Business Licensing & Operations in Illinois (2026)

Cicero requires a town license before operating any adult use, from adult bookstores to adult cabarets, and Section…

Tinley Park requires a $1,000 annual permit from the Industrial Commercial Commission before any sexually oriented…

Arlington Heights, Illinois requires a Village adult business license before any adult bookstore, adult theater, or…

Aurora confines adult bookstores, cabarets, theaters, and similar adult uses to M-1 manufacturing districts and keeps…

Bolingbrook allows adult bookstores, adult entertainment cabarets and adult motion picture theaters only as permitted…

Champaign only allows nude or semi-nude adult entertainment at premises already holding a liquor license, and bans…

Champaign County keeps sexually oriented businesses away from sensitive uses through its zoning table, not a business…

Adult bookstores, theaters, and cabarets must register with the city and can't locate within 1,000 feet of another…

In unincorporated Cook County, adult entertainment cabarets, adult stores, adult booths, and adult theaters are zoned…

DuPage County zoning keeps adult business uses at least 1,000 feet from homes, schools, churches and other adult…

Elgin's zoning code confines adult entertainment establishments to the GI General Industrial District and imposes a…

Joliet requires every sexually oriented business to hold a city license before opening, caps each license to one fixed…

Unincorporated Kane County allows adult businesses only as a special use in the B2 Business District, and nowhere else…

Adult bookstores, adult theaters, and adult entertainment establishments are a special use in the I2 general industrial…

Kendall County treats adult bookstores, theaters, entertainment facilities and similar uses as regulated uses that need…

Unincorporated Lake County requires an adult establishment license and enforces 1,000-foot spacing from other adult…

Adult businesses in unincorporated Madison County need a special use permit and can only locate in a B-3 Highway…

Every adult business in unincorporated McHenry County needs a Conditional Use Permit and a $200 annual license before…

McLean County keeps adult entertainment establishments 2,650 feet from residential districts, churches, schools, and…

Naperville confines sexually oriented businesses to Industrial-zoned property and requires a 500-foot buffer from…

Oak Lawn confines adult bookstores, theaters and entertainment cabarets to the M-1 manufacturing district, bars adult…

Peoria requires a comptroller-issued license before any sexually oriented adult use opens, and Code Sec. 18-53 keeps…

Peoria County requires a $200 annual license for any sexually oriented business and a $100 license for each of its…

Rock Island County requires a Sheriff-issued license before anyone presents sexually-oriented entertainment in the…

Rockford requires a separate city license to run an adult cabaret, adult motion picture theater, or adult mini-motion…

Unincorporated Sangamon County confines adult bookstores, theaters and night clubs to a conditional permit in the B-3…

Skokie's zoning code bans any adult use within 200 feet of a church, school, day care center, park, recreation facility…

Adult uses need a conditional permit from the Springfield City Council to locate in the B-2 or I-1 zoning districts…

Tazewell County requires an adult establishment license to run any adult cabaret, store, theater, body shop, or massage…

Waukegan requires a dedicated adult establishment license before any adult cabaret, adult store, adult theater, or…

Unincorporated Will County confines adult entertainment establishments to the I-3 industrial district as a special use…

Winnebago County bars any adult use, including adult bookstores, cabarets, adult motels and massage parlors, from…

Schaumburg's Adult Materials chapter bars selling or showing adult videos to anyone under 18, and requires businesses…

Chicago requires anyone operating a massage establishment to hold a city regulated business license from the Department…

In unincorporated Cook County, massage parlors and massage schools are classified as adult uses under the zoning…

Any massage establishment operating in unincorporated DuPage County needs a license from the County Clerk before…

Elgin requires anyone who operates a massage establishment to hold a permit from the neighborhood services director…

Joliet requires separate police-chief-issued permits for a massage business and for each masseur, backed by…

Every massage establishment operating within the Village of Oak Park must hold a Village license before opening…

Every massage or bodywork business in Peoria needs a bodywork establishment license from the city manager's office…

Rockford requires a finance director permit for any massage establishment, with fingerprinting, inspections, and a 10…

Massage establishments in unincorporated Sangamon County need a county license before opening: background checks…

Operating a massage establishment in Schaumburg requires a business license from the Village Collector under § 126.02…

Skokie requires a Massage Services Establishment License before anyone can operate a place of business offering massage…

Springfield requires every massage establishment to hold a city license, which costs a nonrefundable $25 and clears…

