Bridgeport, CT Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- License
- required per location, non-transferable
- Review agencies
- police, fire, health, zoning
- Decision window
- 90 days from filing
- Hours allowed
- 10 a.m.–1 a.m. (2 a.m. weekends)
- Fine
- $250 per citation, per hour
Summary
Operating a sexually oriented business in Bridgeport without a city license is illegal. Chapter 8.81 requires a separate, non-transferable license for each business at a fixed and certain place, issued by the health and social services director and chief of police only after police, fire, building, health, and zoning investigations.
Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 7-148(c)(7)(H), licenses shall be required for: 1. Commercial buildings, structures, premises or portion thereof, or facilities therein, which are so constructed, used or operated to facilitate sexual activities... 2. Each sexually oriented business located at a fixed and certain place. Any person who desires to operate more than one sexually oriented business must have a license for each such business.
Full Breakdown
040 draws its coverage around both places and businesses: commercial buildings, structures, premises or facilities constructed, used or operated to facilitate sexual activities, plus each sexually oriented business located at a fixed and certain place. The per-location rule is explicit in the code text itself: any person who desires to operate more than one sexually oriented business must have a license for each such business, and a license cannot be sold, assigned, or transferred to another site. Applying is paperwork-heavy. The applicant files with the town clerk and submits fingerprints, photographs, floor plans, and a three-year criminal history.
Before any decision issues, the police, the fire marshal, the building official, the health director, and the zoning enforcement officer each conduct their own investigation, and the decision must come within 90 days of filing. on weekends. 044, revocation is mandatory for false application information, fees left unpaid over 30 days, a qualifying criminal conviction, or two material violations in one year.
Violations & Fines
Operating without a license, or violating the operating rules, draws a $250 civil citation per offense, and each hour a violation continues counts as a separate citation. The license can also be suspended or revoked, and a revoked operator is barred from reapplying for five years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one license cover multiple locations?
What can get a Bridgeport SOB license revoked?
How long does the city have to decide an application?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bridgeport
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle adult entertainment.