Las Vegas, NV Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Before operating, from the Director
- Adult threshold
- 35% of revenue or floor space
- Decision deadline
- 30 days or auto-approved
- Recordkeeping
- Adult/nonadult sales, 36 months
- Exempt
- Grocery/drug stores with newsstands
Summary
Anyone opening an adult emporium or adult bookstore in Las Vegas must get a license from the Director before doing business: grocery, drug and convenience stores with an incidental newsstand are exempt.
No person shall engage in the business of operating an adult emporium or a bookstore without first obtaining a license from the Director. Licensed grocery stores, drugstores, convenience stores, and gift shops with a newsstand selling periodicals, magazines and newspapers, incidental to the sale of food and drug items, are exempted from the provisions of this Chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
LVMC Chapter 6.06A defines an 'adult emporium' as a business drawing 35% or more of its revenue or floor space from books, magazines, novelties, or photo/video images emphasizing specified sexual activities or anatomy, or marketing itself primarily as such an outlet. Operating one, or an adult bookstore, without a Director-issued license is prohibited outright; the Director must approve or deny within 30 days (silence means automatic approval). Licensees must keep 36 months of adult-vs-nonadult sales records, and the City Council can suspend or revoke the license for noncompliance after notice and a hearing.
Violations & Fines
No specific penalty is set in Chapter 6.06A, so LVMC's general penalty applies: up to a $1,000 fine and/or 6 months in jail, with each day of operating unlicensed a separate offense; the license can also be suspended or revoked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a bookstore need a special license just for carrying some adult magazines?
What happens if I operate an adult emporium without this license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Las Vegas
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Clark County handle adult entertainment.