Business Licensing & Operations in Cowlitz County, WA (2026)

2 rules for unincorporated Cowlitz County, Washington.

Verified from official government sources

Note: These county rules apply to unincorporated areas of Cowlitz County. If you live within an incorporated city, that city's own rules apply: see the city list below.

Adult Entertainment

Unincorporated Cowlitz County requires every adult entertainment enterprise, cabarets, bookstores, arcades, theaters, and similar businesses, to hold a county permit under CCC § 10.44.040 before opening, plus an annual license under CCC § 10.44.070 costing $500 for adult cabarets and $125 for other adult entertainment enterprises.

Cowlitz County Adult Business Permit Rules

Significant Restrictions

Cowlitz County Code §§ 10.44.040, 10.44.070

No adult entertainment enterprise shall be permitted to operate without a valid adult entertainment enterprise permit, issued by the county for the particular type of business. It shall be a violation of this chapter if a person operates or causes to be operated an adult entertainment enterprise without the permit. ... The annual fee for an adult cabaret business license shall be $500.00. ... T...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Auto Repair on Residential Property

Unincorporated Cowlitz County's home occupation ordinance, CCC § 18.10.552, only lists a closed set of low-impact uses like artists, musicians, clergy and professional services as eligible home businesses, and bars any home occupation from emitting sounds, exhausts or vibrations beyond the property, standards a vehicle repair operation generally cannot meet without a different zoning classification.

Cowlitz County Home Auto Repair Limits

Significant Restrictions

Cowlitz County Code § 18.10.552(A)(1), (B)(2)

A. The following occupations, when conducted in compliance with the standards set forth in subsection B of this section, shall be permitted as home occupations in all land use districts and shall not be required to obtain special use permit approval: 1. In home workspaces for artists, musicians, craft practitioners, clergy, professional services including classes led by such practitioners and o...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

All Cowlitz County ordinances

See every category we cover for Cowlitz County: parking, noise, fences, fires, animals, pools, and more.

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