Sedgwick County, KS Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- License authority
- County clerk, Sedgwick County
- Minimum buffer distance
- 1,000 feet, property line to property line
- Protected uses
- Church, school, public park, dwelling, other adult business
- Amortization deadline for non-conforming sites
- June 30, 2004
- Base penalty
- Up to $500 per day (Sec. 1-8)
- Appeal window after license denial
- 7 days to hearing officer
Summary
Unincorporated Sedgwick County requires a county-issued adult establishment license and bars any adult establishment from locating within 1,000 feet of a church, school, public park, residential dwelling, or another adult establishment. The buffer is measured property line to property line, and violators face fines plus license revocation.
No adult establishment shall be located less than one thousand (1,000) feet from a church; less than one thousand (1,000) feet from a school; less than one thousand (1,000) feet from a public park; less than one thousand (1,000) feet from a residential dwelling; or less than one thousand (1,000) feet from any adult establishment, regardless of licensure. This distance is to be measured from the nearest property line of the church, school, public park, residential dwelling, or other adult establishment, to the nearest property line of the premises on which the adult establishment is located or of any parking lot designated to be used by the patrons of such an establishment.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 22 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sedgwick County regulates adult cabarets, adult hotels, adult stores, adult theaters, and escort services under the Sedgwick County Adult Entertainment Code, Article VIII of Chapter 17 of the County Code, first adopted by Resolution No. 121-00 in 2000. Any operator in unincorporated Sedgwick County must hold an adult establishment license issued by the county clerk under Sec. 17-601, and the county clerk must act on a complete application within 30 days or the license is deemed granted. The core siting rule, Sec. 17-607(s)(1), forbids locating an adult establishment less than 1,000 feet from a church, school, public park, residential dwelling, or any other adult establishment, with the distance measured from the nearest property line of the protected use to the nearest property line of the licensed premises or its designated patron parking lot.
A. 22-3901. Non-conforming establishments that did not qualify for an exception were required to cease operating by June 30, 2004. 05, including its own distance requirement in Sec. 150, which governs only within Wichita's corporate limits. The county's Sec. 17-607(s) and its licensing scheme govern the unincorporated territory outside Wichita and the county's other cities.
Violations & Fines
Operating an adult establishment without a county license, or in violation of the 1,000-foot buffer, is a violation of the county resolution punishable under Sec. 1-8 by a fine of up to $500, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense. The county clerk can also deny, suspend, or revoke the adult establishment license under Sec. 17-614, and Sec. 17-607(s)(1) is independently enforceable by injunction in the Eighteenth Judicial District. A denied applicant has seven days to appeal to the county's administrative hearing officer, who must hold a hearing within ten days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Sedgwick County require a license to open an adult business?
How far must an adult business be from a school or church in Sedgwick County?
Does the county rule apply inside the City of Wichita?
What if an adult business was already there before the buffer rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sedgwick County
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