Business Licensing & Operations in Michigan (2026)

Southfield Chapter 87 requires a one-year city license before running an adult bookstore, cabaret, motel, arcade…

In the City of Taylor, Michigan, adult regulated uses (adult bookstores, cabarets, theaters, escort agencies and…

Battle Creek, Michigan confines adult businesses to B-1, I-1 and I-2 zoning and requires 1,000 feet from another adult…

Clinton Township confines adult use businesses to the B-3 General Business District and bars them within 1,000 feet of…

Dearborn's Zoning Ordinance lists adult entertainment establishments as a regulated use, blocking a second one within…

In the City of Dearborn Heights, City Code Sec. 36-231 keeps adult regulated uses at least 1,000 feet from any…

Detroit requires a Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department license for every sexually-oriented…

Group A adult businesses in the City of Flint need Planning Commission approval and cannot locate within 1,000 feet of…

Grand Rapids confines adult bookstores, cabarets, theaters, and model studios to zones where they're specifically…

Kalamazoo bars sexually oriented businesses from operating within 750 feet of a school, church, park, residential zone…

Lansing zones adult businesses away from each other and from housing, schools, and worship. Zoning Code § 1250.02.09(c)…

Livonia confines adult businesses to the C-3 commercial district as a waiver use under Zoning Ordinance Section 6.01…

The City of Pontiac's Zoning Ordinance Section 2.508 keeps sexually oriented and adult entertainment businesses away…

Rochester Hills confines adult motion picture theaters, adult bookstores or video stores and adult cabarets to the B-3…

Royal Oak zones adult-oriented enterprises, escort services, massage parlors, pawnbrokers and tattoo studios as…

In the Charter Township of Royal Oak, Michigan, no one operates a sexually oriented business, or works in one, without…

Adult entertainment uses need special approval in Sterling Heights and must sit in a C-2 shopping center, 1,000 feet…

Troy requires an annual license from the City Clerk before operating any adult arcade, bookstore, cabaret, motel…

Warren licenses sexually oriented businesses under Code Chapter 6, Article X and confines them by zoning distance rule…

West Bloomfield Township requires a separate license before anyone operates a sexually oriented business or works as…

Adult businesses in the City of Wyoming, Michigan, need a city adult business license and must sit at least 500 feet…

Any Westland establishment selling sexually explicit books, videos or magazines must shield them from public view, keep…

Clinton Township requires anyone who owns or operates a massage establishment, including a massage school, to hold a…

Dearborn zoning treats massage parlors as a regulated adult use: operators must get zoning administrator approval and…

In the City of Dearborn Heights, no one may operate a massage business without a city license, which costs $500 a year…

Every massage facility and massage school in Detroit must obtain an annual license from the Buildings, Safety…

Farmington Hills requires a city-issued massage therapy establishment license for every separate office or place of…

The City of Flint treats massage establishments as a Group A special regulated use: opening one requires Planning…

Operating a massage or bath establishment in Lansing, Michigan requires a health club license from the City Clerk…

No one may operate a massage business in Novi without a city massage business license for each separate location…

The City of Pontiac requires anyone operating a massage parlor to hold a city business license under City Code Section…

Rochester Hills requires anyone operating a massage parlor, massage school or similar business, and anyone working as a…

Royal Oak requires a separate City license for every massage establishment location plus a valid Michigan massage…

In the Charter Township of Royal Oak, Michigan, a massage parlor or massage establishment is a regulated use: it is…

Southfield Code Chapter 83 requires any massage establishment or school of massage to hold a city license before…

Sterling Heights caps massage establishment licenses citywide at 18 active at once, and operating a massage…

In the City of Taylor, Michigan, no one may run a massage establishment or massage school, or work as a massage…

Troy Code Chapter 98-A requires every massage facility, from independent studios to spas offering massage incidentally…

Warren requires a city clerk-issued license to operate a massage or spa establishment, on top of the state massage…

Anyone operating a massage establishment in West Bloomfield Township needs an annual license from the township clerk…

Westland requires a separate city clerk license for every massage establishment location, plus state-licensed…

Massage businesses in Grand Rapids must employ only Michigan-licensed massage therapists, display each therapist's…

Kalamazoo does not issue a separate massage establishment license. City Code section 50-4.4C(1)(f)[4] instead exempts a…

Livonia does not run its own massage-establishment licensing scheme; instead it requires every person providing massage…

Operating a massage establishment in the City of Wyoming, Michigan, requires a city license under Sec. 14-61, on top of…

Detroit requires a license from the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department before any tattoo…

