Business Licensing & Operations in Redlands, CA (2026)
7 verified business licensing & operations rules for Redlands, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Redlands requires an adult oriented business regulatory permit from the chief of police before operating, and confines adult businesses to the C-M, M-2 and I-P zones and part of the East Valley Corridor specific plan, with 500-foot and 1,000-foot spacing buffers.
Redlands Adult Business Permit and Spacing
Significant RestrictionsRedlands City Code § 18.226.030
No such business shall be established or located within five hundred feet (500') of any other adult oriented business. B. No such business shall be established or located within one thousand feet (1,000') from any existing residential zone, park, church or school. C. The distances set forth in this section shall be measured from the nearest exterior wall of the facility housing the adult use or...
Massage Establishments
Redlands requires every massage establishment owner and technician to hold current California Massage Therapy Council certification, and any owner holding more than 5% of the business must pass a police background check before operating. The police chief administers the program under City Code chapter 5.28.
Redlands Massage Establishment License
Significant RestrictionsRedlands City Code § 5.28.050
Except for massage establishment owners who possess a current and valid CAMTC certification, any person, association, partnership, or corporation who owns more than five percent (5%) of a massage establishment and desires to operate that massage establishment must make an application to the chief for an investigation of the applicant's background and history. A nonrefundable fee, in an amount s...
Tobacco Retail License
Redlands has no separate tobacco retailer license, but chapter 8.54 bans tobacco vending machines outright, requires point-of-sale age warning signs, and forces every retailer besides a qualifying retail tobacco store to sell tobacco only through vendor-assisted sales rather than self-service displays.
Redlands Tobacco Retail Sales Rules
Some RestrictionsRedlands City Code §§ 8.54.140, 8.54.162
8.54.140: TOBACCO VENDING MACHINES PROHIBITED: ... No cigarette or other tobacco product may be sold, offered for sale, or distributed by or from a vending machine or any other device designed or used for vending purposes. No person shall locate, install, keep, maintain or use, or permit the location, installation, keeping, maintenance or use on his, her or its premises any vending machine for ...
Secondhand Dealers
Redlands requires anyone who buys or sells secondhand bicycles, jewelry, precious metals or firearms as a business to keep a police-inspectable record of every transaction on a city-supplied form. Chapter 5.52, dating to the city's prior code, names the police chief as the enforcing officer and applies citywide.
Redlands Secondhand Dealer Record Rules
Some RestrictionsRedlands City Code §§ 5.52.010, 5.52.020
It is unlawful to buy or sell or otherwise deal as a business in secondhand bicycles, diamonds, silverware, jewelry, old gold or silver, firearms or any of such articles, without keeping a record of all such articles so purchased, acquired and sold, which record shall at all times during business hours be open to the inspection of the chief of police or any police officer of the city. ... Such ...
Pawnbrokers
Redlands requires anyone conducting the business of pawnbroker within city limits to pay a semiannual business license tax of $50.00, separate from any license needed to sell the goods themselves.
Redlands Pawnbroker License
Some RestrictionsRedlands City Code §§ 5.08.445, 5.08.450
5.08.445: PAWNBROKER; RATE: For every person conducting, managing or carrying on the business of pawnbroker, the license shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) semiannually. (Ord. 2980 § 1, 2025: Prior code § 2265) 5.08.450: PAWNBROKER; SALE OF GOODS NOT INCLUDED: The rate set out in section 5.08.445 of this article shall not include the sale of goods, wares, or merchandise for which a license under s...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Redlands allows a business to run from a house only as a permitted "home occupation" under City Code Chapter 18.160, and the criteria in Section 18.160.020 effectively rule out a working auto repair shop: no equipment beyond what is normal to a residential district, no outdoor vehicle storage, and no use of an accessory building.
Redlands Home Auto Repair Business Rules
Significant RestrictionsRedlands City Code § 18.160.020
B. There shall be no material or equipment used that is not recognized as being part of the normal practices in the residential district. ... G. ... No more than ten percent (10%) of the total square footage of the dwelling or one room of the dwelling, whichever is less, shall be employed for the home occupation. Use of the garage for the home occupation may be permitted if such use does not ob...
Towing Companies
Redlands regulates non-consent towing through its police department's rotational tow program under City Code Chapter 5.80. Any tow truck operator who wants police-directed collision and impound work must sign a tow service agreement with the city, is limited to one such agreement, and must follow city-set rates and service standards. Vehicle owners keep the right to call their own preferred tow company at a collision scene if removal still happens without undue delay.
Redlands Rotational Tow Program Rules
Some RestrictionsRedlands City Code §§ 5.80.010, 5.80.030
5.80.010: PURPOSE AND INTENT: ... The rules and regulations set out in this chapter govern the participation by tow truck operators in the city's police department rotational tow program and the operation of storage garages for impounded vehicles in the city. Any person or entity desiring to participate in the city's rotational tow program shall enter into a tow service agreement with the city....
Looking for San Bernardino County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Redlands city rules.
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