St. Clair County requires anyone operating a massage establishment in the unincorporated county to hold a permit from…

Tazewell County treats a massage establishment as a type of adult entertainment establishment under Chapter 150 and…

Tinley Park requires a Village business license for every separate massage office or place of business, in addition to…

Unincorporated Will County requires every bath house or massage parlor to hold a county license before opening. The…

Winnebago County requires anyone who operates a massage establishment in the unincorporated county to get a license…

Aurora requires therapeutic massage establishments and their massage therapists to meet certification and state…

Operating a massage establishment or working as a masseuse or masseur in unincorporated Lake County requires an annual…

Naperville requires a City-issued massage establishment permit before any business can offer massage, on top of the…

Oak Lawn does not require massage therapists to hold a village business license. Village Code § 8-4-1 lists them among…

Cicero does not license tattoo businesses; it bans them entirely. Town authorities have declared tattooing and the…

Aurora requires an annual city license for every tattoo and body art establishment and bars new locations within 2,640…

Tattoo and body piercing shops need a regulated business license, $300,000 liability insurance, and must follow strict…

Tattoo parlors need a conditional-use permit to operate in unincorporated DuPage County. Section 37-801.2 and Section…

Joliet requires a license to operate a tattoo shop or work as a tattooer, with shops required to have proper lighting…

Kendall County treats tattoo parlors and permanent body art establishments as adult regulated uses confined to the M-1…

Anyone performing tattooing, body piercing, or branding in unincorporated Macon County needs an annual body art…

Operating a tattoo or body-piercing establishment in unincorporated McHenry County without a valid Illinois Department…

Schaumburg treats tattoo and body art shops as a special use under Village Code § 154.90.09, not an ordinary retail…

Skokie caps body art establishments offering tattooing, piercing, microblading, branding or scarification at eight…

Tazewell County bars any body art or micropigmentation establishment from operating in the unincorporated county…

Winnebago County zones a tattoo parlor as a 'Body Modification Establishment' under UDO Sec. 24.4, and bars it outright…

Bolingbrook allows tattoo and body piercing establishments only as a permitted use in its I-1 and I-2 industrial…

Champaign doesn't write its own tattoo parlor standards: Chapter 31.5 adopts by reference the Champaign-Urbana Public…

Tattoo studios in Evanston must hold a City-issued license, pass health inspections, and follow strict sanitation…

Operating a tattoo or body piercing establishment in Lake County without a valid Illinois Department of Public Health…

Madison County requires every tattoo, piercing or body art establishment in county territory to hold a Health…

Naperville confines body art establishments, tattoo and piercing shops, to specific accessory uses under Municipal Code…

Operating a tattoo, piercing, or other body art establishment in Springfield requires an annual $100 permit from the…

Waukegan zones tattoo and piercing shops as 'Body Art Establishments,' a defined use tracked in the Unified Development…

Will County zoning classifies tattoo parlors and piercing studios as personal improvement service uses, permitted by…

Illinois requires retailers selling electronic cigarettes and e-liquids to obtain Department of Revenue licensing and…

Cook County requires retail tobacco dealers to register and remit county tobacco taxes under Ch. 74 Article XI, on top…

Evanston bars selling tobacco or liquid nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, within 150 feet of any school and…

Selling vapor products or alternative nicotine products in Aurora, Illinois requires a separate endorsement from the…

Selling tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, in unincorporated DuPage County requires a $100 annual seller's…

Oak Lawn licenses dedicated tobacco and vape retailers as Class 2 Tobacco Retailers, caps the total at 12 village-wide…

Oak Park requires a tobacco dealer's license to sell any tobacco product, e-cigarette or vaping accessory at retail…

Peoria requires a Class 1 or Class 2 tobacco retail license before selling any tobacco or 'alternative nicotine…

Rockford requires a city tobacco license covering electronic cigarettes before any store can sell vape products, and…

Schaumburg requires one of three separate tobacco licenses to sell tobacco or e-cigarette products, bars anyone under…

Skokie requires a Village license before any person or corporation may sell cigarettes, tobacco, or tobacco products…

Any store selling tobacco, e-cigarettes or vape liquid in Tinley Park needs a tobacco dealer's license, and the village…

Retailers selling alternative nicotine products (vapes, e-liquids) or tobacco in unincorporated Will County must obtain…

