Inglewood, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Any owner, operator, licensee, landlord, tenant, manager, agent, independent contractor, or employee who operates, encourages, or maintains an adult cabaret or adult live entertainment theater without securing all three approvals violates Inglewood Municipal Code § 8-69. The ordinance groups adult cabarets and adult live entertainment theaters with a list of related uses under identical licensing rules, including acupressure and acupuncture establishments offering on-site massage, bath/Turkish bath/spa houses, escort/dating/introduction services, massage establishments, and tanning salons, treating them as functionally equivalent for permitting purposes.

Before the Planning Commission or City Council will grant the Special Use Permit, the establishment must comply with all zoning requirements, or qualify as a legally nonconforming use under § 12-60, including operating in a zone that actually permits the use. The Commission evaluates the same factors applied to every Special Use Permit applicant under §§ 12-95.2 and 12-95.3, but the code expressly bars the Commission from weighing any restriction that would act as a prior restraint on the applicant's First Amendment rights, a built-in check against content-based denial. Once the Special Use Permit and business license are secured, the operator still needs a Building Permit from the City Building Official before opening for business. Applications, suspensions, and revocations of these permits follow the general procedures in Article 3 of Chapter 8 under § 8-69.2.