Columbia County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Scope
- Alcohol-serving establishments, unincorporated county
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 91-4 (1991)
- Premises definition
- Includes land within 300 feet
- Enforcement
- County code enforcement board
- License consequence
- Occupational license may be revoked
Summary
Columbia County does not run a separate adult-business permit or spacing scheme; instead, Code §§ 10-161 through 10-167 flatly ban nude and seminude entertainment at any commercial establishment in the unincorporated county that sells or allows alcoholic beverages, and let the board revoke that establishment's occupational license on conviction.
To prohibit nude and seminude entertainment, as defined, in commercial establishments at which alcoholic beverages, beer or wine is, or is available to be, sold, dispensed, or consumed; ... It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in nude or seminude entertainment. ... If the owner, operator, licensee, licensor, manager, employer or any other person participating in the maintenance or operation of a commercial establishment at which alcoholic beverages are, or are available to be sold, dispensed, consumed, possessed or offered for sale or consumption on the premises is convicted of a violation of this article, the county occupational license issued to such violator for said establishment may be revoked by action of the board upon due notice.
Full Breakdown
Article V of Chapter 10 was adopted in 1991 (Ord. No. 91-4) under the county's Twenty-first Amendment authority to regulate alcohol and its home-rule police power under Fla. Const. art. VIII, § 1(f) and F.S. § 125.01(1)(o), (w). Rather than licensing adult businesses separately or imposing distance buffers from schools or residences, the ordinance targets the combination of nudity and alcohol directly. Code § 10-162 states the board's intent to prohibit nude and seminude entertainment, and its advertisement or promotion, at any commercial establishment where alcoholic beverages, beer or wine are sold, dispensed or available to be consumed.
Code § 10-164 then spells out the prohibited conduct: performing nude or seminude entertainment; a patron exposing genitals, buttocks or specified body areas; a female exposing her breast below the top of the areola; an operator permitting either; and sexual acts including intercourse, masturbation or sodomy on the premises, along with a ban on projecting obscene images (with an exception for R- or PG-13-rated film). 'Premises' under Code § 10-163 reaches beyond the four walls of the building to include any structure or land within 300 feet under common ownership, control or possession.
Enforcement runs through the county code enforcement board and the criminal misdemeanor penalty in Code § 1-10 (Code § 10-167(a)-(c)), and Code § 10-167(d) adds a business consequence: on conviction, the board may revoke the establishment's county occupational license for that location after due notice.
Violations & Fines
A conviction under this article is a misdemeanor punishable under Code § 1-10, and Code § 10-167(d) separately authorizes the board to revoke the violating establishment's county occupational license after due notice, on top of any criminal penalty imposed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Columbia County issue a special permit for adult entertainment businesses?
What conduct is actually banned?
How far does 'premises' extend under this ordinance?
What happens to a business that is convicted of violating this article?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Columbia County
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