Josephine County, OR Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Josephine County Code Chapter 5.20 makes it unlawful to operate a sexually oriented business without an operator's license issued by the Director, or to employ or work at one without an employee license (JCC § 5.20.040(A)). Applications go through the Director's office on a county form with a floor-plan sketch or diagram; the Health Department, Building and Safety Department and Planning Department must inspect the premises before an operator's license issues, with Health and Building Safety review triggered only when the viewing-room or public-nudity provisions in JCC §§ 5.20.180-.190 apply.

Licenses expire one year from issuance; renewal applications should be filed at least 45 days before expiration, and filing less than 30 days out does not stop the license from expiring, forcing a fresh initial application and fee under JCC § 5.20.060. Location is separately restricted: under JCC § 5.20.130, a sexually oriented business is permitted only in a rural commercial or rural industrial zone, and even there may not operate within 1,500 feet of a church or other place of worship, 1,200 feet of a school (including day cares, preschools and colleges), 1,000 feet of a public park or recreation area, 1,500 feet of a residentially zoned and used lot, or 1,500 feet of another sexually oriented business; two such businesses may not share the same building.

Distances are measured in a straight line between the nearest structure walls or property lines, ignoring anything in between (JCC § 5.20.130(C)-(D)). Hours are capped too: no sexually oriented business other than an adult motel may stay open between midnight and 11:00 a.m. (JCC § 5.20.230). A business lawfully operating when the ordinance took effect but out of compliance with the location or configuration rules becomes a protected nonconforming use under JCC § 5.20.140, and an existing licensee is not knocked out of compliance just because a church, school, park or residential district later moves within 1,500 feet, so long as the license stays current.