Business Licensing & Operations in Santa Ana, CA (2026)
7 verified business licensing & operations rules for Santa Ana, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Santa Ana confines adult entertainment businesses to six commercial/industrial zones and requires a ministerial land use permit before any can open, plus 1,000-foot separation from other adult businesses, bars, dance halls, massage parlors and peep shows, and from homes, parks, schools and daycares. A 125-foot buffer from freeways and arterials applies too.
Santa Ana Adult Entertainment Business Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 41-1702(a),(b)
(a)No adult entertainment business may be located within the city, except in one (1) of the following zoning districts: C2, C3, C4, CR, M1 and M2.(b)No adult entertainment business may be located within the city unless it meets the following distance criteria:(1)The proposed adult entertainment business is more than one thousand (1,000) [feet from] any other existing adult entertainment busines...
Massage Establishments
Santa Ana limits full massage establishments to six commercial zones plus a Conditional Use Permit, 1,000-foot spacing from other massage businesses and a 500-foot residential buffer. Operators also need a police-issued massage establishment permit, a business license and a certificate of occupancy, and cannot operate between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Santa Ana Massage Establishment Permit and Zoning Rules
Significant RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 41-1752(c)
(c)Massage establishments may be located within the following zoning districts subject to the issuance of a conditional use permit:(1)Massage establishments may be permitted on parcels in the C1, C1-MD, C2, C4, C5, or C-SM zoning districts...(4)No massage establishment shall be located within one thousand (1,000) feet of another massage establishment. The one thousand (1,000) foot separation re...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Santa Ana keeps tattoo and body art establishments in the C-1, C-2 and C-4 zones at least 500 feet from any K-12 school or public park and 500 feet from another tattoo or body art shop. Shops can't operate between midnight and 7 a.m., can't allow live animals except service animals, and must comply with the state Safe Body Art Act.
Santa Ana Tattoo & Body Art Rules
Some RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 41-199.3
a.No tattoo and/or body art establishment in the C-1, C-2, and C-4 zoning districts shall be located within five hundred (500) feet of a public or private school (K-12) or public park as measures from the outermost boundary of the property to the entrance of the facility.b.No tattoo and/or body art establishment in the C-1, C-2, and C-4 zoning districts shall be located within five hundred (500...
Tobacco Retail License
Santa Ana requires every tobacco retailer, including e-cigarette and vapor product sellers, to hold a Police Department-issued license at a fixed business location. Selling flavored tobacco is banned outright, and repeat violations escalate from a 60-day suspension to permanent revocation with a five-year re-application bar.
Santa Ana Tobacco Retailer License Rules
Significant RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code §§ 18-91, 18-92 (Tobacco Retailer License; Limits on Tobacco Retail License)
It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a tobacco retailer, or to display or advertise the sale of tobacco products without obtaining and maintaining a valid tobacco retailer's license pursuant to this article for each location at which that activity is to occur... No license shall be issued to authorize tobacco retailing at other than a fixed business place. Tobacco retailing by persons ...
Secondhand Dealers
Secondhand dealers in Santa Ana, anyone meeting the state definition in Business and Professions Code § 21626, need the same police-issued certificate as pawnbrokers, must log every transaction in detail, report it to police the next day, and may only buy, trade or sell used goods between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.
Santa Ana Secondhand Dealer Licensing Rules
Significant RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 25-1 and § 25-10
Sec. 25-1. - Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, every person as defined in Section 21000 of the Financial Code of this state shall be deemed a pawnbroker, and every person as defined in Section 21626 of the Business and Professions Code of this state shall be deemed a secondhand dealer. ... Sec. 25-10. - Hours of secondhand dealer and pawnbroker operation. No secondhand dealer or pa...
Pawnbrokers
Anyone wanting to run a pawnshop in Santa Ana must first apply in writing to the Chief of Police, disclosing personal history, business address and employees, and submitting to fingerprinting and photographs. The chief can refuse or revoke the certificate for a material misstatement or a disqualifying conviction, and no one may operate, or work there, without it.
Santa Ana Pawnbroker Certificate Requirements
Significant RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 25-6 (see also § 25-7, § 25-9)
Sec. 25-6. - Secondhand dealer and pawnbroker certificate—Application; information. Every person desiring to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer or pawnbroker shall first make written application to the chief of police of this city, stating his name, age, residence address, proposed business address, the business addresses of all other businesses in which he has an interest, a stateme...
Towing Companies
Tow operators who want police-dispatched tows in Santa Ana must qualify for the police department's rotational tow list under Sec. 32-107, which lets the chief of police set binding standards for getting on, staying on, and being removed from the list. Operators towing from private property must also ensure police are notified before the tow under state Vehicle Code Section 22658.
Santa Ana Rotational Tow List Requirements
Significant RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 32-107
In order to provide a workable and comprehensive policy regarding the towing and/or storage of abandoned, disabled, stored or impounded vehicles from public or private property, the chief of police hereby authorized to promulgate and issue, by general order, and amend, if necessary written rules and regulations governing the following but by no means exclusive subjects:(a)Requirements and stand...
Looking for Orange County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Santa Ana city rules.
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