charged as a separate offense.
Pawtucket Body Works Establishment License Law
Significant RestrictionsPawtucket City Code § 130-1
Body works establishment license: All persons, firms, corporations, or other entities who own, operate, conduct, or manage a location used to provide body works services or that hold themselves out as being engaged in the practice of body works services, as defined in R.I.G.L. § 23-20.8-1(4), at any location in the City of Pawtucket must obtain a body works establishment license for that locati...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Pawtucket City Code Chapter 360 requires a tattoo business to hold two separate approvals: a certificate of zoning compliance under the Zoning Ordinance and a tattoo license from the City Council, plus a $175 annual license fee, before it can legally tattoo anyone in the City.
Pawtucket Tattoo Parlor Licensing Rules
Significant RestrictionsPawtucket City Code § 360-1
No person shall operate or conduct a tattoo business in the City of Pawtucket without first obtaining a certificate of zoning compliance allowing such use as required by the City of Pawtucket Zoning Ordinance. ... No person shall operate or conduct a tattooing establishment of any kind within the city without first obtaining a tattoo license from the City Council.
Secondhand Dealers
Anyone operating a secondhand shop, junkyard, or business that buys, sells or gathers junk and old metals in Pawtucket needs a City Council license under Chapter 251. Annual fees run from $5 for a retail junk gatherer to $100 for a secondhand shop or automobile junkyard license, all running May 1 to April 30.
Pawtucket Secondhand Shop, Junk Dealer License
Significant RestrictionsPawtucket City Code §§ 251-1, 251-3
No person, firm or corporation shall engage in any of the following activities without having obtained a license from the City Council: ... Keep a shop or storehouse for the reception or sale of junk, old metals or any secondhand articles (wholesale junk license). ... Sell, purchase, barter and deal in junk, old metals and those secondhand articles listed in § 251-14 (secondhand shop license). ...
Pawnbrokers
Pawnbrokers in Pawtucket can't get licensed through the City Clerk's ordinary discretion; § 260-2G carves them out for a full City Council vote, and § 260-3 sets the annual fee at $200, running May 1 through April 30. Section 260-1 also subjects pawnbrokers to Rhode Island's pawnbroker statute, R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 19-26-1 through 19-26-19.
Pawtucket Pawnbroker License And Fee
Significant RestrictionsPawtucket City Code §§ 260-1, 260-2, 260-3
The City Clerk is authorized, at his or her discretion, to issue, without specific action by the City Council, licenses authorized by above-mentioned titles, chapters and sections of the General Laws of Rhode Island, 1956, and amendments, except the following licenses: ... G. Pawnbrokers. ... License fees shall be as follows: ... Pawnbrokers, annually from May 1 to April 30 $200. ... All licens...
Towing Companies
Pawtucket requires every towing company that wants city or police referral work to hold a Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers certificate covering Pawtucket and to be approved by both the Director of Public Safety and the City Council under Chapter 367. Firms already on the approved list must stay current on all taxes, water bills and city debts.
Pawtucket Tow Company Licensing Rules
Significant RestrictionsPawtucket City Code § 367-2, § 367-4, § 367-7
No person or company (whether providing towing services or otherwise) shall be considered for or placed on the City's list of tow companies approved by the Director of Public Safety, nor shall a towing company currently on the list be allowed to remain on the list, unless said person or company holds and maintains in good standing a certificate of operating authority as issued by the Rhode Isla...