Annapolis, MD Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Zoning status
- Special exception, subject to standards
- Allowed districts
- B3, B3-CD, BCE only
- Approval body
- Board of Appeals
- Video sales
- Accessory to exception only
- Distance buffer
- None specified in code
Summary
Annapolis confines adult bookstores to a Board of Appeals special exception in just three commercial districts, B3, B3-CD, and BCE, with accessory video sales allowed only as part of that exception.
21.64.020 - Adult bookstores. Video sales may be permitted as an accessory use to the special exception. ... "Adult bookstore" means any commercial establishment which includes in its stock books, periodicals, photographs, drawings, sculpture, motion pictures, films or other visual representations which depict sadomasochistic abuse, sexual conduct or sexual excitement...and which otherwise does not qualify as a theater or nonprofit, free-lending library.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 2025 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
The citywide Table of Uses lists "Adult book stores" as a Special Exception Use Subject to Standards (S-Std) only in the B3, B3-CD, and BCE commercial districts; the entry is blank, not permitted at all, in B1, B2, BR, C2, C2A, PM2, I1, and every residential district. Getting one open therefore requires special exception approval from the Board of Appeals plus the use standard in § 21.64.020, which caps video sales as an accessory to that approved exception. The zoning code does not set a minimum distance from schools, churches, or homes; the restriction works through district confinement and discretionary review rather than a spacing buffer. "Adult bookstore" is defined narrowly in § 21.72.010 by reference to sexually explicit stock that takes the business outside a theater or nonprofit library.
Violations & Fines
Opening or operating an adult bookstore in a district where the use isn't listed, or without an approved special exception in B3, B3-CD, or BCE, is a zoning violation the City can cite and enjoin under its general zoning enforcement authority; departing from the approved standards also puts the special exception itself at risk of revocation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an adult bookstore open anywhere in Annapolis?
Does Annapolis require a set distance from schools or homes?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Annapolis
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