Menifee, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Floor-space test
- Over 15% of display area for adult merchandise
- Entertainment test
- 4+ sexually oriented performances in any month
- Background check
- Chief of Police investigates owners and managers
- Application requirement
- Fingerprinting and photographing required
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor and public nuisance under Sec. 5.01.260
- Appeal path
- Appeal under Sec. 5.01.250 via Sec. 2.04.050
Summary
Any business in Menifee that devotes more than 15% of its floor space to sexually oriented merchandise, or presents live sexually oriented entertainment four or more times a month, qualifies as an adult business under Menifee Code of Ordinances Section 5.01.020. Adult businesses are a designated special business type under Section 5.01.090, triggering a Chief of Police background investigation before a business license issues.
ADULT BUSINESS. Any business establishment or concern which as a regular and substantial course of conduct sells, distributes, promotes, offers to its patrons, displays, advertises, rewards with, allows the performance of sexually oriented material, sexually oriented merchandise, and sexually oriented entertainment or any other products, services, or entertainment characterized by an emphasis on matters depicting, describing or relating to sexual uses or activities but not including those uses or activities, the regulation of which is preempted by state law. "Sexually oriented business" shall also include any establishment which, as a regular and substantial course of conduct, provides or allows performers, models, or employees to appear in any place in lingerie. ... The area devoted to adult merchandise and/or sexually oriented material exceeds more than 15% of the total display or floorspace area open to the public. ... The business or concern presents any type of live entertainment characterized by an emphasis on specified sexual activity or specified anatomical parts, at least four times in any month in any given year.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-15: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ordinance 2026-432, passed 4-15-2026).
Full Breakdown
Menifee's business license code singles out adult businesses for licensing scrutiny. 020 defines an ADULT BUSINESS as any establishment that, as a regular and substantial course of conduct, sells, displays, or advertises sexually oriented material, merchandise, or entertainment, or lets performers, models, or employees appear in lingerie. The Code sets bright-line tests: floor space devoted to adult merchandise exceeding 15% of the public display area, live entertainment emphasizing specified sexual activity presented at least four times in any month, or a regular course of business built around such content.
090, adult businesses are one of 21 designated 'special business types,' alongside card rooms, massage businesses, and pawnshops, that require extra vetting because of the tendency of certain enterprises to attract crime or draw heightened criminal activity to a location. Before the Finance Department issues the license, the Chief of Police or a designee investigates the background of the owner and anyone managing or supervising the business, and the applicant must be fingerprinted and photographed. The city weighs the applicant's criminal record and business history, including any past license revocations, denials, or citations, and the City Council sets the fingerprinting fee by resolution.
140(L) separately makes a failure to meet the Code's provisions governing adult oriented businesses an independent ground for denial. A revoked license bars reapplication for the same or another business type at that location. 050.
Violations & Fines
Operating an adult business without the required license, or without disclosing that the business meets the Code's adult business tests, is a misdemeanor under Section 5.01.260 and is separately declared a public nuisance. The city can pursue an administrative citation, injunction, or criminal prosecution, and it may deny or revoke the underlying business license under Sections 5.01.140 and 5.01.150 if the background investigation turns up disqualifying criminal history or false statements on the application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Menifee ban adult businesses outright?
What triggers the 'adult business' classification?
What happens if the background check turns up a criminal record?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Menifee
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Riverside County handle adult entertainment.