Flint classifies tattoo establishments as a Group B special regulated use, needing Planning Commission approval and…

The City of Royal Oak's zoning ordinance treats tattoo, body-piercing and branding studios as a regulated use alongside…

Tattoo parlors are on Southfield's list of uses flatly prohibited inside any Overlay Development District, including…

Sterling Heights requires every body art facility, meaning any location offering tattooing, branding, or body piercing…

In the City of Taylor, Michigan, a tattoo parlor is a "regulated use" under Zoning Ordinance, Appendix A Sec. 20.02…

In the City of Dearborn Heights, anyone without a current Michigan medical license may not tattoo a person under…

Warren requires anyone operating a tattoo establishment to hold a city clerk license under Chapter 36, pass inspection…

Wayne County requires an annual Health Department permit to run any body art establishment, tattooing, piercing…

Westland's zoning ordinance classifies tattoo artist establishments as a personal service use, permitted by right in…

Clinton Township's Zoning Code defines a "body art studio" as any business that inserts pigment under the skin or…

Michigan regulates retail sale of vapor products and alternative nicotine products under the Youth Tobacco Act, MCL…

Selling cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, vapor products or alternative nicotine products in Dearborn requires a $500 annual…

In the City of Dearborn Heights, anyone operating a smoking lounge, tobacco retail specialty store, hookah bar, cigar…

Any hookah, vape or tobacco lounge operating in Farmington Hills needs a smoking lounge license under City Code § 8-45…

Royal Oak's zoning code does not issue a separate tobacco retail license, but it does define and zone 'smoking lounges'…

In the City of Taylor, Michigan, tobacco retailers and tobacco stores are classified as a "regulated use" under Zoning…

West Bloomfield Township requires an annual business license, on top of a state smoking exemption, before anyone runs a…

Westland bars new retail tobacco, hookah and vape shops from locating within 500 feet of any place of worship, school…

Ann Arbor bars retailers from selling e-cigarettes to anyone under 21 and requires vape sellers to post a specific…

Detroit zones vape and e-cigarette shops as "tobacco retail stores," a conditional use that needs a Board of Zoning…

Rochester Hills regulates e-cigarette sales under Chapter 70, Division 4 (sections 70-400 to 70-404) rather than a…

Retailers in Sterling Heights must keep vapor and alternative nicotine products behind the counter or in a locked case…

The City of Wyoming, Michigan, has no license specific to tobacco or vape shops: a retailer must hold the citywide…

Bay County requires secondhand dealers, buyers and sellers of used goods like electronics, tools, jewelry and precious…

Clinton Township requires anyone operating a secondhand dealer business to hold a Township license issued under Chapter…

Buying or reselling secondhand jewelry, silverware, or gold, silver, and platinum items in Dearborn requires a city…

Anyone who wants to buy, sell or store used metal, secondhand auto parts or other junk in the City of Dearborn Heights…

Anyone dealing in junk or operating a junkyard in Farmington Hills needs a license under City Code § 23-46, approved by…

Anyone buying, selling, or exchanging secondhand goods in the City of Flint is a licensed secondhand or junk dealer…

In the City of Kalamazoo, a secondhand dealer under City Code § 24-1 is anyone whose primary business is buying…

Buying, selling, storing or exchanging secondhand goods as a business in Lansing, Michigan requires a City Clerk…

Livonia bars anyone who buys, stores or resells used merchandise from opening for business without a police-issued…

Any secondhand dealer or junk dealer operating in the City of Novi must hold a city business license before opening…

In the Charter Township of Royal Oak, Michigan, a secondhand store is a regulated use under zoning § 32-768. A third…

Sterling Heights requires pawnshops, junk dealers, auto wreckers, and other secondhand merchants to register with the…

West Bloomfield Township requires anyone regularly buying gold, silver, platinum, jewelry or gems from the public to…

Detroit requires anyone buying, selling, or exchanging secondhand goods at a store, shop, or flea market to hold a used…

Grand Rapids secondhand and junk dealers need a city license and must fingerprint sellers, tag goods, and report daily…

In the City of Southfield, no one may engage in the business of dealer in secondhand goods or junk dealer without first…

Taylor requires anyone dealing in secondhand goods, scrap metal or junk to hold a city license before opening for…

Troy requires every dealer in precious metal, gems and jewelry to register with the City before opening, keep detailed…

Warren requires a city clerk-issued license before anyone operates as an automotive recycler, scrap processor…

Westland requires anyone dealing in secondhand goods or junk to obtain a city clerk license, submit fingerprints, and…

