Washoe County, NV Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

053 makes it unlawful to commence operating an adult bookstore, adult drive-in theater, adult hotel or motel, adult interactive cabaret, adult motion picture arcade, adult motion picture theater, or model studio within 1,000 feet of any public or licensed private school from kindergarten through college, a licensed day-care center, a public park or recreational area, a church or religious educational center, a civic building the public frequents, or another adult characterized business. The section further confines these businesses to the industrial regulatory zoning category, or to an establishment holding an unlimited gaming license in a tourist commercial zone, and separately bars them from locating within 1,000 feet of any residentially zoned area or of an unlimited-gaming establishment.

Distances are measured as a straight line from the affected use's property line to the nearest edge of the building housing the adult business, without regard to intervening structures. A business that cannot meet the distance rule can apply to the Board of County Commissioners for a waiver; the county clerk must set a public hearing within 45 days of a complete application, and the board can grant it only after finding the use will not cluster with other adult businesses, increase crime, sit in an area minors frequent, contribute to blight, or otherwise harm public health, safety, or welfare.

A denied waiver comes with a written statement of reasons within ten days. 0531 layers on operating standards for any qualifying structure, including opaque window coverings, a public-entrance barrier blocking sightlines into the business, unlocked public-area doors during business hours, and a minimum of one foot-candle of exterior lighting on the sidewalk and parking area.