Cherokee County, SC Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Spacing from protected uses
- 1,000 feet (§ 13-233(a)(1))
- Spacing from residential property line
- 200 feet (§ 13-233(a)(2))
- Application fee
- $50.00, non-refundable
- Annual permit fee
- $200.00, due no later than May 1
- Hours barred
- 1:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
- Penalty for operating without a permit
- Up to $500.00 and/or 30 days
Summary
In unincorporated Cherokee County, South Carolina, a sexually oriented business needs a county permit before it opens and must sit 1,000 feet from churches, schools, parks, day care centers, nursing homes and other such businesses, and 200 feet from the property line of any residential dwelling (Cherokee County Code §§ 13-233(a) and 13-240).
(a)Location requirements:(1)The establishment of a sexually oriented business shall be permitted subject to the following restrictions. No person shall cause or permit the establishment of any of the sexually oriented businesses named hereinabove within one thousand (1,000) feet of the uses identified below. ... a.Churches or other religious institutions as defined hereinabove; orb.Schools as defined hereinabove;c.Public parks, public recreation areas, or private recreation areas (structure shall include the entire parcel on which the facility is located),d.Licensed or certified day care centers;e.Group day care homes;f.Nursing homes; org.Sexually oriented businesses.(2)A sexually oriented business shall not be located within two hundred (200) feet of the property line of any single or multi-family residential dwelling. ... ... Sec. 13-240. - Business permit requirement. ... (1)Every person or entity engaged or intending to engage in a sexually oriented business, as defined in this article, is required and shall obtain a sexually oriented business permit (hereinafter referred to as permit) from Cherokee County before initiating operation of the business.
Full Breakdown
Article IX of Chapter 13 regulates sexually oriented businesses in unincorporated Cherokee County, South Carolina through both spacing and a county permit. Under § 13-233(a), no sexually oriented business can be established within one thousand (1,000) feet of a church or religious institution, school, public park or recreation area, private recreation area, licensed day care center, group day care home, nursing home or another sexually oriented business, and none can sit within two hundred (200) feet of the property line of any single or multi-family residential dwelling. Distances run in a straight line from property line to property line without regard to intervening structures, and no more than one sexually oriented business is allowed on a permitted premise.
Section 13-240 requires a sexually oriented business permit before operation starts. The application is obtained from and filed with the chief building official, who grants, denies, suspends and revokes permits, with a non-refundable application fee of fifty dollars ($50.00). The annual fee is two hundred dollars ($200.00), paid at the beginning of each calendar year no later than May 1, and each permit expires on the last day of April (§§ 13-243, 13-245). Agency investigations are completed within twenty-five (25) days, and the chief building official grants or denies the application within thirty (30) days of proper filing. An applicant convicted of a specified criminal act is barred for two (2) years after a misdemeanor and five (5) years after a felony (§ 13-242(c)). The application includes a surveyor's drawing showing protected uses within 1,000 feet and 200 feet.
Operating rules follow the permit. A business cannot stay open between 1:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. (§ 13-236) or admit anyone under eighteen (18) (§ 13-234). Live performers must be on a stage at least eighteen (18) inches high and ten (10) feet from patrons, with no physical contact and no direct tipping (§ 13-237). Existing businesses had thirty (30) days to apply for a permit, and a nonconforming business loses that status after thirty (30) consecutive days without operating (§ 13-233(d), (f)).
A denial, suspension or revocation is appealed to the Cherokee County Board of Appeals within ten (10) business days of notice, with a hearing held within thirty (30) days (§ 13-248).
Violations & Fines
Operating without a permit is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) and/or up to thirty (30) days incarceration (§ 13-240(1)). The county can also seek an injunction, with attorneys fees and costs assessed against the business at the court's discretion (§ 13-233(g)). The chief building official suspends a permit for hours violations and revokes it for reasons such as knowingly allowing prostitution or controlled substances, after which no permit issues for one (1) year (§ 13-247(c)).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who issues the permit in unincorporated Cherokee County?
How long does approval take?
How is the spacing distance measured?
What can get a permit denied or revoked?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Cherokee County
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