Secondhand and junk dealers in the City of Wyoming, Michigan (Kent County) need both a city general business license…

No one can run a pawnshop or a secondhand goods and junk business in the City of Battle Creek, Michigan without first…

Bay County licenses pawnbrokers operating outside cities and villages of more than 3,000 people, such as the City of…

Clinton Township requires every pawnbroker, secondhand dealer and junk dealer to hold a Township business license…

Detroit requires anyone operating a pawnshop to get a license from the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental…

Pawnbrokers operating in the City of Flint must pay a license application fee, secure a City-issued license, and comply…

In the City of Kalamazoo, anyone operating a pawnbroker business must first obtain a license from the City Clerk under…

A Lansing, Michigan secondhand dealer who takes items as pledge or pawn, or loans money against an item as security…

Livonia requires anyone engaging in the pawnbroker business to obtain a city license certified by the police and fire…

Anyone operating a pawnbroker business in the City of Novi needs a city license under Code Section 27.5-51, backed by a…

Anyone running a pawnbroker, secondhand dealer or junk dealer business in Pontiac needs a city license under City Code…

In the City of Royal Oak, City Code § 521-4 bars anyone from operating as a pawnbroker without a license, which expires…

Sterling Heights requires every pawnbroker operating in the city to hold a license issued by the City Clerk under Code…

Warren bars anyone from operating a pawnshop without a city clerk license, backed by two $1,500 sureties, a criminal…

Grand Rapids pawnbrokers must hold a city license, post a $6,000 bond, and follow strict recordkeeping and stolen-goods…

In the City of Southfield, no one may engage in the business of pawnbroker without a license issued by the mayor under…

The City of Taylor, Michigan requires anyone doing business as a pawnbroker to get a license from the mayor before…

Westland treats pawnbrokers as secondhand dealers requiring a city clerk license, and lets police place up to 90-day…

A pawnbroker operating in the City of Wyoming, Michigan (Kent County) needs both a city general business license and a…

In the City of Battle Creek, Michigan, Section 1251.18(c)(14) says in no instance shall the repair or sale of motor…

Clinton Township effectively bars home-based auto repair businesses. Section 1118.02(m) requires any home occupation to…

In the City of Dearborn Heights, City Code Sec. 36-143(c)(2) expressly prohibits automobile-oriented uses, including…

Livonia does not allow auto repair as a home business. Zoning Ordinance Section 6.06 confines automobile and…

Royal Oak's home occupation standards effectively prohibit running an auto repair business from a residential dwelling…

Troy's zoning code lists vehicle repair stations as NP, not permitted, in every residential district: R-1A through…

Westland's zoning ordinance flatly excludes vehicle repair or painting from the home-occupation category, so residents…

Dearborn's Zoning Ordinance lets a homeowner use a private garage for minor vehicle repairs or hobbies, but bars any…

Detroit bans engine repair and vehicle assembly as a home business in every residential district; incidental repairs…

Kalamazoo does not license home auto repair separately; instead, City Code § 21-17 bars repairing, rebuilding or…

Pontiac's Zoning Ordinance classifies auto repair as Automobile Service, a commercial use under Section 2.509 that must…

In the Charter Township of Royal Oak, Michigan, vehicle and engine repair businesses and repair shops are strictly…

Taylor allows vehicle repair and maintenance at a residence only on a concrete or asphalt driveway, and only on…

Grand Rapids lets residents repair their own vehicles at home in any residential zone district, but only one vehicle at…

Lansing lets residents fix their own vehicle in a home accessory structure, but the job must wrap up within 24 hours…

Sterling Heights allows only minor auto repair as an accessory home use in its one-family districts. Zoning Ordinance…

Wyoming, Michigan lets residents work on their own vehicles at home, but Sec. 90-314(1) of the zoning code limits it…

Ann Arbor requires that any non-consent tow of a trespassing vehicle from private property be done only by a towing…

Dearborn tow operators need the vehicle owner's consent or police authorization to pull a car off a public street, and…

Flint bars wreckers from towing a vehicle off a public street or private property without the owner's consent or police…

Wreckers that tow a vehicle in Kalamazoo without the owner's consent must notify the Department of Public Safety first…

Livonia caps what any towing company can charge to tow a car off private property without the owner's permission: the…

Warren requires every wrecker owner to hold a city clerk license under Chapter 37, Article III before towing vehicles…

In the City of Dearborn Heights, a tow company that removes a vehicle from private property at someone else's…

Private-property tow companies in Detroit need the owner's authorization and Police Department approval before hooking…