Decatur, AL Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Core rule
- Operation prohibited in the city and its police jurisdiction
- Covered types
- Eleven defined business types in Sec. 2.6-2
- Existing businesses
- One-year amortization; license transfers not permitted
- Inventory exemption
- Pre-existing business under 25 percent of inventory
- Judicial review
- Morgan County circuit court within 14 days
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor under Sec. 1-8, $1 to $500 fine
Summary
The City of Decatur, Alabama prohibits the operation of a sexually oriented business in the city and its police jurisdiction. Chapter 2.6 defines eleven covered business types, from adult arcades and cabarets to escort agencies, and sets no spacing distances or permit route. Violations are misdemeanors punishable under Sec. 1-8.
Operation of a sexually oriented business as defined in this chapter is prohibited in the city and its police jurisdiction. ... Any sexually oriented business operating from the effective date of this chapter shall be deemed a non-complying business. A noncomplying business shall not expand the prohibited activities, materials or inventory but is granted a maximum period of one (1) year from the effective date of this chapter to amortize the cost of its inventory or other costs of operation. ... A violation of this Chapter is a misdemeanor and is punishable as provided in Section 1-8 of the Code of Decatur, Alabama.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 2.6, adopted by Ord. No. 00-3610 on June 19, 2000, takes the ban route rather than a licensing or zoning-distance route. Section 2.6-3 flatly prohibits operation of a sexually oriented business in the city and its police jurisdiction. Section 2.6-2 defines the covered businesses: adult arcade, adult bookstore, novelty store, video store or computer/technology center, adult cabaret, adult motel (including one that rents a sleeping room for less than ten hours), adult motion picture theater, adult theater, escort agency, massage parlor, nude model studio and sexual encounter establishment. The definitions exclude massage in licensed hospitals or by licensed physicians, surgeons, chiropractors and osteopaths, and sexual therapy by licensed professionals.
Any commercial establishment that sells, distributes or produces obscene materials is also prohibited (Sec. 2.6-4), but a pre-existing business with less than 25 percent of its inventory in material describing or depicting specified sexual activities or sexual devices falls outside the chapter. Businesses already operating when the chapter took effect were deemed non-complying, could not expand, and had one year to amortize inventory and other costs, with council exceptions for extreme financial hardship. License transfers are not permitted (Sec. 2.6-5). The city can sue for an injunction in addition to criminal prosecution (Sec. 2.6-6).
The city council can suspend a business license after a public hearing for noncompliance or refusing an inspection, and can revoke it for false application information, knowingly allowing prostitution or specified sexual acts, or two or more offenses on the premises (Secs. 2.6-7, 2.6-8). Denial, suspension or revocation can be appealed within 14 days to the circuit court of Morgan County, by nonjury trial (Sec. 2.6-9). Related rules cover harmful materials and persons under 18 (Sec. 2.6-10), public nudity (Sec. 2.6-11), advertising (Sec. 2.6-12) and sadomasochistic devices (Sec. 2.6-13).
Violations & Fines
Under Sec. 2.6-14 a violation of Chapter 2.6 is a misdemeanor punishable under Sec. 1-8: a fine of $1.00 to $500.00, up to six months of imprisonment or hard labor, and each day a separate offense. Section 2.6-6 adds an injunction suit, and the city council can suspend or revoke a business license after a public hearing. Allowing the sale of harmful-to-minors material to an unmarried person under 18 is a separate misdemeanor (Sec. 2.6-10).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an adult business get a permit in Decatur?
Does the ban reach outside the city limits?
Are licensed massage providers covered by the ban?
How can a denial or revocation be challenged?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Decatur
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