Business Licensing & Operations in Maryland (2026)

Annapolis confines adult bookstores to a Board of Appeals special exception in just three commercial districts, B3…

Anne Arundel County treats adult bookstores and adult movie theaters as conditional uses that must sit at least 1,000…

Baltimore County requires a Department-issued license, with a $200 non-refundable application fee and fingerprinting of…

Carroll County zones adult entertainment businesses, massage establishments, and striptease businesses away from…

Gaithersburg zoning confines adult-oriented establishments to its I-1 and I-3 industrial zones, prohibiting them in…

Harford County requires a Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits license to operate an adult bookstore, and…

Prince George's County requires a police-issued premises license for any adult entertainment club, plus separate…

Rockville confines Adult-Oriented Establishments to the I-L industrial zone, and only after the Board of Appeals grants…

Washington County confines adult bookstores, adult mini-motion picture theaters, and other adult entertainment venues…

Adult-oriented entertainment establishments with private viewing booths in Wicomico County must meet strict…

Adult entertainment businesses in Montgomery County must sit 750 feet from homes, schools, and parks, and can only…

Annapolis requires a City license to operate a massage parlor, with a background investigation by police and health…

Baltimore County confines massage establishments to the M.H. Zone and requires 1,000 feet of separation from schools…

Frederick requires a director-issued license for any massage establishment where non-certified staff perform massage…

Harford County bars anyone from running a massage establishment without a license from the Department of Licenses and…

Montgomery County requires a Director-issued license to own or operate a massage establishment, plus separate manager…

Operating a massage establishment in Prince George's County without a license from the Department of Permitting…

Anne Arundel County requires anyone who owns, operates, or manages a massage therapy establishment to hold a $25…

Carroll County Code § 6-104 lets the County Commissioners license massage establishments after a public hearing, while…

Howard County does not issue its own massage-establishment license. County Code § 17.800 lets police enter and inspect…

Baltimore County zones tattoo and body-piercing establishments into the M.H. Zone, keeping them at least 1,000 feet…

Prince George's County's Zoning Ordinance bars tattoo and body-piercing establishments outright from every Rural and…

Anne Arundel County zones tattoo parlors and body piercing salons as a distinct use, permitted outright in C3 and C4…

Carroll County's zoning code steers tattoo and piercing shops out of its industrial zones: § 158.079(D)(6)(i) bars them…

Maryland retailers selling electronic smoking devices need a tobacco/ESD retail license overseen by the Alcohol…

Prince George's County charges tobacco shops, electronic cigarette shops, retail tobacco businesses and convenience…

City of Rockville zoning bars new vape and tobacco shops within 1,000 feet of parks or schools, citywide, in every zone.

Baltimore County does not issue a separate retail tobacco license; instead Code Section 13-12-103 bars selling tobacco…

Cecil County requires anyone distributing cigarettes or other tobacco products through a vending machine to hold a…

Vape shops in Montgomery County must close overnight under Code § 32-19D, which caps operating hours to curb late-night…

Anne Arundel County requires a Second-Hand Dealer License from the Department of Inspections and Permits before buying…

Baltimore County requires anyone doing business as a junk dealer or scrap metal processor to hold a license from the…

Secondhand dealers in unincorporated Cecil County must hold an annual license from the Department of Permits and…

Secondhand dealers in Howard County, businesses that take in used goods and resell them to the public, need the same…

Montgomery County requires a dealer's license from the Office of Consumer Protection before buying, selling, or…

Prince George's County requires anyone buying used goods for resale, including pawnbrokers, to hold an annual…

Carroll County requires secondhand dealers to keep detailed transaction records, report them to law enforcement by…

Charles County does not issue a separate secondhand-dealer license, but Chapter 269 of the County Code regulates every…

Washington County, Maryland requires every junk shop and second-hand store to log each purchase of used goods in a…

Pawnbrokers must file a sworn application with the City Clerk, pass a Chief of Police background investigation, and…

Baltimore County limits pawnshops to 12 valid dealer licenses countywide and no more than two per councilmanic…

Every pawnbroker doing business in unincorporated Cecil County must buy an annual license from the Department of…

Every pawnbroker must buy an annual county license before opening in Harford County and pass a state criminal history…

Anyone operating a pawnshop in Howard County needs a two-year establishment license from the Department of Inspections…

Prince George's County caps the number of pawn dealer licenses at 31 countywide and requires every secondhand or pawn…

Rockville confines pawnshops to the I-L industrial zone and keeps them at least 500 feet from residential property and…

Anne Arundel County requires a Department-issued license to operate as a pawnbroker, with a $250 fee for the first…

Carroll County caps pawnshop hours at 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., bans drive-up transactions, and forces a 10-day hold on…

Washington County, Maryland caps what a licensed pawnbroker can charge on a pledge loan: up to 5% for 30 days on loans…

Charles County's zoning code expressly names automobile sales, repair, dismantling, storage, and body shops as…

Gaithersburg's residential zoning use table lists no automobile repair or service use in any of its eight residential…

Rockville's Home-Based Business standards flatly ban motor vehicle repairs, sales, or engine work from any home…

Anne Arundel County's zoning code limits home occupations to an exhaustive list of allowed trades, and running a…

In unincorporated Wicomico County, motor vehicle and small-engine repair, vehicle body work and gasoline stations are…

Annapolis requires a City license or signed agency contract before any company may tow disabled, illegally parked, or…

Charles County requires every towing company to hold a Sheriff's Office permit, split into consensual (Level 1, $250)…

Frederick regulates non-consent towing from private parking lots under City Code Article IV, §§ 13-70 through 13-80…

Howard County caps what a trespass towing service can charge to tow a vehicle from private property without the owner's…

Montgomery County requires every towing company to register with the county before operating: unlicensed towing is a…

Prince George's County requires every towing company to hold a Department of the Environment license, with a separate…

Private lots and communities may only tow unauthorized vehicles if they post signs meeting exact size, content, and…

Baltimore County requires a license before anyone may tow a vehicle without the owner's consent from a private parking…

Harford County requires anyone towing a disabled vehicle from an accident scene to hold a license from the Department…