Berkeley County, SC Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Section 11.4.4(D)(1) requires every person operating a sexually oriented business to obtain a "sexually oriented business regulatory license" from the Berkeley County Permitting Department, renewed annually with an application filed at least 30 days before expiration under § 11.4.4(F). Section 11.4.4(K) sets the location restrictions: sexually oriented businesses may operate only in districts zoned HI, heavy industrial, and cannot operate within 1,000 feet of a religious institution, public or private school, boundary of a residential district, public park or recreation area, property line of a residentially used lot, youth activity center, public library, licensed child care facility, or another sexually oriented business.

Distance is measured in a straight line between the nearest walls or property lines, without regard to intervening structures, per § 11.4.4(K)(3). Only one such business may operate per building under § 11.4.4(K)(3). Operational restrictions layered on top of the zoning and licensing scheme include a six-foot minimum distance between nude or semi-nude performers and patrons (§ 11.4.4(N)), a ban on direct cash gratuities to dancers (§ 11.4.4(O)), a ban on fondling between performers and patrons (§ 11.4.4(P)), and a presumption that renting the same room twice within eight hours makes an establishment an unlawful "adult motel" (§ 11.4.4(Q)).

The zoning administrator can deny, suspend for up to 30 days, or revoke a license for violations, false statements, refusing inspection, or allowing anyone under 18 on the premises (§ 11.4.4(G)-(H)), with appeals going to the Berkeley County Zoning Board of Appeals under § 11.4.4(I). Section 11.4.4(E) authorizes inspection by the Sheriff's Department, DHEC, the fire department, and county planning/codes enforcement staff.