In short: Stay active, serve the wider community, follow BBA requirements, and use business systems as intended. The core Equinox Rules always apply.
BBA handbook
Regulatory procedures and responsibilities.
Business licenses
Licenses and operating requirements.
1. Applications and Ownership
1.1 — Bring a real plan
Custom business applications must explain the concept, ownership, hiring, products or services, planned roleplay, and long-term direction. Low-effort applications may be denied. Custom businesses require the applicable Allowlist+ approval. Existing lore or predefined businesses may use a different purchase or approval process.1.2 — Ownership limits
A character may own one business and may still work elsewhere as a normal employee. A gang, faction, or closely connected organization may control no more than two businesses through owners, co-owners, senior managers, or anyone who effectively controls operations. Normal employees do not count only because they share an affiliation. Do not use friends, alternate characters, employees, managers, or another player as a proxy to bypass these limits. Staff consider who actually controls the business, not only the name on the paperwork.1.3 — Transfers require approval
Open a staff ticket before selling, transferring, giving away, significantly restructuring, or handing control of a business to another character or organization. Staff may reverse an unauthorized transfer or repossess the business.2. Activity and public participation
2.1 — Operate the business
Maintain a reasonable public presence through opening, hiring, advertising, promotions, events, collaborations, or business storylines. Logging in only to collect money or prevent repossession is not meaningful activity. Inactive businesses may be reclaimed. An owner whose business is repossessed for inactivity must wait three weeks before applying for another.2.1A — Businesses & Closed Shops
Any food items available for purchase while shops are closed shall not exceed 35% of the full menu price rounded down. This is to prevent businesses never being open. Failure to comply shall result in the closed shop feature being stripped from your business entirely.2.2 — Create opportunities beyond your circle
Make a reasonable effort to hire beyond your gang, organization, family, or close friend group. You may hire people you know, but a public business should not fill every opportunity with the same closed circle.2.3 — Hold community events
Host or participate in at least one community-focused event each month. It can be small. Sales, meets, theme nights, competitions, collaborations, and hiring events all qualify when their main purpose is interaction—not only giving away money or items.2.4 — Remain public-facing
A business may be gang-affiliated, but it cannot exist only as a clubhouse, criminal hideout, invitation-only space, storage unit, or passive money generator.3. Compliance and operations
3.1 — Follow BBA requirements
Owners must know and follow applicable licenses, pricing rules, and procedures established by the Bureau of Business Affairs. Businesses must reasonably cooperate with authorized audits and inspections involving licenses, finances, employee records, pricing, inventory, operations, or regulatory compliance. Government oversight remains in character unless staff involvement is required.Inspections and audits
How compliance reviews work.
Business pricing
Current pricing and economy guidance.
3.2 — Separate IC and OOC communication
Business Discords tied to in-character operations must follow Equinox rules and applicable staff-oversight requirements. Clearly separate IC business communication from ordinary OOC conversation. Do not use an unauthorized private server to operate outside supported systems or oversight.3.3 — Price for a healthy economy
Products and services must remain within a reasonable range for the server economy. The BBA or staff may intervene in exploitative pricing, market manipulation, mechanic-based scams, or hoarding meant only to block access. Profitable businesses are welcome. Mechanics abuse that damages the economy is not.3.4 — Report broken mechanics
Do not exploit crafting, purchasing, accounts, permissions, inventory, pricing, duplication, or money-generation bugs. Stop and report a system that appears broken or unusually profitable. Exploit abuse may cause immediate repossession in addition to normal discipline.4. Crime, competition, and public spaces
4.1 — A business cannot bypass criminal rules
Do not use a business to launder money, shield criminal assets, create a permanent gang compound, manufacture police conflict, or exploit business systems for criminal profit. A legitimate storyline may involve crime; the business cannot exist primarily as a criminal mechanic. Major corruption or organized-crime storylines may require additional approval.Criminal activity in businesses
Review the additional in-character procedures and consequences.
4.2 — Do not turn public businesses into constant battlegrounds
Do not camp a business, bait rivals or police there, repeatedly target employees only for their workplace, or drag unrelated gang conflict into the property without a believable reason. Businesses are not immune from robbery, investigation, rivalry, or conflict. Those scenes still need legitimate roleplay and reasonable escalation.4.3 — Compete in character
Businesses may undercut prices, advertise aggressively, compete for customers or staff, and build rivalries. Do not use false OOC reports, review bombing, harassment, or staff systems to sabotage a competitor.5. Leadership and Discipline
5.1 — Leaders set the standard
Owners and managers are responsible for community involvement, fair use of business systems, employee treatment, and the roleplay culture around the business. A character may be chaotic or rude; repeated toxicity, disruption, or low-quality leadership may still affect the business’s standing.5.2 — Progressive discipline
After disciplinary repossession, the former owner must wait at least 30 days before applying for another business unless staff decides otherwise.
Serious exploitation, economic abuse, proxy ownership, unauthorized transfers, laundering, or severe community violations may skip steps and result in immediate suspension, license revocation, repossession, asset loss, ownership restrictions, or normal server discipline.
5.3 — Repossession includes assigned assets
If a business is repossessed specifically due to inactivity, the previous owner must wait 3 weeks before applying for another business. When a business is reclaimed, revoked, or permanently closed, the appropriate government or staff process may recover or liquidate its accounts, property, inventory, licenses, vehicles, equipment, and other assigned assets.Seizure of Business
Review repossession and asset procedures.
Back to the Core Rules
Review the standards that apply to every owner, employee, and scene.