Nashville regulates sexually oriented businesses under Metro Code 6.54 with mandatory licensing through the Metro Sexually Oriented Business Licensing Board, strict zoning buffers, and personnel-level permits for performers.
Metro Code Title 6 Chapter 6.54 requires sexually oriented businesses (SOBs) including adult bookstores, adult cabarets, adult motion picture theaters, and erotic dance establishments to obtain a Sexually Oriented Business License from the Metro SOB Licensing Board. Each performer, manager, and employee must hold a separate personnel permit. Operators must maintain minimum distance buffers from residential zones, schools, churches, parks, and other SOBs (typically 1,000 feet). Hours are restricted, no alcohol may be served where nudity occurs (Tennessee TCA 39-17-901), and on-site customer contact rules apply. Background checks disqualify applicants with sex-related felonies within five years. Lower Broadway and SoBro have very limited SOB locations due to buffer overlap.
Operating without an SOB license is a Class A misdemeanor with fines up to $2,500, jail time, and license forfeiture. Personnel permit violations carry $500 fines. Zoning buffer violations trigger closure orders. Repeat violations within two years bar relicensing.
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