Business Licensing & Operations in Ohio (2026)

In the City of Canton, Ohio, a sexually oriented business may not operate within 1,000 feet of churches, schools…

In the City of Newark, Ohio, nobody can establish, operate or maintain a sexually oriented business without a city…

Akron confines sexually oriented businesses to Class U3 or U4 districts and keeps them 500 feet from any U1 or U2…

Cincinnati zoning keeps sexually oriented businesses at least 1,000 feet from residential district lines, from each…

Cleveland bans adult bookstores, theaters, cabarets and similar adult entertainment uses within 1,000 feet of a…

Columbus confines adult entertainment establishments and adult stores to M-Manufacturing districts and makes them keep…

Dayton confines sexually oriented businesses to I-1 and I-2 industrial districts as a conditional use, with strict…

In the City of Elyria, Ohio, no one can operate a sexually oriented business without a City license under Codified…

Franklin County allows adult entertainment only in the Community Commercial district, and bars it within 500 feet of a…

In the City of Marion, Ohio, adult only entertainment establishments are defined in § 1143.013(A)(8) as a principal use…

Medina requires every sexually oriented business to hold a city-issued "Sexually Oriented Business License" and…

Middletown requires a Police Chief-issued permit, with a $500 nonrefundable fee and background investigation, before…

In the City of Oregon, Ohio, sexually oriented businesses are only allowed in the M-2 General Industrial District, and…

Parma requires anyone operating an adult arcade, bookstore, cabaret, theater, nude model studio, sex store, or sexual…

Springfield, Ohio requires anyone operating an adult cabaret, adult theater, adult motel, adult arcade, escort agency…

Toledo bars new sexually-oriented businesses within 500 feet of homes, schools, churches, parks or day cares, and…

In the City of Youngstown, Ohio, adult bookstores, adult moviehouses, adult theaters and adult cabarets cannot operate…

Toledo zoning flatly prohibits a 'massage parlor' in every zoning district in the city. The ban turns on state…

Running a massage establishment in Akron requires a Mayor-issued permit approved by the Health Officer before opening…

In the City of Canton, Ohio, no one may operate a massage establishment, work as a massage technician, or offer massage…

Cincinnati requires separate city licenses for every massage establishment and massage practitioner under Municipal…

Cleveland requires a $200 permit approved by the Health Officer before operating a massage establishment, plus a…

In the City of Elyria, Ohio, a massage establishment needs a license under Codified Ordinances § 735.04, applied for…

Oregon, Ohio does not run a separate massage-parlor license. Instead its zoning code folds "massage establishments"…

Parma requires a separate City-issued business license for every massage establishment location plus an individual…

Summit County Code Chapter 749 requires a permit from the County Auditor, issued only after Health Officer approval…

Youngstown requires separate Police Chief-issued permits for every massage business and for each masseur under Chapter…

Columbus requires massage and bath establishments to register with the License Section, pay a $150 fee, and renew every…

Middletown requires separate Police Chief-issued licenses for massage practitioners and for the establishments that…

In the City of Springfield, Ohio, a tattoo parlor cannot operate as a Home Occupation. Zoning Code § 1107.05(h)(11)(J)…

In the City of Elyria, Ohio, Codified Ordinances § 747.02 requires a Board of Health license to perform tattooing or…

Parma requires anyone operating a tattoo or body-piercing business to hold an annual license from the Safety Director…

In the City of Youngstown, Ohio, tattoo parlors count as a regulated use under Youngstown Codified Ordinances Section…

Cincinnati requires anyone operating a tattoo, piercing, or permanent-cosmetics business to get a Certificate of…

Cleveland requires a Department of Public Health license to operate a tattoo or body piercing establishment, under…

Middletown, Ohio requires anyone operating a tattooing or body piercing business to pay a $250.00 application approval…

In the City of Newark, Ohio, the zoning code names tattoo shops as a permitted use in the HB High Intensity Business…

Toledo requires tattoo parlors and body piercing studios to register with the Director of Health under Municipal Code…

Ohio requires retailers selling vapor products to hold a state license and comply with age-verification, packaging, and…

Akron requires every smoke shop to hold a Vape Products License before selling vape or smoke shop products, issued by…

Cincinnati treats vape shops the same as any tobacco retailer: Municipal Code Section 609-9 bars selling tobacco…

Cleveland requires every tobacco retailer, including vape and e-cigarette sellers, to hold an annual tobacco retail…

Middletown, Ohio requires every tobacco retailer, including sellers of e-cigarettes and other electronic smoking…

Parma restricts smoke and vape shops, defined in the Zoning Code as any retailer devoting twenty percent or more of its…

Toledo Municipal Code 537.28 limits sale of flavored vapor products and flavored e-cigarettes to "Retail Vapor Product…

