Business Licensing & Operations in New York (2026)

North Hempstead confines every adult use, including adult bookstores, cabarets, motels, theaters and peep shows, to the…

Rochester licenses adult arcades, cabarets, movie theaters and retail stores under Chapter 98, and zoning keeps most of…

Amherst permits sexually oriented businesses only where they meet locational standards in Zoning Ordinance § 6-6-2…

Town of Babylon confines adult uses to industrial zoning districts and requires a 1,000-foot buffer from residential…

Adult entertainment establishments, adult bookstores, adult motels, adult theaters, massage establishments and peep…

Cheektowaga restricts adult bookstores, cabarets, entertainment establishments and adult theaters to the M2 General…

Clarkstown bans new adult bookstores, adult motion-picture theaters and adult dancing establishments within 1,000 feet…

Greece limits adult bookstores, adult cabarets and adult entertainment establishments to the General Industrial (IG)…

The Town of Huntington bars any adult establishment within 1,500 feet of a school, religious institution, park…

Adult uses in the Town of Islip are allowed only in an Industrial 1 District, and each must sit at least 500 feet from…

Mount Vernon allows an adult entertainment store, live entertainment business or adult motion-picture theater only by…

New Rochelle bars adult-oriented businesses within 400 feet of each other, residential zoning districts, schools, parks…

NYC bans adult establishments outright in most commercial districts and confines them to the highest-density C6-4…

The City of Oneida bans adult entertainment businesses within 500 feet of any residential district, one- to four-family…

Adult uses in Saratoga Springs, adult retail, adult arcades, adult cabarets, and adult motion picture theaters, need a…

Schenectady bars any new adult bookstore within 500 feet of a residential building, another adult bookstore, or a place…

Smithtown's zoning code pushes adult retail shops and adult entertainment uses at least 500 feet from any residence…

Syracuse Code Chapter 44 bars adult entertainment businesses, topless or nude dance venues and adult bookstores or…

In Yonkers, a sexually-oriented business needs a special use permit and must sit at least 500 feet from any residence…

Adult entertainment is a permitted use under Albany's Unified Sustainable Development Ordinance, but only in the…

Colonie allows adult businesses in any zoning district that already permits their non-adult equivalent, but bars them…

Amherst's Zoning Ordinance flatly prohibits any massage parlor, studio or establishment operated by a person who is not…

The Town of Greece does not issue its own massage establishment license; instead Chapter 136 bans massage businesses…

Mount Vernon's zoning code expressly prohibits any adult massage establishment, defining it as a fixed place of…

Massage establishments in the Town of Babylon need a $2,000 Town Clerk license, must sit 1,000 feet from any other one…

Brookhaven treats every massage establishment as an adult use under Town Code § 85-561, so it cannot open by right…

Cheektowaga doesn't have a standalone massage-parlor license; instead it folds 'massage establishment' into its…

Clarkstown requires a business license from the Building Inspector before operating a massage establishment, with the…

Anyone who operates a massage business or works as a masseur in the Town of Colonie needs a separate permit from the…

Greenburgh makes it unlawful to open, conduct, maintain or operate a massage establishment without a Town-issued…

New Rochelle requires every massage establishment to hold a license issued through the City Clerk before opening, under…

Schenectady City Code Chapter 177 makes it unlawful for anyone to practice massage at a massage parlor in the city…

Albany requires every tattoo business to register annually with the City Clerk, pay a $200 fee, and follow strict…

Albany County requires every tattoo and body piercing artist to hold an annual certification and every shop to hold a…

Every tattoo, microblading, permanent-makeup, or body-piercing artist in Nassau County must hold a Department of Health…

New Rochelle confines tattoo studios to a special permit from the Planning Board, above-ground-floor space in the…

Operating a tattoo or body-art studio in Suffolk County without a valid Body Art Establishment Permit is unlawful, and…

New York City requires anyone who tattoos for a living to hold a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene license under…

Rochester regulates tattoo parlors and body piercing studios as a licensed 'salon' business under Chapter 90. No one…

Yonkers zoning treats a tattoo parlor as a personal service establishment but layers on one hard spacing rule: no…

New York requires state retail registration for every tobacco and vapor product seller and bans online or mail-order…

Albany County bars every pharmacy from selling tobacco products or electronic aerosol delivery systems, including…

Hempstead bans retail sale of e-cigarettes and other electronic aerosol delivery systems by any business located within…

Town of Babylon Code § 213-166.1 lets smoke shops and vape shops locate only in industrial zoned districts, with…

Buffalo requires a separate city license for every tobacco, hookah, and vaping retailer at $200 per year. Applicants…

A smoke shop, vape shop or tobacco retailer opening in Greece after Chapter 95 took effect needs a special use permit…

Greenburgh bans selling vaping products, e-cigarettes and other specified tobacco products within 750 feet of any…

A vape or smoke shop in Islip's Business 3 District is allowed only by special permit from the Planning Board after a…

