Mountain View, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Under Sec. 53, operating an adult entertainment establishment without a chief-of-police license is unlawful; a license issues unless the applicant lied on the application or an owner, officer or employee was convicted within the last five years of an offense requiring Penal Code Sec. 290 registration, of Penal Code Sec. 266i, 315, 316, 318 or 647(b), or of a felony narcotics sale under Health and Safety Code Sec. 11054-11058. Sec. 54 sets a nonrefundable application fee by council resolution, with annual renewal at the start of each calendar year for another nonrefundable fee.

Sec. 55 requires the chief to issue or mail a written denial within 30 working days of a complete application, and applicants must show they are at least 18, list height/weight/eye and hair color, disclose corporate officers or partners holding more than 5% interest, and report new employee names and addresses within five days of hiring. A denied applicant can reapply after one year (Sec. 57), or sooner with proof the denial grounds no longer exist. Sec. 58 lists revocation/suspension grounds: fraud in the application, a disqualifying conviction within five years, or failure to abide by prior discipline.

Sec. 59 requires 10 days' written hearing notice, lets the chief impose a warning, a suspension of up to six months, or revocation, and gives the licensee 10 days to appeal in writing to the city manager, who must schedule a hearing within 10 days and whose decision is final. Sec. 61 bars fee refunds if a license is surrendered or revoked early, and Sec. 62 requires a canceled or revoked license be returned to the issuing officer within three business days.