Vape shops and any retailer selling tobacco products in Columbus must hold a valid license from the Columbus Board of…

In the City of Newark, Ohio, Section 1265.021(h) lists vape and tobacco shops as a prohibited use in the DC Downtown…

Anyone buying or reselling used goods in Akron, from jewelry and electronics to bicycles and tools, needs a City…

Buying, selling or storing junk or scrap within the City of Canton, Ohio requires a license from the Director of Public…

In the City of Marion, Ohio, anyone who wants to operate as a secondhand dealer must apply to the Safety/Service…

In the City of Middletown, Ohio, anyone buying, trading or selling second-hand articles must hold a swap…

In the City of Newark, Ohio, a junk shop, meaning a business dealing in waste materials and buying and selling used…

Anyone in the City of Oregon, Ohio who buys and resells used goods more than seven days a year, including pawnbrokers…

Parma requires anyone buying or selling used goods, from electronics to furniture, to license as a secondhand dealer…

Anyone buying or reselling used goods in Toledo more than seven days a year needs a $125 second-hand dealer license…

Cincinnati requires anyone acting as a second-hand dealer or junk dealer to obtain a license from the city manager…

Cleveland requires anyone buying, selling or exchanging secondhand articles to hold a $125 annual license, post a sign…

Columbus requires secondhand dealers to post a sign, log every purchase in a numbered record book, and file daily…

Dayton secondhand dealers must post signage, keep a bound transaction record with seller ID, and hold every purchased…

In the City of Elyria, Ohio, Codified Ordinances § 733.03 bars anyone from operating a junk yard, a place of business…

Anyone acting as a salvage yard operator in the City of Springfield, Ohio must get a license from the Community…

Summit County Code Chapter 741 requires a license from the Office of Consumer Affairs before anyone regularly buys…

Youngstown requires every junk dealer, junk collector, secondhand store and scrap metal processor to buy a Mayor-issued…

Akron bars anyone from operating a pawnshop without a City license. City Code § 111.490 defines a "pawnbroker" as…

Pawnbrokers doing business in the City of Canton, Ohio must register their Ohio Division of Financial Institutions…

Cleveland requires every pawnbroker to hold an annual license from the Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses, post a…

In the City of Newark, Ohio, no one can run a pawnbroker business without a license from the Mayor. The license costs…

Parma requires every pawnbroker to hold an annual license from the Director of Public Safety before lending against…

Cincinnati limits when a pawn shop or loan office can be open and lending against pawned goods, under City Code §…

Every pawnbroker doing business in the City of Springfield, Ohio must keep a secure internet connection and report each…

Youngstown pawnbrokers must keep a numbered ledger of every pledge, file a daily report with the Police Chief, and hold…

Cincinnati's Zoning Code caps every home occupation at the personal-service, fine-arts, craft or limited-office work…

Middletown prohibits automotive and other vehicle repair or service as a home occupation, except when the work is…

In the City of Springfield, Ohio, vehicle and motorized equipment repair cannot operate as a Home Occupation. Zoning…

Toledo's Zoning Code flatly prohibits paid motor vehicle repair as a home occupation. Any maintenance, repair or…

Dayton has no dedicated home-auto-repair rule, but its home occupation standards bar outdoor equipment storage…

In the City of Newark, Ohio, § 1248.06(b) prohibits the repeated repair of vehicles not owned by the occupant on a lot…

The City of Oregon, Ohio treats auto repair run from a house as a home occupation under Codified Ordinances § 1159.02…

In the City of Marion, Ohio, repairing, rebuilding, modifying or testing a motor vehicle is not a noise violation so…

Akron licenses a single towing company for each of six police towing districts and holds them to strict service…

Tow truck operators who want onto Cincinnati's police rotation list for disabled and illegally parked vehicles must…

Every tow truck operating for compensation in Cleveland must carry a city-issued owner's license under Codified…

Columbus makes it a crime to tow a vehicle off private property unless the removal conforms with the legal requirements…

In the City of Marion, Ohio, any owner or operator conducting towing must hold a license from the Safety/Service…

Any tow operator wanting police-ordered tow calls in the City of Oregon, Ohio must hold a Class A towing license from…

Toledo requires every police-ordered towing company to hold a City towing license before responding to a call. Section…

In the City of Youngstown, Ohio, no tow truck owner may operate in the city without a license from the Director of…

In the City of Elyria, Ohio, Codified Ordinances § 351.065(h) lets a property owner set up a private tow-away zone only…

In the City of Middletown, Ohio, § 452.055 lets police order a car towed off private residential or agricultural…

In the City of Newark, Ohio, Section 452.055 lets a property owner tow only from a posted private tow-away zone, with…

Parma keeps a rotation list of approved garages for police-ordered tows: the nearest listed garage is called first…