Nassau County smoke shops and vape retailers may sell e-cigarette and liquid nicotine products only if they are…

New York City's Sheriff can inspect, seal, and padlock any storefront selling cannabis without a state license, seize…

Oyster Bay confines vape shops, hookah lounges and marijuana shops to Light Industry zoning and requires a special use…

Any vape shop, smoke shop, hookah lounge or other cannabis-or-tobacco retail and consumption business in Schenectady…

Smithtown zoning bars hookah lounges, vape stores or lounges, and smoke shops from locating within 1,500 feet of any…

Suffolk County bans retail sale of e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine to anyone under 21, prohibits selling devices…

Selling tobacco or vaping products to consumers in Syracuse requires an annual tobacco retail license from the city's…

Since July 1, 2019, Putnam County has required a separate Health Department e-cigarette retail license, on top of any…

Stores that sell cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaping devices or hookah products in Rochester are licensed as a 'smoking…

Ulster County requires every tobacco retailer to hold a Department of Health license, renewed annually, with new stores…

Westchester County issues no vape-shop license: that is New York State's job. County law controls the counter instead…

Yonkers requires every retailer of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to hold a cigarette…

Anyone buying or selling secondhand goods in Albany, including gold, silver, and pawn-ticket dealers, needs an annual…

The Town of Babylon requires anyone dealing in secondhand merchandise in its unincorporated hamlets to hold a Town…

Every junk dealer, scrap processor and vehicle dismantler with a place of business in Brookhaven must hold a Town Clerk…

Secondhand dealers in Buffalo must obtain a license, file a daily report with police on all articles received the prior…

Dutchess County requires anyone operating as a secondhand dealer to hold a license from the Commissioner of Behavioral…

Erie County requires every secondhand dealer to be licensed by the Erie County Sheriff under Local Law No. 1 of 2018…

Glen Cove requires every dealer in secondhand articles, from jewelry and electronics to musical instruments, to hold a…

Anyone buying used goods such as jewelry, electronics, tools or coins in the Town of Greece must first get a secondhand…

Town Code § 113-3 makes it unlawful to act as a secondhand dealer in Hempstead without one of three licenses: general…

Mount Vernon requires anyone who buys or sells secondhand articles, including junk shops, junkyards, scrap metal…

Nassau County requires anyone buying or selling secondhand precious metals or gems to hold a Consumer Affairs license…

Anyone who buys or sells secondhand furniture, machinery, jewelry, clothes or similar articles in New Rochelle must…

New York City requires anyone who buys, sells, melts or refines second-hand articles, old gold, silver or platinum…

Anyone buying or selling secondhand merchandise in unincorporated North Hempstead needs a Town Clerk license under §…

Orange County requires anyone who buys, sells, melts or resets secondhand precious metals or gems to hold a license…

Anyone buying or selling secondhand articles in the Town of Oyster Bay needs a license from the Town Clerk under…

Anyone buying secondhand gold, silver, platinum or gems from the public in Rockland County needs a license from the…

Anyone buying, selling or dealing in junk, scrap metal or salvage in Smithtown, or operating a junkyard, needs a Town…

Syracuse requires secondhand dealers to hold a license from the commissioner of finance under Sec. 9-99, pay a $250…

Tompkins County layers extra recordkeeping onto its peddler license for anyone buying or selling precious metals and…

Ulster County requires anyone buying and reselling secondhand jewelry, precious metals, electronics or coins to hold a…

Anyone buying, selling, exchanging or pledging secondhand precious metals, gems, watches, coins or electronics in…

Amherst's Secondhand Dealers law, Chapter 157, requires dealers in jewelry, diamonds, watches, rings, furs, gold…

A collateral loan broker in Islip who buys or sells secondhand articles needs a Town Clerk license under Town Code Ch…

Secondhand dealers in Monroe County need a Sheriff-issued dealer's license, expiring every December 31, with an…

Anyone buying goods for resale as a secondhand dealer in the City of Oneida needs a calendar-year license from the City…

Putnam County requires anyone buying and reselling secondhand gold, silver, gems, or other used articles to hold a…

Anyone buying, trading or pawning used gold, electronics, bicycles, tools or similar goods in Rochester must hold a…

Schenectady requires anyone buying or selling secondhand goods, from jewelry to used electronics, to hold a license…

Suffolk County requires anyone dealing in secondhand articles like electronics, tools, and jewelry to obtain a license…

Yonkers requires anyone who commercially buys or sells secondhand goods, from jewelry and coins to general used…

Albany requires anyone running a collateral loan broker (pawnbroker) business to hold a City Clerk license, pay a…

Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers must obtain a Town of Babylon license, with a sworn application, fingerprints and a…

Pawnbrokers in Buffalo must obtain a license, post a $5,000 surety bond, operate only 7 a.m.–7 p.m. on weekdays (no…

Pawn shops and other secondhand or precious-metal dealers must hold a two-year license from the County Commissioner of…

