Adair County, IA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Adair County Ordinance No. 29 was read three times by the Board of Supervisors, on 9/28/2005, 10/5/2005 and 10/12/2005, and applies to all of the unincorporated territory of Adair County. Paragraph 5 lists the covered businesses: adult bookstores, adult cabarets, adult motels, adult massage parlors, adult arcades, adult motion picture theaters, nude modeling studios, adult private clubs and others.

An applicant files in person at the office of the County Auditor on the Auditor's form, signed and notarized. The form asks for the applicant's full name and any other names used in the preceding five years, a business or mailing address, proof of age (a birth certificate copy plus a government picture identification), the business name, location, legal description and phone number, a registered agent, and a statement of any conviction or plea to a specified criminal activity. A business applicant also submits a sketch of the premises drawn to an accuracy of plus or minus six inches, with total floor space stated. When the applicant is not an individual, each officer, director, general partner and every person who manages or controls the premises signs. The Auditor keeps this information confidential except for law enforcement or a court order.

The Auditor issues a Temporary License immediately on a complete filing, then within twenty days either issues the license or sends a letter of intent to deny. Denial grounds include an applicant under eighteen, false or missing information, an unpaid fee, a violation of Paragraph 9A, 12B or 20A, B or C within the previous year, premises that do not meet the interior configuration requirements, and a conviction for a specified criminal activity. The filing fee follows a schedule set by the Board of Supervisors and is not refunded, whether the request is granted or denied.

A license lasts one calendar year, and renewal applications should be filed at least ninety days before expiration. It cannot be transferred, and the business can operate only at the address on the application. Paragraph 16 bars any sexually oriented business except an adult motel from being open between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on a weekday. The ordinance contains no distance or location requirement; its paragraphs cover licensing, inspection, hours and conduct.