Hanover County, VA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Section 26-301 of the Zoning Ordinance regulates what it calls adult uses, defined to include adult book stores, adult theaters, and massage parlors or health clubs, with hospitals, licensed medical and chiropractic offices, and ordinary barbershops and beauty parlors carved out of that last category. The ordinance states its purpose plainly: these uses have serious objectionable operational characteristics when concentrated or placed close to residential neighborhoods, so the county controls their location and clustering rather than banning them outright. The location standards in subsection (c) impose three distance rules.

No permit may authorize an adult use or structure less than 500 feet from any residential district boundary. All off-street parking serving the use must sit at least 300 feet from the nearest residential district boundary. And no more than two adult uses may locate within 1,000 feet of each other, preventing a cluster from forming even outside the residential buffer. The Board of Supervisors can waive any of these three locational rules, but only after finding the use will not injure nearby property or conflict with the county's adopted land use plans, and that the applicant will observe all other zoning conditions and special conditions attached to the permit.

Signage is separately capped: no more than two signs are allowed, with combined surface area no greater than 40 square feet per adjoining major street, mounted flat against the building or projecting no more than 5 feet without overhanging the right-of-way, and limited to alphanumeric characters and simple symbols, with no pictures or human silhouettes. Sign plans must be shown on the preliminary site plan and specifically approved by the Board before a sign permit issues.