Business Licensing & Operations in Waukegan, IL (2026)
5 verified business licensing & operations rules for Waukegan, Illinois, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Waukegan requires a dedicated adult establishment license before any adult cabaret, adult store, adult theater, or adult booth operation can open, and Section 14-307 keeps every one of them at least 1,000 feet from schools, day care centers, cemeteries, parks, public housing, houses of worship, other adult establishments, and any residentially zoned land.
Waukegan Adult Establishment License & Spacing
Significant RestrictionsWaukegan City Code § 14-307
No adult entertainment establishment shall be permitted to locate within 1000 feet of the property boundaries of any school, day care center, cemetery, public park, forest preserve, public housing, place of religious worship, any other adult entertainment establishment, or any area zoned for residential use. No more than one adult entertainment establishment shall be located in the same buildin...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Waukegan zones tattoo and piercing shops as 'Body Art Establishments,' a defined use tracked in the Unified Development Ordinance's use table and capped at 4 off-street parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of floor area. The City repealed its standalone tattooer-licensing chapter in 2011, folding regulation of the business into zoning instead.
Waukegan Tattoo & Body Art Business Rules
Some RestrictionsWaukegan Unified Development Ordinance (Appendix A) § 13.02 (Body Art Establishment)
Body Art Establishment: An establishment that provides physical body adornment, alteration or modification that may include, but is not limited to, tattooing, piercing, branding, braiding, implantation, or scarification.
Tobacco Retail License
Selling cigars, cigarettes, cigarette papers or wrappers in Waukegan requires a retail sales license under § 14-411, with an annual fee set in the city's fee schedule (§ 14-1101) and a separate $25.00-per-year license for each cigarette vending machine under § 14-413(b).
Waukegan Tobacco and Cigarette Retail Sales License
Some RestrictionsWaukegan Code of Ordinances §§ 14-411, 14-413
No person shall sell, have for sale or offer for sale any cigars, cigarettes, cigarette papers or wrappers, without first obtaining a license therefor as provided in this chapter. ... (a)Generally. The annual fee for the license required by this division shall be [as provided in section 14-1101]. (b)Vending machines. Each vending machine from which cigarettes may be obtained by the deposit of m...
Pawnbrokers
Waukegan caps pawnbroker licenses at three citywide and charges a $3,000 annual fee. Every pawnbroker must post a $1,000 bond, keep an ink-written loan ledger, and let police inspect records and pledged goods at any reasonable time.
Waukegan Pawnbroker License Rules
Significant RestrictionsWaukegan, IL Code of Ordinances § 14-727
(a) Required. No person shall carry on the business of a pawnbroker, loan broker or keeper of a loan office without first obtaining a license therefor as provided in article I of this chapter. (b) Fee. The annual fee for the license required by this section shall be [as provided in section 14-1101]. (c) Number of licenses. The total number of licenses issued and outstanding at any given time sh...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
Waukegan's Unified Development Ordinance gives Motor Vehicle Repair and/or Service no designation in the CR district or in any of the five residential districts, which under Section 9.02.A.3 means the use is flatly not allowed there. The use is a conditional use only in the B3 and Industrial districts, so a homeowner cannot legally run a repair business out of a residential garage.
Waukegan Zoning Bars Home Auto Repair Shops
Heavy RestrictionsWaukegan UDO §§ 9.02.A.3, 9.02.B.23
23.Motor Vehicle Repair and/or Service.a.Minimum Lot Size. A minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet is required for any motor vehicle repair and/or service use.b.Location. All parking or storage of vehicles in connection with motor vehicle repair and/or service facilities must be set back a minimum of 10 feet from any property line adjacent to a public street in accordance with Section 11.08 (B...
Looking for Lake County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Waukegan city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Lake County →