Springfield, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Section 707.03 requires any person operating a sexually oriented business within the City to apply for a license, with existing operators given 60 days from the ordinance's effective date to apply. The application requires a $300 non-refundable fee, sworn statements on any specified criminal act convictions in the prior five years, prior license denials/revocations elsewhere, a floor-plan sketch accurate to plus or minus one foot, and a criminal background check authorization for every owner, operator, and manager. Section 707.04 gives the City Manager authority to grant, deny, revoke, renew, or suspend the license, and requires a decision within 10 days of a properly filed application or the application is deemed granted.

The City Manager must deny the license if the proposed location fails the criteria in Part Eleven, the Zoning Code, unless the business was already lawfully operating there before the ordinance took effect, or if any owner is overdue on City taxes or fees tied to a sexually oriented business, or has had a license suspended more than three times or revoked in the preceding five years. Section 707.05 sets the license term at one year with a $100 annual renewal fee. Section 707.17 separately bars operating more than one license per premises, operating without a license, employing an unpermitted worker, or violating the minors-protection standards in Section 707.15 or the operations standards in Section 707.16.