Yakima County, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

06, no one may operate an adult cabaret, adult motion picture theater, adult retail store or other adult entertainment facility in unincorporated Yakima County without an adult entertainment facility license, and managers and entertainers each need their own license from the licensing official. Applications are decided within 30 days (40 with a 10-day extension). m. Location is controlled separately by the zoning code. 030 bars an adult entertainment facility from locating within 800 feet of any residential zoning district (R-1, R-2, R-3, SR, RT, Rural-10/5 or RS), and within 800 feet of any public park, library, nursery or K-12 school, licensed day care, community youth center, church, qualifying multifamily use, another adult entertainment facility, an establishment selling alcohol for on-premises consumption, or a designated community entranceway along highways such as SR 12, SR 22 or I-82.

A separate 400-foot buffer applies to legally established nonconforming dwellings. The 800-foot buffer is measured as a straight line from the nearest lot line of the proposed facility to the nearest boundary of the protected use; the 400-foot dwelling buffer runs from the edge of the facility's improved area to the nearest part of the dwelling structure. 35. Inside an adult cabaret, entertainers must perform on a stage at least 24 inches high and 10 feet from patron areas, separated by a fixed barrier at least 3 feet tall, and may not dance within 4 feet of a customer.