Business Licensing & Operations in Minnesota (2026)

Adult uses in unincorporated Carver County need both a county adult use license and a conditional use permit under Code…

Maple Grove requires sexually oriented businesses to be licensed and sited at least 750 feet from schools, day cares…

Sexually oriented uses in Minneapolis are confined to the DT1 and DT2 downtown districts, must sit 1,000 feet from…

Olmsted County zoning permits adult entertainment businesses only in the Highway Commercial (HC) district, one of the…

Rochester requires separate city licenses before anyone operates a companionship establishment, escort service or…

Saint Paul limits adult massage parlors to one adult use per building under Legislative Code Chapter 412A, requires a…

Stearns County confines principal adult-use businesses to the Industrial district and requires them to sit at least…

Woodbury confines principal adult uses to the FD-3 freeway special impact district under a special use permit, keeping…

Maple Grove requires both a business license for any massage establishment and a separate personal service license for…

Woodbury requires both a massage therapy business license and an individual massage therapist license, with 500 hours…

Minneapolis requires a city license to operate any massage and bodywork establishment, with set hours, location limits…

Rochester requires two separate city licenses for massage therapy: a massage therapist license for the person doing the…

Saint Paul requires a Class A license for commercial massage or bodywork centers and a Class B license for home-based…

Woodbury will not license a tattoo or body-piercing operation inside a residential dwelling: City Code § 24-263(e)(7)…

Anoka County's Body Art Ordinance requires a separate establishment license for every tattoo and piercing shop and an…

Hennepin County requires a Health Authority license before anyone can own, operate, or work in a body art establishment…

Minneapolis requires a body art establishment license before any shop can offer tattooing, piercing, or related…

Hennepin County requires any retailer selling tobacco, e-cigarettes or nicotine products to hold a county license first.

Selling vapes or e-cigarettes in Minneapolis requires a tobacco dealer's license under Chapter 281, and new tobacco…

Any retail establishment in Olmsted County that sells tobacco, e-cigarettes, vape products or related devices must…

St. Louis County Ordinance No. 51 makes it unlawful to sell tobacco, tobacco-related devices, or run compliance checks…

Stearns County requires a county license before anyone can retail sell tobacco outside of cities and towns that already…

Washington County is the tobacco retail licensing authority for towns and cities that have not adopted their own…

Woodbury requires every retailer selling tobacco, tobacco products, or nicotine or lobelia delivery devices, including…

Anoka County requires a county tobacco license before anyone can sell tobacco, tobacco products or tobacco-related…

No one may sell or offer to sell tobacco, tobacco products, or tobacco related devices, a category that expressly…

Any business in Maple Grove, Minnesota (Hennepin County) selling tobacco, tobacco-related devices, e-cigarettes, or…

Selling any tobacco, vape, or nicotine product at retail in Saint Paul requires a city license under Legislative Code §…

Anyone buying, consigning, or reselling secondhand goods in Minneapolis must hold a secondhand goods dealer license…

Saint Paul secondhand and antique dealers need a city license under § 355.01(a) before buying or selling used goods…

Woodbury licenses precious metal dealers, those buying secondhand items containing gold, silver, or platinum, through…

Maple Grove requires every pawnbroker to hold a location-specific city license, post a $5,000 bond, stay 750 feet from…

Minneapolis pawnbrokers need a police-issued Chapter 324 license, a $5,000 bond, and daily electronic transaction…

Running a pawnshop in Saint Paul requires a city pawnbroker license under Legislative Code § 344.01, plus a $5,000…

Woodbury requires a police-issued pawnbroker license, a $1,500 investigation deposit, daily photograph or video ID of…

No one may operate as a pawnbroker in Rochester, or hold themselves out as one, without a pawnbroker license from the…

Minneapolis explicitly bans motor vehicle repair, service, or painting as a home occupation citywide, along with…

Running an auto repair shop out of a Woodbury home is flatly illegal: City Code § 24-263(e)(3) lists 'Repair shop of…

Stearns County lets a resident run motor vehicle repair out of their home in agricultural districts, but only under…

Saint Paul requires every wrecker or tow truck operator to hold a DSI-issued license under Chapter 361, post a $10,000…

Minneapolis requires a Class A license, a $10,000 surety bond, and liability insurance before any company can tow a…

Woodbury contracts with private towing companies rather than running its own impound lot. City Code § 15-32 requires…