Business Licensing & Operations in North Carolina (2026)

Moore County's massage therapy ordinance bars any licensed massagist or licensed massage establishment from massaging…

Onslow County bars adult and sexually oriented businesses, arcades, bookstores, theaters and massage parlors from…

Alamance County requires a $500 annual license from the Planning Department before any adult establishment or sexually…

Asheville confines adult establishments to the Regional Business, Commercial Industrial, and Highway Business zoning…

Brunswick County confines adult and sexually oriented businesses to the I-G Industrial General district, requires a…

Adult establishments in unincorporated Buncombe County need a county business license, plus a separate license for…

Adult businesses in unincorporated Cabarrus County are treated as a Special Use permitted only in the General…

Adult businesses in the Town of Cary need a special use permit and must sit 2,000 feet from any other adult business…

Catawba County requires adult uses to screen their windows, doors and entries from public view and keeps them at least…

Adult bookstores, adult live entertainment venues, adult motion-picture theaters and clothing modeling studios in…

Concord's Development Ordinance keeps sexually oriented businesses and adult establishments 2,000 feet from each other…

Craven County requires a sheriff-issued permit before anyone can operate an adult establishment in the unincorporated…

Davidson County requires a permit from the County Manager before anyone can operate an adult establishment in the…

Durham zones adult establishments under UDO Sec. 5.3.4.A with strict distance buffers rather than a citywide ban. No…

Fayetteville requires an annual regulatory license from the police department for every adult bookstore, adult motion…

Gaston County requires a police-chief-issued license before anyone opens or operates an adult establishment, under Code…

Gastonia requires a sexually oriented business license from the police chief before any adult bookstore, adult theater…

Greensboro's Land Development Ordinance keeps sexually oriented businesses, sex shops, sexually oriented cabarets…

Every adult bookstore, cabaret, arcade, escort agency, nude model studio or similar adult-oriented business in…

A sexually-oriented business in Harnett County (adult bookstore, adult movie theater, or nightclub) can't locate within…

High Point requires a city-issued license for sexually oriented businesses and keeps adult entertainment establishments…

Iredell County's Land Development Code confines an Adult Oriented Business to a narrow footprint: Performance…

Johnston County bans sexually oriented businesses, including massage parlors, adult bookstores, arcades and theaters…

A sexually oriented business in the Town of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina needs both zoning site plan approval and a…

Nash County bars adult and sexually oriented businesses, adult arcades, bookstores and motion picture theaters from…

Pitt County requires a $500 sexually oriented business license before any adult arcade, bookstore, cabaret, motel…

Raleigh confines adult establishments to a Special Use Permit in just four zoning districts, CX-, DX-, IX- and…

Rowan County keeps adult uses at least 1,320 feet from churches, schools, day cares, parks, homes, and overnight…

Shelby requires a city privilege license before anyone works topless as a waitress, dancer, or entertainer at any…

In unincorporated Union County, an adult video store, adult hotel/motel, or adult lingerie modeling studio cannot open…

Wake County requires sexually oriented businesses to win a Special Use Permit and meet strict 1,000-2,000 foot spacing…

In unincorporated Wayne County, sexually oriented businesses and adult businesses cannot locate within 1,000 feet of a…

Wilmington keeps adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters, adult cabarets and massage businesses at least 1,000…

Lincoln County does not license or zone sexually oriented businesses in a standalone ordinance; instead, Lincoln County…

Johnston County does not license massage establishments, but Section 6-71 makes it unlawful to massage or offer to…

Brunswick County requires anyone who works as a massagist or operates a massage parlor in the unincorporated county to…

Masseurs, masseuses, and massage parlors or health salons in unincorporated Buncombe County need a license from the…

Cleveland County requires anyone operating a massage parlor, health club or working as a masseur or masseuse in the…

Concord requires city council approval and an annual privilege license before anyone may operate a massage business or…

Craven County requires a premises license before any massage parlor, massage establishment or health club may operate…

Operating a massage parlor, health salon or club in unincorporated Cumberland County requires a $5,000 annual county…

Davidson County requires anyone operating a massage business to hold a $100 annual privilege license under § 111.11…

Anyone operating a massage therapy establishment in Durham needs a City Code § 54-217 license before opening, and every…

Operating a massage therapy establishment in unincorporated Durham County requires a privilege license from the county…

Fayetteville requires anyone practicing as a masseur or masseuse, or operating a massage parlor, health salon or club…

Gaston County requires anyone practicing massage, or operating a massage parlor, health salon, or similar business, to…

Greensboro requires any business that employs or contracts others to perform massage to hold a city business permit…

Anyone operating a massage establishment in unincorporated Guilford County must hold a $25 privilege license from the…

Harnett County requires a Sheriff-issued license before anyone works as a massagist or operates a massage parlor…

High Point requires a city council-approved privilege license before anyone can operate a massage business or work as a…

Anyone operating a massage therapy establishment in unincorporated Moore County needs a privilege license under Section…

