Council Bluffs, IA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Every location conducting adult entertainment activities as defined in CBMC 15.03.024, from escort services to establishments featuring nude or seminude models, needs its own license under CBMC 3.15.020; operating two locations means two separate licenses. Applicants file with the city clerk, pay a nonrefundable investigation fee set in the CBMC 2.08 fee schedule, and disclose corporate officers, a three-year employment history, and a five-year permit history including any prior suspensions or revocations. The clerk routes the application to the chief of police, the fire department and the planning department for a recommendation, then must grant or renew the license within thirty days if fees are paid, the application is truthful, the applicant cooperated with the investigation, and the applicant, manager or person in charge is at least eighteen.

A denial can be appealed to the city council within twenty days, with further judicial review available afterward. Once granted, the license runs for one year and expires every June 30th regardless of issue date under CBMC 3.15.040, and it must be renewed at least thirty days before expiration under CBMC 3.15.050. The chapter exempts state-licensed employment agencies, the state of Iowa and its subdivisions, private schools defined at Iowa Code Section 261A.4, and employees who only occasionally escort people as part of an unrelated job.

CBMC 3.15.080 separately bars any licensee from employing anyone under eighteen, from letting the interior be visible from outside the premises or from a public way, and from using escorts or models who lack their own permit under CBMC 3.15.090.