Business Licensing & Operations in Jefferson Parish, LA (2026)
7 rules for unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Jefferson Parish keeps adult uses at least 1,000 feet from any residential district or dwelling, from schools, day cares, churches, parks, libraries, and museums, and 1,000 feet from each other. Sec. 33-5.3.5.5 measures every buffer in a straight line from the closest exterior wall of the adult use.
Adult Business Spacing Rules in Jefferson Parish
Significant RestrictionsJefferson Parish Code of Ordinances Sec. 33-5.3.5.5
(a)The distance between any adult use and any residential district or dwelling, shall be a minimum of one thousand (1,000) feet, measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures, from the closest exterior structural wall of the adult use to the closest property line of the residential district or dwelling, whichever is greater.(b)The distance between any two (2) adult uses ...
Massage Establishments
Every massage business, establishment or parlor in Jefferson Parish must hold a $50.00 massage establishment license from the department of code compliance and enforcement before doing any business. Sec. 18.5-2 requires the state board of massage therapy's approval first, annual good-standing checks by May 1, and license posting in the lobby where patrons can see it.
Massage Establishment License in Jefferson Parish
Significant RestrictionsJefferson Parish Code of Ordinances Sec. 18.5-2(a)-(b)
(a)It shall be unlawful for massage businesses, establishments, or parlors to transact any phase, or take any steps or actions of business in the parish without first obtaining a message establishment license from the department of code compliance and enforcement. Every person, whether natural or juridical, who desires to lease or buy private property to conduct any of the businesses or calling...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Jefferson Parish treats tattoo parlors and other body-art shops as a distinct, licensed land use, and the parish's zoning tables let them operate by-right in only a handful of districts while barring them from others outright. The Unified Development Code defines 'commercial body art facility' broadly enough to cover cosmetic tattooing, piercing, branding, and scarification, and the mixed-use and industrial use tables decide where each one can locate.
Jefferson Parish Zoning Limits on Tattoo Shops
Some RestrictionsJefferson Parish Unified Development Code § 33-10.2 (Definitions)
Commercial body art facility shall mean any licensed place or establishment which is operated for the purpose of physical body adornment, including but not limited to tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, body piercing, branding, and scarification. This does not include piercing an ear with a disposable, single use stud or solid needle that is applied using a mechanical device to force the needle or s...
Tobacco Retail License
Selling cigarettes, cigars, loose tobacco, or e-cigarette liquid anywhere in unincorporated Jefferson Parish requires an annual retail dealer permit from the sheriff's office as tax collector. Sections 17-95 and 17-96 define 'tobacco product' to include vapor-producing e-cigarette liquid and require a $75-per-year permit for every outlet, dated from January 1, before the business can legally open its doors.
Tobacco and Vape Retail Permit in Jefferson Parish
Significant RestrictionsJefferson Parish Code of Ordinances Secs. 17-95, 17-96
Sec. 17-95. Definitions. Tobacco product means and includes tobacco, tobacco related products, tobacco substitutes, fillers and other plants or smoke or vapor-producing substances and/or liquids placed into an electronic cigarette, to the exclusion of nicotine cessation therapy products. Retail dealer includes every dealer other than a wholesale dealer or manufacturer who sells or offers for sa...
Secondhand Dealers
Jefferson Parish charges pawnbrokers and other secondhand money lenders a flat $1,000 annual occupational license, covering resale of pledged goods up to $100,000 in gross receipts. Secondhand bicycle dealers face a separate duty: reporting every purchase and sale to the sheriff's office.
Pawnbroker License Fees in Jefferson Parish
Some RestrictionsJefferson Parish Code § 35-179(b)
Sec. 35-179(b). Pawnbrokers and persons lending money on wages or salaries. For each and every pawnbroker, or person keeping a loan office and engaged in lending money on articles pawned or pledged, and for each and every money broker, money lender, or person lending money on, or purchasing time, wages, or salaries of laborers, clerks, or other wage earners or other persons, whether the same be...
Pawnbrokers
Every pawnbroker and wage/salary money-lender operating in Jefferson Parish must hold an occupational license carrying a flat $1,000.00 annual fee under Code of Ordinances Sec. 35-179(b). Pawnbrokers may also run retail sales without an extra license as long as those sales stay at or under $100,000.00 a year; cross that line and a separate retail license applies.
Jefferson Parish Pawnbroker License Fee Rules
Some RestrictionsJefferson Parish Code of Ordinances Sec. 35-179(b)
Pawnbrokers and persons lending money on wages or salaries. For each and every pawnbroker, or person keeping a loan office and engaged in lending money on articles pawned or pledged, and for each and every money broker, money lender, or person lending money on, or purchasing time, wages, or salaries of laborers, clerks, or other wage earners or other persons, whether the same be earned or unear...
Towing Companies
Jefferson Parish lets a private property owner tow or boot an unauthorized vehicle at the driver's expense, but only if warning signs are posted first. The parish licenses booting operators directly through Code Compliance and Enforcement; private-property towing itself is not separately licensed.
Non-Consent Towing Rules in Jefferson Parish
Significant RestrictionsJefferson Parish Code § 36-100.5
Sec. 36-100.5. Towing or booting by owner. (a)In addition to the removal procedure provided in section 36-100, the owner, lessee or person in control of any private property shall have the right to have any unauthorized vehicle, which is parked or abandoned on private property, booted or towed away at his own expense... (c)For the purpose of this section, when an owner, lessee or person in cont...
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