Operating a massage establishment or working as a massagist in unincorporated Nash County requires separate licenses…

Sec. 14-61 makes it unlawful to work as a massagist or operate a massage parlor in the county without a license from…

Onslow County requires anyone operating a massage business or working as a masseur, masseuse, or massagist to hold a…

Pitt County repealed its standalone 1987 Massage Business License Ordinance in 2017; a massage business is now…

Rowan County requires anyone who operates a massage parlor or works as a massagist in the unincorporated county to hold…

Wake County requires a county license from the Tax Collector before operating a massage parlor, health salon or…

Anyone operating a massage parlor, health salon or similar establishment in unincorporated Wayne County must hold a…

No one may operate a massage and bodywork therapy establishment, or perform massage or bodywork therapy, in Wilmington…

Businesses that hire employees or contractors to perform massage and bodywork therapy must obtain a city business…

Charlotte massage businesses must employ NC Board-licensed therapists under NCGS Chapter 90 Article 36, comply with UDO…

North Carolina preempts most local massage licensing through the Massage and Bodywork Therapy Practice Act (NCGS…

Union County's Unified Development Ordinance classifies a massage business as an Adult Use unless every employee…

Gaston County requires a body piercing establishment or tattoo parlor to hold local and state health permits and comply…

High Point's Development Ordinance classifies tattoo and body-piercing shops as a Personal Service use type and…

In the Town of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, a tattoo studio is a special use confined to the Light Industrial One…

Apex's UDO classifies tattoo parlors as a distinct commercial use tied to North Carolina tattooing law, and recognizes…

Charlotte has no standalone tattoo-parlor license; the UDO folds tattoo and piercing shops into the "Personal Service…

Concord's development ordinance requires a tattoo parlor to sit at least 300 feet from any other existing tattoo…

Anyone who tattoos another person inside Fayetteville city limits must carry a Cumberland County Health Department…

Tattoo establishments in Raleigh need annual permits from Wake County Public Health under NCGS §130A-283, plus city…

Anyone tattooing in Winston-Salem must get a city license first and post a $1,000 cash bond to cover injuries from…

North Carolina regulates retail sale of vapor products and e-cigarettes under NCGS 14-313 and requires licensure under…

Onslow County has no separate tobacco or vape retailer license. The zoning code's Permitted Use Table controls where a…

Tobacco, vape and hemp retail stores in unincorporated Wake County must sit at least 1,000 feet from schools, parks…

Apex's Unified Development Ordinance requires vape and tobacco stores to locate at least 1,000 feet from any public or…

Charlotte cannot enforce its own tobacco or vape retailer licensing rules. N.C.G.S. Section 14-313(e) preempts local…

North Carolina preempts most local tobacco licensing through NCGS §143-595 and federal Tobacco 21, leaving Raleigh…

Anyone buying secondhand gold, silver or platinum items in unincorporated Cumberland County must get a county manager's…

Cash converters, dealers and secondary metals recyclers operating in unincorporated Lincoln County must keep the…

Unincorporated Union County doesn't run its own pawnshop license desk. Instead, Section 10-51 adopts North Carolina's…

Every junk dealer in Asheville, meaning anyone buying or selling junk, scrap metal, or similar secondhand items, must…

Brunswick County requires every business in the unincorporated county that buys rubber, leather, rubber belting or…

Anyone buying, selling, storing or hauling junk in Charlotte must apply to the chief of police for a permit under City…

Anyone buying, selling, or trading precious metals as a business inside Concord, North Carolina must first obtain a…

Durham requires anyone buying or dealing in secondhand goods, junk, or pawned items to log every transaction in a…

Gastonia junk dealers must follow state junk-dealer law under G.S. 66-10, hold every purchased item for ten days open…

Every junk dealer in Greensboro must keep a permanent purchase log open to police inspection and file a daily report…

Asheville requires every pawnbroker to hold a city license before operating, on top of the standard privilege license…

Anyone operating a pawnshop in unincorporated Buncombe County pays a license fee that the board of commissioners sets…

Charlotte requires every pawnbroker to fingerprint each pledgor on a pawn ticket submitted to CMPD for every pawn…

Cleveland County bars anyone from opening a pawnshop in the unincorporated county without a license under Section 5-80…

Operating a pawnshop or pawnbroker business in Concord requires a license from the chief of police under City Code Sec…

Craven County does not run its own pawnbroker licensing office; instead, Craven County Code § 10-75 forces every…

Durham pawnbrokers must file a sworn statement naming their corporate officers, log every item purchased or pawned…

Every pawnbroker or currency converter in Fayetteville must hold a city license under Sec. 15-123, and anyone convicted…

Gaston County requires a license to run a pawnshop outside the limits of any city, under Code of Ordinances § 10-123…

Pawnbrokers operating in unincorporated Lincoln County need a county license, a $5,000 bond, and must cap interest at…

Sec. 14-164 makes it unlawful to operate as a pawnbroker in the county without a license from the county manager, and…

