Business Licensing & Operations in Southfield, MI (2026)
5 verified business licensing & operations rules for Southfield, Michigan, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Southfield Chapter 87 requires a one-year city license before running an adult bookstore, cabaret, motel, arcade, theater or model studio, and the business must sit in a zoning district that Chapter 45 actually allows for that use. Every licensed business must close between 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., and anyone under eighteen is barred from the premises entirely.
Southfield Sexually Oriented Business License
Heavy RestrictionsSouthfield City Code §§ 7.906, 7.913, 7.917
Sec. 7.906. - License required. No person shall operate a sexually oriented business in the city without first obtaining a valid sexually oriented business license issued pursuant to the provision of this chapter. Each license shall expire one (1) year from the date of issuance and may be renewed pursuant to the requirements set forth in this chapter. ... ... Sec. 7.913. - Location of sexually ...
Massage Establishments
Southfield Code Chapter 83 requires any massage establishment or school of massage to hold a city license before opening. No license issues without sign-off from the fire chief and the building director, and the police chief must separately certify the applicant's character after a background check for felonies, sex offenses and fraud.
Southfield Massage Establishment License
Significant RestrictionsSouthfield City Code §§ 7.502, 7.503
Sec. 7.502. - Massage establishment license required. No person shall operate, conduct, engage in, or carry on, or permit to be operated, conducted, engaged in, or carried on, in or upon any premises in the city, the operation of a massage establishment or school of massage without a valid massage establishment license. ... ... Sec. 7.503. - Certification required for massage establishment lice...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Tattoo parlors are on Southfield's list of uses flatly prohibited inside any Overlay Development District, including the City Centre, Downtown Development Authority, Smart Zone, Tech Corridor and Northland ODD areas. Southfield City Code § 5.22-3.B.2 lists tattoo parlors alongside pawn shops, mobile home parks and sexually oriented businesses as incompatible with an ODD's surrounding development.
Southfield Bans Tattoo Parlors In ODDs
Significant RestrictionsSouthfield City Code § 5.22-3.B.2
2.Prohibited uses. In order to ensure integration of the proposed land development project with the characteristics of the surrounding area, certain land uses have been determined to be incompatible with the intent to provide the above permitted uses in an ODD. Therefore, the following uses are prohibited in ODD: ... • Tattoo parlors.
Secondhand Dealers
In the City of Southfield, no one may engage in the business of dealer in secondhand goods or junk dealer without first obtaining a license issued by the mayor under state secondhand-dealer statutes, with the fee set by Chapter 71.
Secondhand and junk dealer license, Southfield
Some RestrictionsSouthfield City Code § 7.111
No person shall engage in the business of dealer in secondhand goods or junk dealer without first obtaining a license therefor. Such license shall be issued by the mayor in accordance with the provisions of Act 350 of the Public Acts of 1917, as amended (C.L. '48, Sec. 445.401 et seq.). The fee for such licenses shall be as specified in Chapter 71 of this Code. A licensee under Chapter 76 of th...
Pawnbrokers
In the City of Southfield, no one may engage in the business of pawnbroker without a license issued by the mayor under the state Pawnbrokers Act, and a violation of that act is itself a violation of the City Code.
Pawnbroker license, Southfield
Some RestrictionsSouthfield City Code § 7.116
No person shall engage in the business of pawnbroker without first obtaining a license therefor. In accordance with the provisions of Act 273 of Public Acts of 1917, State of Michigan, (C.L. '48, Sec. 446.201 et seq.) pawnbroker licenses shall be issued by the mayor. The fee for such license shall be as prescribed in Chapter 71 of this Code. Any licensee violating any of the provisions of Publi...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Southfield city rules.
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