Selling cigarettes, cigars, tobacco or vapes in Arlington Heights requires a retail tobacco dealer license under…

Selling cigarettes, cigars, hookah products or e-cigarettes at retail in Bolingbrook requires an annual tobacco…

Chicago requires a separate tobacco license for every retail location before selling cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or other…

Cicero makes it unlawful to sell, offer for sale, give away or keep tobacco products for retail without first obtaining…

Elgin requires an annual dealer license from the chief financial officer before anyone can sell tobacco, e-cigarettes…

Joliet requires every retailer of tobacco, vapor products or alternative nicotine products to hold a tobacco dealer…

Unincorporated Lake County retailers must hold a Health Department tobacco license, $100 per year, before selling…

Madison County Code § 37.18 bars anyone from selling, distributing, or furnishing an electronic cigarette or…

Naperville treats vapor and e-cigarette products as alternative nicotine products, requiring the same $300 Cigarette…

Anyone selling tobacco products in Springfield, by any method including coin-operated devices, must hold a tobacco…

Selling cigars, cigarettes, cigarette papers or wrappers in Waukegan requires a retail sales license under § 14-411…

Chicago requires a city license before buying, selling, or trading secondhand property like jewelry, electronics, or…

Every secondhand dealer in Cicero needs a separate license per location under Section 70-1, plus a $250 application…

Elgin requires a resale dealer license for any business that buys, sells, consigns, or trades used jewelry, coins…

Joliet requires a license under Code Chapter 17 before anyone buys, trades, or deals in junk, scrap, or secondhand…

McLean County zoning flatly excludes secondhand merchandise retail from the list of businesses allowed to operate as a…

Peoria licenses every secondhand dealer, a category that by definition includes pawnbrokers, swap shops, and coin and…

Buying and reselling used goods for a living in Arlington Heights requires a second-hand dealer's license under…

Bolingbrook defines a secondhand store as any business that buys, sells, exchanges or trades used goods, and the zoning…

Champaign licenses secondhand and used-goods dealers as junk dealers under Chapter 28, Article II of its Code, a…

Cook County requires secondhand dealers buying used cell phones to check a stolen cell phone database first, log each…

Secondhand dealers in Madison County must register with LeadsOnline and report every purchase, sale, trade or exchange…

Junk dealers in Oak Lawn must be licensed, mark their vehicles with owner name and address, and produce any goods…

Oak Park licenses junk dealers, the code's term for secondhand resellers, requiring a $1,000 bond, marked vehicles, a…

Rockford requires anyone buying or selling secondhand goods, furniture, jewelry, metals, electronics, and more, to hold…

Skokie requires a Village license before anyone sets up a secondhand, scrap or junk business dealing in used furniture…

Tinley Park licenses secondhand dealers separately from pawnbrokers under its own subchapter of the Village Code…

Cicero flatly prohibits pawnbroking as a business within town limits. Section 26-140 defines a pawnbroker as anyone who…

Oak Lawn bans pawnbroker businesses outright. No pawnbroker may conduct business anywhere within the village, whether…

Aurora requires anyone operating as a pawnbroker within city limits to hold a city-issued license, backed by a $1,000…

No one may run a pawnshop in Champaign without a City Clerk license under Sec. 28-56, which requires background checks…

Chicago requires a $5,280/year city license to operate as a pawnbroker, with a good-moral-character investigation…

Elgin caps the number of pawnbroker licenses at two citywide and requires every pawnbroker to hold a license from the…

Evanston caps pawnbroker licenses at two citywide, requires a $125 annual fee, a $2,000 surety bond, and Chief of…

Operating as a pawnbroker in Joliet requires a city license, a $1,000 bond, and weekly reports of every pledge to the…

Naperville pawnbrokers must register with the City Clerk, report every transaction online within 24 hours, and hold…

Oak Park caps pawnbroker licenses at three villagewide, requires a $10,000 bond, and puts the Police Chief in charge of…

Skokie limits pawnbroker licenses to two and precious metals dealer licenses to one Village-wide under Section 26-1126…

St. Clair County requires a $500 annual license from the County Clerk before anyone operates a pawnshop in the…

Waukegan caps pawnbroker licenses at three citywide and charges a $3,000 annual fee. Every pawnbroker must post a…

Running a pawnshop in Arlington Heights requires both a Village pawnbroker license and a valid Illinois state…

Bolingbrook defines a pawnbroker as anyone lending money against pledged personal property and confines that business…

