Business Licensing & Operations in Washoe County, NV (2026)
4 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Washoe County, Nevada.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Washoe County bans adult bookstores, cabarets, arcades, and similar businesses within 1,000 feet of schools, day-care centers, parks, churches, gaming establishments, or each other, and confines them to industrial zoning or gaming-licensed tourist commercial parcels. A waiver from the Board of County Commissioners is the only way around the distance rule.
Adult Business Location and Spacing Rules
Significant RestrictionsWCC 25.053
Except as provided in subsection 4, it is unlawful to commence operating an adult bookstore, adult drive-in theater, adult hotel or motel, adult interactive cabaret, adult motion picture arcade, adult motion picture theater, or model studio if, at the time of application, there is within 1,000 feet or less any public or licensed private kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, middl...
Massage Establishments
Operating a massage business in unincorporated Washoe County requires a separate business license from the License Division, on top of each therapist's individual state massage therapist license, and the county can deny or revoke it for fraud, prostitution, or sexual-assault convictions in the past ten years. On-site supervision by a state-licensed therapist is mandatory whenever the business is open.
Massage Establishment License Requirements
Some RestrictionsWCC 25.229; 25.244
Except as provided in section 25.259, it is unlawful for any person to operate, manage or maintain a business wherein massages are performed unless he holds a valid massage business license issued pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. ... A massage establishment business license allows for an establishment to be used for the purpose of massage and does not license or permit any individual...
Secondhand Dealers
Washoe County requires anyone buying, selling, or trading secondhand goods, antiques, coins, or collectibles to hold a secondhand store license, fingerprint sellers, hold purchased items 15 days before resale, and keep detailed transaction records open to the sheriff. Violations are misdemeanors with fines up to $2,000 and license revocation.
Secondhand Store and Pawnbroker License Rules
Some RestrictionsWCC 25.352; 25.353; 25.3574; 25.3579
"Secondhand store" means the business, in whole or in part, of buying, selling, or trading metal junk, melted metals or secondhand personal property, other than used books. Secondhand personal property includes, without limitation, antiques, coins, and collectibles. ... Except as provided in this section, no person shall operate or conduct a secondhand store or pawnbroker business in this count...
Pawnbrokers
Washoe County requires a license before anyone operates a pawnbroker or secondhand store in the unincorporated area. The sheriff investigates every applicant, fingerprints are mandatory, and a separate auto pawn license is required before a pawnbroker can accept a vehicle or its title as loan collateral.
Pawnbroker Licensing in Washoe County
Significant RestrictionsWashoe County Code § 25.353
1.Except as provided in this section, no person shall operate or conduct a secondhand store or pawnbroker business in this county without having first obtained a license therefor.2.Secondhand stores engaged primarily in the automobile wrecking business or in the business of buying, selling, or trading secondhand books or periodicals shall be exempt from the provisions of sections 25.353 to 25.3...
Business Licensing & Operations by City in Washoe County
1 cities in Washoe County have their own business licensing & operations rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All Washoe County ordinances
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