Orem, UT Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Orem City Code Article 12-7, the Sexually Oriented Businesses and Employee Licensing Ordinance, splits regulated businesses into five categories: outcall services, adult businesses, seminude entertainment businesses, seminude dancing bars, and seminude dancing agencies. Section 12-7-6 confines adult businesses, seminude entertainment businesses, and seminude dancing bars to areas zoned for that use under Article 20 of Chapter 22; outcall services and seminude dancing agencies are not limited to those zones. Section 12-7-7 makes it unlawful to operate any sexually oriented business without first obtaining a City sexually oriented business license naming the specific business type, and Section 12-7-11 requires a separate employee license for every sexually oriented business employee.

A single premises cannot hold licenses for more than one business category, except that outcall services and a seminude dancing agency can share one location. Annual regulatory fees run from $100 for adult businesses and seminude dancing bars up to $200 for outcall businesses, with a $100 investigation fee per applicant and a $20 surcharge for each additional license sought at once. Every licensee must also post a $2,000 cash or corporate surety bond with the City's Director of Business Licenses; unpaid fines are drawn against that bond, which must be replenished within 15 days or the license is automatically suspended.

The City business license official must approve or deny an application within 30 days, extendable to 45 days if a reviewing department needs more time, and can deny a license if the applicant is under 18, owes the City money, falsified the application, or was convicted of a chapter violation within the prior two years.