Kenton County, KY Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Chapter 113 of the Kenton County Code of Ordinances, adopted by Ord. 04 unless a city inside the county has adopted its own equal or stricter ordinance. 15 makes it unlawful to operate, manage, or work at an unlicensed sexually oriented business or escort bureau, and equally unlawful to keep working after a license is suspended. 16: an annual $3,000 establishment license (with a $1,500 refund if the application is denied), $155 annual licenses for managers, entertainers, escort-bureau managers, and escorts, a $25 name-change fee, and a $10 duplicate-license fee.

19 sets the issuance criteria: every owner, manager, entertainer, or escort must be at least 21, current on county and city taxes, free of a chapter conviction or license revocation in the prior two years, and free of a sex-offense or drug-offense conviction in the prior five years. An establishment premises must be a permitted or lawful nonconforming use under the applicable zoning ordinance, meet that zoning district's separation and off-street parking requirements, and cannot share an entrance, address, or access point with another sexually oriented business or escort bureau.

Performance premises must also provide a stage raised at least 24 inches with a 60-inch horizontal buffer, an unobstructed 600-square-foot viewing room, dressing rooms, and lighting of at least 20 lumens. 21 while a full application is pending.