Every pawnbroker operating in Erie County must hold a dealer's license issued by the Erie County Sheriff under Local…

Huntington requires anyone running a pawnshop, called a collateral loan broker under state law, to hold a Town Clerk…

Anyone doing pawnbroker business in Mount Vernon needs a Mayor-issued license under City Code § 189-2, renewed every…

New Rochelle requires anyone operating as a pawnbroker or collateral loan broker to hold a City Clerk license and post…

Pawnbrokers, called collateral loan brokers under Town Code Chapter 94, need a Town Clerk license before opening for…

Pawnbrokers in Rochester must hold a Chief of Police-issued license under City Code § 80-1, renewed annually by May 31…

Suffolk County licenses pawnbrokers under its Precious Metal and Gem Exchange law: anyone doing business as a…

Pawnbrokers in Yonkers must hold a Director-issued license costing $750 a year, post a $10,000 surety bond, and cannot…

Glen Cove requires anyone operating as a collateral loan broker, the city code's term for a pawnbroker, to hold a…

Every pawnbroker operating in Monroe County must hold a Sheriff-issued dealer's license, renewed each December 31, with…

New York City pawnbrokers are licensed under Administrative Code Title 20 and must electronically log every pawn…

Schenectady requires anyone operating a pawnbroker business to hold a license issued by the Office of Consumer…

No one may run a pawnbroker business in Syracuse without a license from the city clerk under Sec. 9-70, tied to New…

Albany's zoning code lists automobile, vehicle, small engine, and heavy equipment repair or storage as an activity that…

Amherst's zoning code flatly bans automobile and body/fender repair as a home occupation anywhere in town. Even an…

Cheektowaga zoning flatly excludes auto repair from the list of businesses allowed as a home-based business, alongside…

Clarkstown's zoning code categorically excludes automotive-repair services from its definition of a home occupation. No…

Colonie's home-occupation ordinance flatly excludes motor vehicle repair shops from the list of businesses residents…

Running a for-hire vehicle repair business out of a house in Islip is unlawful. Residence AAA District zoning under…

New York City zoning bans automotive repair businesses at homes citywide, permitting minor repairs only inside huge…

The City of Oneida, Madison County, New York, flatly prohibits vehicle and small-engine repair work, and any other…

Yonkers zoning flatly excludes automobile repair from what counts as a lawful home occupation. Residents may run a…

Rochester lets residents work on their own cars at home as an accessory use, but only within tight limits: the vehicle…

Albany requires anyone operating a towing company or routinely towing vehicles for hire within the city to hold a $75…

Brookhaven requires anyone running a towing business in the unincorporated Town to hold a license from the Commissioner…

Broome County runs a Sheriff-managed rotation list for road-hazard tows under Chapter 341. Towers must hold a…

Cheektowaga licenses tow companies that respond to Police Department calls, charging a $2,500 annual fee under Town…

Operating a tow truck business in the Town of Hempstead requires a separate Town Clerk license for both the tow car…

A tow operator cannot pull a car from a Huntington parking lot without a written owner agreement, posted warning signs…

Town of Islip Code § 51-24 bars any tower not on the Town's official rotation roster from hauling away a disabled or…

New Rochelle requires anyone who tows or boots vehicles from private property to hold a one-year Police Commissioner…

North Hempstead bars tow operators from removing a vehicle off private property without contemporaneous, case-by-case…

No one may run a towing company or operate a tow truck for hire in Rochester without an annual license from the Chief…

Rockland County requires anyone who tows a passenger vehicle without the owner's consent to hold a nonconsensual-towing…

Smithtown requires every tow truck operating for hire in town to hold a Town Clerk permit under Chapter 281, the Tow…

Syracuse requires a commissioner-of-licenses towing company license under Sec. 46-3, and caps non-consent tows from…

Yonkers caps private-property towing at 190 citywide licenses issued by the Police Commissioner. Towing an unauthorized…

Albany County Local Law 4-2007 (Code Ch. 279) regulates non-consent towing of vehicles from privately owned, publicly…

Town of Babylon Code Ch. 198, Art. III requires a Town Clerk-licensed tow company, a filed owner-authorization…

Tow truck operators and owners in Buffalo must obtain a city license from the Department of Permit and Inspection…

Glen Cove requires every tow truck owner to hold a Chief of Police-issued owner's license before operating a wrecker in…

Greenburgh property owners and tow operators who remove or immobilize a vehicle from private property without the…

Mount Vernon requires anyone towing an unauthorized car from a private or public parking lot to hold a City towing…

New York City tow truck operators cannot tow an accident vehicle without a signed authorization from the person in…

The Town of Oyster Bay caps what a licensed tow operator can charge to remove a car from private property without the…

Suffolk County Code Chapter 796 forbids tow operators from charging more than the town's municipal towing rate to pull…

Westchester County caps non-consent tow charges at $65 for the first mile, $1.50 per added mile, and $5 per 24-hour…