Clifton, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Clifton Code Chapter 215 requires a license from the governing body before any public assembly hall, cabaret, theater, movie house, social club, restaurant, or plenary retail consumption licensee may furnish entertainment of any kind, charged or free (§ 215-1). Rather than permitting adult entertainment through zoning-style spacing, Clifton bans it outright: § 215-2 prohibits lewd, licentious, or lascivious dancing or entertainment; § 215-3 bars topless or bottomless dancing or any performance where breasts or the lower torso are uncovered or thinly draped to appear uncovered; § 215-4 extends that ban to waitresses, bartenders, and other staff who contact patrons; § 215-5 bars entertainers under 18; and § 215-6 prohibits indecent body movements representative of acts that would arouse sexual desire.

Applicants for a new license or an expansion must give property owners within 200 feet of the premises at least 10 days' written notice before the Municipal Council hearing, filing proof of service with the City Clerk 24 hours before the hearing (§ 215-7B(9)). The Council reviews Police, Fire, Building, and Health Department reports and can deny a license for moral-turpitude convictions, prior violations, gambling offenses, or concrete evidence of bad character (§ 215-7C to E). New licenses run 90 days before converting to a one-year term if complaint-free (§ 215-7F(1)).

License fees scale with occupancy: $125 up to 100 seats, $235 for 101 to 150, $400 for 151 to 200, and $750 over 200 (§ 215-9A), and no entertainment permit issues unless the premises seats 25 or more persons (§ 215-10). The Municipal Council can suspend or revoke any permit after a noticed hearing on the same grounds used to deny one (§ 215-8).