Business Licensing & Operations in Riverside, CA (2026)
8 verified business licensing & operations rules for Riverside, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Riverside requires an Adult-Oriented Business Regulatory Permit from the Police Chief before anyone can operate a strip club, adult bookstore, arcade, or similar business. Applicants must submit a certified site drawing proving required buffers: 500 feet from another adult business or a residential zone, 500 feet from any church or park, and 100 feet from any school or day care center.
Riverside Adult Business Permits & Spacing
Significant RestrictionsCity of Riverside, CA, Municipal Code § 9.40.050(H)(2)
H.1. A certificate and straight-line drawing prepared within 30 calendar days prior to application depicting the building... 2. The certificate and straight-line drawing shall also depict the following: a. The property line within 500 feet of any other Adult-Oriented Business as measured from any point between the outside walls of the buildings... b. The property line within 500 feet of any exi...
Massage Establishments
No one may own, operate, or manage a massage establishment in Riverside without a permit from the Chief of Police. Applicants submit a sworn application, fingerprints, and a non-refundable fee, and the Police Department investigates before granting or denying the permit.
Riverside Massage Establishment Permit Required
Significant RestrictionsRiverside Municipal Code § 5.52.040
A.No person shall own, operate, or manage any massage establishment in any location within the City without first having obtained a massage establishment permit.B.Any person desiring a massage establishment permit shall file, under penalty of perjury, a written application on forms provided by and submitted to the Chief of Police accompanied by a non-refundable application fee in such amounts e...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Riverside regulates tattoo and body piercing parlors as a "Personal Services" zoning use, permitted by right only in office, commercial and mixed-use zones. The city repealed its standalone tattoo-parlor licensing chapter (former RMC 19.405) in November 2023, leaving zoning placement as the sole citywide-code-based control on where a shop may open.
Tattoo & Body Piercing Parlors in Riverside
Some RestrictionsRiverside Municipal Code, Table 19.150.020.A; RMC §§ 19.910.170, 19.910.210; former Ch. 19.405 (repealed by Ord. 7652 § 6, 2023)
"Personal Services (Barber, Beauty Salon, Spa, Tailor, Dry Cleaner, Self-service Laundry, Tattoo & Body Piercing Parlors, etc.)" [Residential Zones: X X X X X X X] [Office & Commercial / Mixed Use Zones: P P P P P P P] [remaining zones: X X X X X X] ... "Editor's note— Ord. No. 7652, § 6, adopted November 7, 2023, repealed the former Chapter 19.405, §§ 19.405.010—19.405.040 in its entirety, whi...
Tobacco Retail License
Any smoke shop, vape store, or other tobacco retailer operating in Riverside must hold a valid Tobacco Retail Establishment Permit from the city before selling any tobacco product or paraphernalia. The two-year permit under RMC § 6.24.030 is nontransferable, tied to one fixed location, and operating without it is declared a public nuisance subject to closure.
Riverside Smoke Shop Tobacco Retail Permit
Significant RestrictionsCity of Riverside, CA, Municipal Code § 6.24.030(A), (E)
It shall be unlawful for any person, business, or tobacco retailer to sell, permit to be sold, offer for sale, or display for sale any tobacco product or tobacco paraphernalia without first obtaining and maintaining a valid tobacco retail establishment permit from the Department. ... It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a tobacco retailer without first obtaining and maintaining a valid...
Secondhand Dealers
Riverside requires anyone operating a pawnshop or secondhand dealer establishment, including EcoATM-style kiosks, to hold a police-issued establishment permit on top of state licensing, a city business tax certificate, and a minor conditional use permit before opening.
Riverside Secondhand Dealer & Pawnshop Permit
Significant RestrictionsRiverside Municipal Code § 5.90.060(A), (E), (I)
A.No person shall own, operate, or manage any pawnshop establishment in any location within the city without first having obtained a pawnshop business establishment permit from the chief of police. No person shall own, operate, or manage any secondhand dealer establishment in any location within the city without first having obtained a secondhand dealer establishment permit from the chief of po...
Pawnbrokers
Riverside requires anyone owning, operating, or managing a pawnshop or secondhand dealer establishment to hold a permit from the Chief of Police under RMC § 5.90.060, on top of a state pawnbroker or secondhand dealer license, a City business tax certificate, and a minor conditional use permit: all before the establishment permit will even be issued.
Riverside Pawnbroker and Pawnshop Licensing
Significant RestrictionsRiverside Municipal Code § 5.90.060(A)
A.No person shall own, operate, or manage any pawnshop establishment in any location within the city without first having obtained a pawnshop business establishment permit from the chief of police. No person shall own, operate, or manage any secondhand dealer establishment in any location within the city without first having obtained a secondhand dealer establishment permit from the chief of po...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Riverside's home-occupation ordinance runs on a closed list. Municipal Code Section 19.485.030 opens 'Only the following business activities are permitted as home occupations' and enumerates nine categories from telecommuting to small electronics repair. Auto or vehicle repair is not among them, so a residential repair shop is not a lawful home occupation.
Riverside Bans Home Auto Repair Businesses
Heavy RestrictionsRiverside Municipal Code § 19.485.030
Only the following business activities are permitted as home occupations. A.Telecommuting... B.Business, professional and sales offices, excluding medical, dental and similar uses that involve regular patient visits to the site... C.Instruction in academia, music, voice, art, dance or similar activities with no more than one pupil... D.Activities associated with the work of artists, sculptors, ...
Towing Companies
Riverside's non-consent, police-directed towing runs entirely through a contracted 'official police tow service' under RMC Chapter 5.15. Selected tow companies sign a City agreement with eligibility rules, must post an approved rate schedule in every truck, and charge no more than the City's maximum approved hourly rates - $252 standard, $291 medium duty, $361 heavy duty.
Riverside Official Police Tow Service Rules
Significant RestrictionsCity of Riverside, CA, Municipal Code § 5.15.080 (Official Police Tow Service; Agreements and Tow Rates)
A. Tow companies selected and designated by the City as an official police tow service as defined in Section 5.15.020 shall enter into an agreement with the City, which agreement shall contain eligibility requirements, operating regulations, an address to send correspondences and official and/or legal notices to, and fee schedules as adopted by the City Council. Every official police tow servic...
Looking for Riverside County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Riverside city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Riverside County →