Business Licensing & Operations in Bay County, FL (2026)
3 rules for unincorporated Bay County, Florida.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Bay County requires every employee of a sexually oriented business, bookstores, adult clubs, adult theaters and massage establishments as defined at § 3.5-63, to hold a sheriff-issued permit before working, and bars any such business from opening within 1,500 feet of a church, school, public park, residential-zoned land or a tourism-corridor right-of-way. The sheriff can suspend or revoke permits after a criminal conviction.
Bay County Sexually Oriented Business Permit
Significant RestrictionsBay County Code of Ordinances §§ 3.5-64, 3.5-78
No sexually oriented business shall be located nearer than 1,500 feet radial spacing to any other sexually oriented business nor nearer than 1,500 feet radial spacing to any: (1)Church, or(2)Public, private or parochial elementary, middle or high school, or(3)Public park, or(4)Areas designated residential on the future land use map of the county comprehensive plan or within the comprehensive p...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Bay County requires anyone selling and applying temporary tattoos in the unincorporated area to post a specific health-warning sign, at least 18 by 24 inches, near the tattoo customer at all times. It does not license permanent tattoo studios directly.
Bay County Temporary Tattoo Warning Rules
Some RestrictionsBay County Code of Ordinances § 14-131
Each person offering the sale and application of a temporary tattoo to the skin of a person within the unincorporated boundaries of the county, and the person or business, if any, employing such person to temporarily tattoo the skin, shall conspicuously display a notice as more particularly described in subsection (c) below...The notice required by this section shall be not less than 18 inches ...
Towing Companies
Tow operators working unincorporated Bay County cannot charge more than the maximum rates the county commission sets by resolution. Whether a vehicle is pulled from private property, an accident scene, or impounded by police, companies must also follow the notice rules in Florida Statutes 713.78 or lose their spot on the county's rotation list.
Bay County Non-Consent Towing Rules
Some RestrictionsBay County Code of Ordinances § 24-100
When any vehicle is towed or otherwise removed from private property within the unincorporated areas of the county at the request of a private property owner or at the request of a law enforcement agency a wrecked or disabled vehicle is removed from an accident scene or other public property or is otherwise towed or impounded by law enforcement pursuant to this Code or state law, it shall be un...
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