Irving, TX Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- License
- Required from chief of police
- Buffer
- 1,000 feet from protected uses
- From another SOB
- 1,000 feet minimum
- Zoning
- Must be in permitted district
- Enabling law
- Ordinance 6441, June 23, 1994
Summary
Irving requires a city-issued sexually oriented business license and bars these businesses within 1,000 feet of a church, school, child care, park, residence, hospital, or another adult business. Applications go to the chief of police; operating without a license is an offense.
(a) A person commits an offense if he operates or causes to be operated a sexually oriented business within one thousand (1,000) feet of: (1) A church; (2) A public or private elementary or secondary school or child care facility; (3) A boundary of a residential or heritage district as defined in this chapter; (4) A public park; (5) The property line of a lot devoted to a residential use as defined in this chapter; or (6) A hospital. (b) A person commits an offense if he causes or permits the operation ... within one thousand (1,000) feet of another sexually oriented business.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4988517; v32 updated 2026-07-30).
Full Breakdown
Under Chapter 46 of the Irving Code, no one may operate an adult arcade, adult cabaret, adult bookstore or video store, adult motel, nude model studio, escort agency, sexual encounter center, or other sexually oriented business without a license issued by the city, applied for on a form provided by the chief of police (Sec. 46-4). Section 46-13 makes it an offense to operate within 1,000 feet of a church, public or private elementary or secondary school or child care facility, public park, hospital, residential or heritage district boundary, residential lot, or another sexually oriented business. Distances are measured in a straight line, and the business must sit in a zoning district that allows the use.
Violations & Fines
Operating without a license, or within 1,000 feet of a protected use or another adult business, is a separate offense under Chapter 46. The city can also suspend or revoke the license (Secs. 46-9, 46-10) and bring civil action (Sec. 46-21).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Irving require a permit to open an adult business?
How far must an adult business be from a school or church?
Can two adult businesses share a location in Irving?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Irving
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dallas County handle adult entertainment.