Baltimore licenses adult entertainment businesses under Article 15 (Licensing) and zones them through the TransForm Baltimore Code (Article 32), with buffer requirements from schools, churches, and residential districts.
Baltimore City Code Article 15, Subtitle 18 governs adult-entertainment business licenses, requiring annual permits from the Department of General Services and BPD background checks for owners and managers. Article 32 (TransForm Baltimore zoning, 2017) restricts these uses to specific commercial and industrial districts and imposes 500-foot buffers from schools, places of worship, public parks, day-care centers, and residentially zoned property. Operations are limited in hours and signage. Combined with Maryland alcohol law (Article 28 of the City Code on liquor) for clubs serving alcohol, the framework concentrates adult uses in narrow corridors.
Operating without a license or violating buffer rules is a misdemeanor with fines up to $1,000 per day, license revocation, and zoning enforcement actions seeking civil penalties and closure orders.
See how Baltimore's adult entertainment rules stack up against other locations.
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