San Bernardino, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Municipal Code Chapter 5.14 makes it unlawful to operate, conduct or carry on any act of entertainment, public dance hall, public dance, dancing club, dine and dance club or night club without first obtaining a license (§ 5.14.020). Applicants file with the City Clerk and pay a fee set by Council resolution to cover processing and investigation costs (§ 5.14.030), and must submit a site plan, entry program, parking/loading map, security staffing plan and noise-control provisions (§ 5.14.040). The Clerk forwards the application to the Police Department, Development Services and the Fire Department, each of which must recommend approval or denial within 20 days; the Clerk must decide within 30 days of a complete application, and an applicant may operate under a temporary license if no decision issues in time (§ 5.14.050).

Operational standards under § 5.14.060 govern venues offering adult-style entertainment: performers must stay on a stage at least 18 inches high and at least six feet from patrons, no patron may come within six feet of an occupied stage, exterior doors and windows must be screened or covered, no one under 18 may be on the premises, lighting must reach at least two foot-candles throughout patron areas, and the business may not operate between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Venues with occupancy over 200 in the entertainment area must staff an outside security guard, and over 400 an additional inside guard, each licensed under Cal.

Business and Professions Code §§ 7582 et seq. The City Clerk may suspend or revoke a license for noncompliance, false statements on the application, or a licensee's conviction of specified sex offenses under Penal Code § 290, § 243.3, § 261, § 286, § 288, §§ 311-311.10 or § 647 (§ 5.14.110). An aggrieved applicant may appeal a denial, suspension or revocation to a hearing officer within 15 days, then to the Planning Commission, whose decision is final (§ 5.14.120).