Cook County doesn't run its own pawnbroker license, but Code § 30-876 flatly bars anyone holding a County…

Pawnshops are a permitted, by-right use in unincorporated DuPage County's B-2 General Business District, so no…

Every pawnbroker doing business in Madison County must register with the online database LeadsOnline and upload…

Rockford treats pawnbrokers as secondhand dealers who must hold a city license, pay an enhanced fee, and keep permanent…

Tinley Park requires anyone who wants to run a pawnbroker business to get a license from the Village before opening…

Arlington Heights, Illinois flatly bans motor vehicle repair as a home occupation. Section 6.16-3(c) of the Zoning Code…

Bolingbrook flatly prohibits operating a motor vehicle repair business out of a residence. Sec. 54-309(11) lists repair…

Champaign County bans major auto repair as a home occupation outright and allows minor auto repair only by Special Use…

Unincorporated DuPage County bans auto repair as a home business outright. Zoning Ordinance Sec. 37-418.1(A)(6) says a…

Elgin's zoning code flatly prohibits detailing, servicing, or repairing motor vehicles as a home occupation under any…

Unincorporated Lake County flatly bans vehicle repair as a home occupation. Section 151.113(E)(5)(a) prohibits any…

Unincorporated McHenry County bars any kind of auto repair or small engine repair from operating as a home occupation…

Peoria's zoning code bars auto and engine repair businesses from operating out of a home entirely: Unified Development…

Peoria County bans automobile body repair and automobile repair as home occupations countywide. Under UDO Section…

Village Code § 154.65(A)(12) bans on-site automobile or motor vehicle service, repair, and auto body work as a…

The county's zoning use matrix gives automobile repair, major or minor, no permitted or special-use entry in any…

Waukegan's Unified Development Ordinance gives Motor Vehicle Repair and/or Service no designation in the CR district or…

Unincorporated Will County's zoning code flatly bans automobile or truck repair as a home occupation, no matter how…

Winnebago County flatly prohibits motor vehicle and truck service or repair as a home occupation anywhere in the…

Champaign allows a home-based repair business only as an accessory home occupation under Sec. 37-167, and the rule bans…

In unincorporated Kankakee County, a home auto-repair business must fit inside the county's home occupation rules: work…

Kendall County's home occupation rules make it nearly impossible to run a legal auto repair business from a residential…

Automobile and other motor vehicle repair services cannot operate as a home occupation in unincorporated McLean County…

Madison County allows hobby or personal vehicle repair in agricultural and residential districts, but caps it at two…

A home-based auto repair business in unincorporated Sangamon County is regulated as a home occupation, capped at 25% of…

Champaign requires any towing or vehicle-relocation service to hold a City Clerk license before removing a single…

Cicero requires anyone operating a tow truck or a motor vehicle wrecking and storage business to hold a town license…

Elgin only lets towing firms it has qualified under city specifications remove abandoned, disabled, or impounded…

Any tow truck used to move a vehicle within Joliet city limits must first be registered with the Joliet Police…

Naperville caps police-requested towing to licensed companies chosen through a biennial application window, with…

Any company that wants police-dispatched non-consent tows in Peoria must first win a spot on the Police Department's…

Rockford requires every towing service owner to hold a city license before towing any vehicle in the city, and…

Schaumburg licenses every vehicle relocator and repossessor operating in the village under Chapter 81 of the Village…

Towing companies removing vehicles from Springfield private property without owner consent must file a notice of intent…

Tinley Park keeps a police towing list of no more than four and no fewer than two approved wrecker companies, each…

Private property owners in Aurora, Illinois must post compliant warning signage and use a licensed commercial relocator…

Tow operators need the property owner's written consent before relocating a car from a private lot, and citywide…

DuPage County has adopted the Illinois Commercial Relocation of Trespassing Vehicles Law to govern non-consent tows…

Towing companies that remove and store vehicles in unincorporated Macon County hold a possessory lien for their…

Any towing company operating a tow vehicle in Oak Lawn must hold a Village license, a $1,000 base fee plus $1,000 per…

The Village of Oak Park, Cook County, Illinois authorizes towing of vehicles only by its Police Department or the…

A towing company holding a vehicle the Sheriff impounded can't release it until the driver shows a paid $350 county fee…

Winnebago County charges a $150 administrative fee, on top of towing and storage costs, to release a vehicle the…