Hollywood, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing agency
- Dept. of Planning & Development Services
- Application fee
- $200, nonrefundable
- Review period
- 30 days (up to 40 with corrections)
- Allowed zones
- C-1 to C-5, IM-1 to IM-4, PEDD
- Spacing from other adult use
- 1,000 feet
- Spacing from church/school/residential
- 500 feet
- Variances from spacing
- None permitted, ever
Summary
Hollywood requires a separate Adult Entertainment License for each activity type an establishment offers, issued by the Department of Planning and Development Services and collected by the Treasury Division. These businesses may open only in specific commercial and industrial zoning districts and must meet strict distance separations from other adult uses, churches, schools and residential areas, with no variances allowed.
A. Zoning. Notwithstanding any other provision of the City of Hollywood Zoning and Land Development Regulations, no person shall propose, cause or permit the operation of or enlargement of (except when an enlargement is required by law) an adult entertainment establishment except in districts with the following zoning designations: C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, IM-1, IM-2, IM-3, IM-4, PEDD (or the equivalent county zonings on property which has been annexed into the city, but not yet had city zoning applied to it). B. Distance minimums. In addition to the zoning requirements set forth in subsection (A), an adult entertainment establishment shall not be allowed to open, operate, or be enlarged (except when the enlargement is required by law) within any of the following distances: 1. 1,000 feet of a preexisting adult entertainment establishment; 2. 500 feet of a preexisting religious institution; 3. 500 feet of a preexisting educational institution; 4. 500 feet of an area zoned within the city for residential use.
Full Breakdown
20, no adult entertainment establishment may operate without a license covering its specific classification: Adult Bookstore, Adult Performance Establishment, Adult Theater, Commercial Physical Contact Parlor, or Escort Service; a business offering more than one carries a separate license for each. 23). 30, these uses are confined to C-1 through C-5, IM-1 through IM-4, and PEDD zoning districts (or equivalent county zoning on newly annexed land), and even within those districts a new or enlarged establishment cannot open within 1,000 feet of an existing adult entertainment establishment, or within 500 feet of a religious institution, an educational institution, an area zoned residential, or land carrying a Residential Future Land Use Map designation. 31). 30(D). 32, but must still meet every other article of the code.
Violations & Fines
Operating an adult entertainment establishment without a valid, current license for each applicable classification is unlawful under § 11.51, as is working at an establishment known to lack one under § 11.52. Violations of Article V (Criminal Provisions) are punishable as provided in F.S. 125.69. A license denial forces the business to cease operating within 10 business days of notice, and § 11.30(C) forecloses any variance defense to a spacing violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which zoning districts allow adult entertainment businesses in Hollywood?
How far must an adult entertainment business be from a school or church?
Can Hollywood grant a variance from the spacing requirements?
What happens if an adult entertainment business operates without a license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hollywood
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Broward County handle adult entertainment.