Guilford County, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Business license fee
- $100 annually, due each January 1
- Employee license fee
- $50, valid four years
- Licensing agency
- Guilford County Sheriff's Department
- Appeal deadline
- 15 days to the County Manager
- Location control
- Governed by county Development Ordinance
Summary
Every adult bookstore, cabaret, arcade, escort agency, nude model studio or similar adult-oriented business in unincorporated Guilford County needs an annual regulatory license from the Guilford County Sheriff, renewed by January 1 each year for a $100 fee. Sec. 11-3 also requires every entertainer, waiter or independent contractor at such a business to hold a separate $50 employee license valid four years.
An annual regulatory license shall be required on or before January 1 for each adult arcade, adult bookstore or adult video store, adult motion picture theater, adult theater, escort agency, nude model studio, sexual encounter center, adult cabaret, adult live entertainment business, adult motel, adult oriented establishment or other like or similar use located in the unincorporated area of Guilford County. Said license shall be issued by the Guilford County Sheriff. ... Each application or renewal must be accompanied by a fee of $100.00 to help cover the cost of the investigation and administration.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 11-3 defines adult arcades, adult bookstores or video stores, adult cabarets, adult motels, adult motion picture theaters, adult theaters, escort agencies, nude model studios and sexual encounter centers, and subsection (c) sends the location of any such use to the standards of the Guilford County Development Ordinance in effect since January 1, 1992. Subsection (d) requires the annual business license: the sheriff's department investigates every applicant, assisted by the county departments that oversee the relevant codes, and each application or renewal costs $100 and must list the owners' names, addresses, identification numbers, current photographs and fingerprints, along with any prior license revocations.
Licensees must keep photo identification and proof of age on file for every employee, entertainer, independent contractor or agent for at least three years after they stop working there, and produce it on request to any law enforcement officer. Subsection (e) separately requires anyone who performs, entertains or renders personal services at the business, as an employee or independent contractor, to hold their own regulatory license from the sheriff, valid for four years, after paying a $50 fee and passing a background investigation covering felony and misdemeanor convictions and local-ordinance violations from the prior ten years.
Violations & Fines
Subsection (f) requires denial of an incomplete application, one containing false information, or one for a business that fails zoning, building, health or fire-code requirements. A license may be revoked for any violation of Sec. 11-3, employing someone without the required license, an owner's felony conviction for sexual misconduct, prostitution or drug trafficking, or an employee convicted of the same while on the premises. Appeals go to the county manager in writing within 15 days of denial or revocation. The section is also enforced under the Sec. 1-14 general penalty and Sec. 1-15 and 1-16 remedies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an adult bookstore or cabaret need a county license to operate in Guilford County?
Do individual performers or escorts need their own license?
What happens if Guilford County denies or revokes an adult business license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Guilford County
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