Business Licensing & Operations in Santa Rosa, CA (2026)
4 verified business licensing & operations rules for Santa Rosa, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Santa Rosa requires a Police Chief-issued regulatory permit before anyone opens a sexually-oriented business, plus a separate performer permit for live nudity or sex-act performances. Zoning Code Section 20-40.030 also bars a sexually-oriented business from locating within 500 feet of homes, parks, churches, or schools, unless it sits in a 300,000-square-foot-plus shopping center.
Santa Rosa Adult Business Permit & Spacing
Significant RestrictionsSanta Rosa City Code § 6-80.030(A); Zoning Code § 20-40.030
§ 6-80.030(A): "It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in, conduct or carry on, or to permit to be engaged in, conducted or carried on, in or upon any premises in the City of Santa Rosa, the operation of a sexually-oriented business unless the person first obtains and continues to maintain in full force and effect a permit from the City of Santa Rosa as herein required." § 20-40.030: "No...
Massage Establishments
Chapter 20-49 makes it a misdemeanor to practice massage for compensation in Santa Rosa, or to run a massage establishment, without CAMTC certification and a City-issued Massage Establishment certificate, backed by Live Scan background checks, a two-year renewal cycle, and mandatory operational standards.
Santa Rosa Massage Establishment Registration Required
Significant RestrictionsSanta Rosa City Code § 20-49.030
A. Individuals. Within 180 days of the effective date of this chapter and at all times thereafter, except where a specific exemption is applicable pursuant to Section 20-49.090(A), it shall be unlawful for any Individual to practice Massage Therapy for compensation as a sole proprietorship or Employee of a Massage Business or Establishment, or in any other capacity within the city unless that I...
Tobacco Retail License
Santa Rosa requires a tobacco retailer's license under City Code Section 6-20.030 for every location that sells tobacco, caps the citywide license count, and flatly bans selling electronic smoking devices under Section 6-20.045. Pharmacies and mobile vendors can never qualify, and new stores must sit 600 feet from schools or parks.
Santa Rosa Bans Vape Sales; Caps Tobacco Licenses
Heavy RestrictionsSanta Rosa City Code §§ 6-20.045, 6-20.060(C)(1), 6-20.060(G)
It shall be unlawful for any tobacco retailer to sell any electronic tobacco smoking device. ... The total number of retailer licenses within the City shall be limited to the lesser of the number of State licensed retailers at the time of adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter or to one for each 2,500, or fraction thereof, of residents of the city. ... No new license may be issued t...
Towing Companies
Santa Rosa doesn't let just any wrecker company perform non-consent, police-generated tows. Under City Code Section 6-84.010, the City Council must grant a resolution franchise, capped at five years, to a tow operator before it can tow vehicles impounded or ordered towed by the Santa Rosa Police Department.
Santa Rosa Police Tow Franchise Required
Significant RestrictionsSanta Rosa City Code § 6-84.010(A)
The City Council may by resolution grant, renew or extend franchises to one or more tow operators for police-generated tows for a term not to exceed five years. For purposes of this chapter, the term "police-generated tows" means tows requested by the City of Santa Rosa Police Department in connection with official business and the storage of those towed vehicles. Police generated tows includes...
Looking for Sonoma County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Santa Rosa city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Sonoma County →