Puyallup, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Adult cabaret license fee
- $150.00 per year
- Allowed zone
- Limited manufacturing (ML) only
- Spacing from sensitive uses
- 600 feet minimum
- Nonconforming use cutoff date
- June 14, 2005
- Cabaret license appeal
- Pierce County superior court, 20 days
Summary
Puyallup requires a separate adult cabaret license before offering live adult entertainment on top of a general business license, and its zoning code confines adult uses to the limited manufacturing zone, 600 feet from residential zones, schools, day cares, churches, parks and each other.
It is unlawful for any person to conduct, manage or operate an adult cabaret unless such person is the holder of a valid and subsisting license from the city to do so, obtained in the manner provided in this chapter, and which is in addition to a general business license that may be required under Chapter 5.04 PMC. ... Adult uses, as defined in this chapter, are expressly prohibited in all zones within the city of Puyallup, except adult uses, other than sexual encounter establishments as defined herein and which are specifically prohibited pursuant to PMC § 5.54.040, shall be permitted on properties located in the limited manufacturing (ML) zone so long as such uses are: ... More than 600 feet from any RS, RM, or PDR zone or any other residential zone; ... More than 600 feet from any other adult use.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4985225; v6 updated 2026-07-21; through 07-21-2026).
Full Breakdown
04 PMC; entertainers and managers must also individually hold their own licenses. 030(1) prohibits adult uses in every zone in the city except the limited manufacturing (ML) zone, and even there the use must sit more than 600 feet from any residential zone, public or private school, day care or preschool, church or religious facility, park, recreational facility, post office, library, City Hall or medical clinic, and more than 600 feet from any other adult use. Distances are measured in a straight line between the nearest property edges, including across jurisdictional lines.
040 regardless of zone. A nonconforming adult use already operating in the city as of June 14, 2005 was allowed to continue at its existing location but could not expand. 050.
Violations & Fines
Operating an adult cabaret without a license, or operating an adult use outside the ML zone or within 600 feet of a listed sensitive use, is a civil violation under Chapter 1.03 PMC carrying monetary penalties, and can also be prosecuted as a misdemeanor; each day of violation is a separate offense under § 5.54.060. Sexual encounter establishments are prohibited outright and subject to nuisance abatement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an adult entertainment business locate anywhere in Puyallup?
Does Puyallup require a special license for adult cabarets?
Are sexual encounter establishments allowed in Puyallup at all?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Puyallup
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle adult entertainment.