Clarksville, TN Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

The Adult-Oriented Establishment Board administers the license under Chapter 12 of the Official Code. An operator applies to the board, which forwards a copy to the city police department for investigation; the board must grant, deny or hold the application within ten days of getting the results, with up to ten more days for further investigation. A license costs five hundred dollars and covers one fixed location only, no license can be transferred, and no premises may house more than one adult-oriented establishment. Individual entertainers and escorts need their own one-hundred-dollar permit, renewed annually for fifteen dollars, while the establishment license renews yearly for one hundred dollars plus a fifty-dollar late fee if filed within thirty days of expiration.

Sec. § 15-1-101, with carve-outs for Columbus Day and election days. Sec. 5-1207 lets the board revoke or suspend a license for false application statements, unpaid fees, liquor on the premises, admitting minors to adult material, denying police access, unsanitary conditions, or an operator's conviction of a specified criminal act on the premises; a revoked operator cannot reapply for five years. Before any revocation takes effect the board must give ten to twenty days' written notice and, if requested, a hearing within fifteen days.