Business Licensing & Operations in Skokie, IL (2026)
6 verified business licensing & operations rules for Skokie, Illinois, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Skokie's zoning code bans any adult use within 200 feet of a church, school, day care center, park, recreation facility or library, and within 500 feet of another adult use, under Village Code Section 118-90. Distances run lot line to lot line in a straight line, ignoring intervening buildings, and an adult use can never qualify as a home occupation.
Skokie Adult Use Spacing Rules
Significant RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 118-90
(a)No adult use may be located within 200' of any of the following uses: religious assembly, schools with students primarily under the age of 18 including the school's open space and parking areas, day care centers for children, parks, public recreation facilities, and libraries and archives.(b)An adult use may not be located closer than 500' to another adult use as from outside walls of the us...
Massage Establishments
Skokie requires a Massage Services Establishment License before anyone can operate a place of business offering massage for pay, plus a separate massage therapist permit for the person performing the service. Hospitals, nursing homes, and several other narrow categories are exempt, and hours of operation are capped between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Skokie Massage Establishment License
Significant RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 26-871
(a)No person or entity shall operate a Massage Services Establishment in the Village without first obtaining a Massage Services Establishment License in accordance with the provisions of this Article. A separate Massage Services Establishment license shall be required for each massage services location, regardless of whether such multiple establishments are operated by the same person or entity...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Skokie caps body art establishments offering tattooing, piercing, microblading, branding or scarification at eight Village-wide licenses under Village Code Section 26-954. Every shop must register with the Illinois Department of Public Health and each practicing artist needs a separate Body Artist Permit. The Village Manager reviews applications, including a criminal background check, within 30 days of filing.
Skokie Tattoo & Body Art Licensing
Significant RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 26-954
(a)All establishments providing body art services such as tattooing, microblading, micropigmentation, piercing, branding or scarification are required to be registered with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and be in full compliance with the Act.(b)No person or entity shall operate a body art establishment in the Village without first obtaining a body art establishment license in ...
Tobacco Retail License
Skokie requires a Village license before any person or corporation may sell cigarettes, tobacco, or tobacco products, which the Village Code's licensing article treats as including electronic cigarettes and e-liquid. Selling without one is unlawful, and the Village also bans flavored e-cigarette products and self-service vending machines for tobacco and e-cigarette sales.
Skokie Tobacco and Vape Retail License
Significant RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 26-301
It shall be unlawful for any person or corporation to sell cigarettes, tobacco and tobacco products in the Village without first obtaining a license in accordance with the provisions of this division.
Secondhand Dealers
Skokie requires a Village license before anyone sets up a secondhand, scrap or junk business dealing in used furniture, clothing, jewelry, rags or metal, or collects such items by vehicle or cart, under Section 26-1271. Licensees keep a police-inspected purchase record and cannot buy from minors without written parental consent.
Skokie Secondhand & Junk Dealer License
Some RestrictionsSkokie Village Code § 26-1271
It shall be unlawful for any person to set up or keep any place where any scrap, discarded or used materials, secondhand furniture, old clothing, old jewelry, rags, old metal or miscellaneous articles of personal property are purchased or sold, or follow the business of collecting rags, old bottles, old metal or miscellaneous articles of personal property of any sort, with vehicles or carts, or...
Pawnbrokers
Skokie limits pawnbroker licenses to two and precious metals dealer licenses to one Village-wide under Section 26-1126. New shops cannot locate on a street carrying 15,000 or more vehicles a day, within 300 feet of such an intersection, or within 300 feet of a school or religious institution under Section 26-1127.
Skokie Pawnbroker & Precious Metals License
Significant RestrictionsSkokie Village Code §§ 26-1126, 26-1127
(a)There shall be no more than two (2) active and valid Pawnbroker licenses in existence at any given time.(b)There shall be no more than one (1) active and valid Precious Metals Dealer license in existence at any given time. ... No new license shall be granted for any establishment located on a street with an Average Daily Traffic count of 15,000 vehicles or higher, as determined by the Villag...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Skokie city rules.
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