Fort Worth, TX Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Code reference
- Fort Worth Code Chapter 5
- Buffer distance
- 1,000 feet from sensitive uses
- Stage separation
- Six feet from patrons
- Minimum age
- 18 to enter
- License term
- Annual renewal required
Summary
Fort Worth regulates sexually oriented businesses (SOBs) under City Code Chapter 5 and the Unified Development Code, requiring annual licensing, criminal-history screening of operators, mandatory zoning buffers from sensitive uses, and detailed interior layout standards aimed at limiting secondary effects on neighborhoods.
Sec. 243.003. AUTHORITY TO REGULATE. (a) A municipality by ordinance or a county by order of the commissioners court may adopt regulations regarding sexually oriented businesses as the municipality or county considers necessary to promote the public health, safety, or welfare.(b) A regulation adopted by a municipality applies only inside the municipality's corporate limits.(c) A regulation adopted by a county applies only to the parts of the county outside the corporate limits of a municipality.(d) In adopting a regulation, a municipality that has in effect a comprehensive zoning ordinance adopted under Chapter 211 must comply with all applicable procedural requirements of that chapter if the regulation is within the scope of that chapter.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 5 defines SOBs to include adult arcades, bookstores, cabarets, motion picture theaters, motels, and nude modeling studios. Operators and managers apply through the Fort Worth City Secretary, submit fingerprints, and clear background checks before opening. The Unified Development Code requires SOBs to sit at least 1,000 feet from churches, schools, public parks, residential districts, and other SOBs. Establishments must keep open sightlines to performance areas, ban private viewing booths, enforce a six-foot stage separation between performers and patrons, and exclude anyone under 18. License denial, suspension, and revocation follow violations. Fort Worth defends Chapter 5 under the secondary-effects doctrine.
Violations & Fines
Operating an SOB without a Chapter 5 license, locating within 1,000 feet of protected uses, allowing patron-performer contact closer than six feet, admitting minors, or installing closed viewing booths triggers citations, license revocation, and abatement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can a sexually oriented business legally locate in Fort Worth?
Are private viewing booths allowed inside Fort Worth SOBs?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Worth
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Tarrant County handle adult entertainment.