Raleigh pawnbrokers must get a City Council-approved license before operating, backed by a $275 fee and a $5,000 surety…

Operating a pawnshop or pawnbroker business in Wilmington without a city license is unlawful under City Code § 4-225…

Apex, NC pawn shops must follow the North Carolina Pawnbrokers Modernization Act and cannot locate within 1,000 feet of…

Brunswick County requires every pawnshop owner or operator in the unincorporated county to run an electronic inventory…

Every pawnbroker doing business in Forsyth County must create a daily paper and computerized record of each day's pawn…

Greensboro requires every pawnbroker to keep a permanent ledger of each pawned item, owner, description, and loan…

Moore County taxes every pawnbroker in the unincorporated county under an annual $275.00 privilege license, set…

Rowan County levies its own annual privilege license tax on pawnbrokers, capped at two hundred fifty dollars, on top of…

Union County adopts the state Pawnbrokers and Cash Converters Modernization Act and adds a local reporting duty: every…

Pawnbrokers in Winston-Salem must obtain a city license before lending against pledged goods, post a bond, verify every…

Buncombe County's zoning ordinance leaves motor vehicle maintenance and repair blank, meaning not permitted, in all…

Charlotte's Unified Development Ordinance flatly bars anyone from repairing or servicing vehicles, heavy machinery, or…

Concord flatly bars motor vehicle repair, engine repair and vehicle display or restoration from operating as a home…

Raleigh's UDO shuts the door on running an auto-repair business out of a house two ways: Vehicle Repair (minor or…

Apex's home occupation rules cap vehicle work at one vehicle in a standard parking space, ban commercial trucks and…

Cabarrus County allows auto repair work as a home-based business only as a Rural Home Occupation, and only in the…

Cary bans automotive repair as a home accessory use whenever it's on more than one vehicle at a time or on a vehicle…

Residents can do minor maintenance like oil changes and tire rotations at home, but anything beyond that has to happen…

Auto Repair (NAICS 81110) can't operate in any of Cleveland County's five residential zoning districts or in Corridor…

Motor Vehicle Maintenance and Repair is not a by-right use anywhere in unincorporated Davidson County; the Table of…

Fayetteville's Unified Development Ordinance flatly excludes automotive repair from the definition of a lawful home…

Outdoor car repair on residentially zoned Gaston County lots is limited to routine maintenance on vehicles registered…

Vehicle and engine repair is banned outright as a suburban home occupation in unincorporated Union County. Section…

Home occupations in unincorporated Wake County ban outdoor vehicle storage and cap on-site vehicles at two…

Unincorporated Brunswick County, North Carolina allows up to two vehicles registered to a resident to be repaired at…

Durham's Unified Development Ordinance caps at-home vehicle repair at two cars worked on simultaneously, and only if…

Nash County's Unified Development Ordinance treats a home-based auto repair operation as a home occupation under §…

Pitt County's Zoning Ordinance lets a home occupation run from a residence only if it stays under 25 percent of the…

Unincorporated Rowan County allows a homeowner to repair one personal motor vehicle at home without meeting the…

Tow and booting companies working private lots in Asheville's Central Business, Biltmore Historic, River Arts, and…

Cary regulates non-consensual towing from private parking lots, requiring posted signage, a 15-minute police report…

Durham caps what rotation-list tow operators can charge for police-initiated nonconsensual tows at the fee schedule…

Any company that tows vehicles in Fayetteville without the owner's consent must hold a wrecker service license under…

Gaston County licenses "rotation wreckers," the tow operators its communications center dispatches for police-ordered…

Gastonia bars non-consent tows or boots from private lots unless a compliant warning sign is posted first, and requires…

Raleigh regulates non-consent towing from private parking lots under City Code §12-7015. Lots must post 24-by-24-inch…

Towing companies doing non-consent, trespass tows from private lots in Wilmington must comply with City Code § 5-121.2…

Apex requires posted signage, a police report, and a fast release window before a tow company can nonconsensually tow a…

When a vehicle is towed without the owner's consent from unincorporated Brunswick County property, Code § 1-7-129…

Towing companies that remove vehicles from private Charlotte parking lots without the driver's consent must comply with…

Concord doesn't issue a general towing-company license. Instead, wrecker companies must be admitted to a police…

When Craven County's Solid Waste Director orders a junked vehicle towed without the owner's consent, the tower that…

Before Cumberland County tows an abandoned, nuisance or junked vehicle under Code Sec. 9-46, it must post or mail…

Greensboro doesn't license every tow-truck company; it regulates the wrecker companies it contracts with for…

High Point police and city officials may only impound and tow vehicles through a wrecker company under contract with…

Kill Devil Hills adopts North Carolina's non-consent towing statute for vehicles the Police Department has towed for…

New Hanover County's sheriff's department keeps an eligible list of garages authorized to tow vehicles at law…

Union County treats any vehicle parked without a permit in its reserved parking areas at the Government Center and Old…

Winston-Salem lets a city-arranged private tow company impound vehicles without the owner's consent for parking…