Lynnwood, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Chapter 5.50 of the Lynnwood Municipal Code makes it unlawful to operate or maintain an adult entertainment premises anywhere in the city of Lynnwood, Washington, without an adult entertainment premises license issued by the director or the director's designee under LMC 5.50.030. Entertainers and managers need their own separate adult entertainer's or adult entertainment manager's license under LMC 5.50.040. Applicants for a premises license must submit identifying information, business history, and property documents, and the police department, director, building official and fire chief all investigate before issuance under LMC 5.50.080.

Licensed premises in Lynnwood must close to the public between 2:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. under LMC 5.50.130, regardless of whether adult entertainment or other business is being conducted during those hours. Persons under 18 are barred from the premises under LMC 5.50.140. Employees and entertainers must perform only on a stage at least 18 inches above floor level and at least six feet from the nearest patron, and cannot solicit tips beyond a posted fixed fee (LMC 5.50.100). A required warning sign at least two feet by two feet with 24-point bold type must be posted at the main entry describing these restrictions (LMC 5.50.110).

Enforcement runs through the city's business license clerk and director, with license suspension of 15 days for a first violation, 45 days for a second, and revocation for two years on a third violation within three years (LMC 5.50.190). Appeals of a suspension or revocation go to the hearing examiner under LMC 5.50.200, and filing a timely appeal stays the director's decision pending the hearing examiner's ruling. This is a city-of-Lynnwood ordinance distinct from Snohomish County's rules and unrelated to Everett, Edmonds or Seattle regulations.