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

Stockton Municipal Code Chapter 5.60 makes it "unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person to engage in, conduct, or carry on... the operation of an adult-related establishment without having first obtained a written permit from the Finance Director," and caps issuance at "only one permit for each adult-related establishment" (§5.60.050). Operators file a sworn, duplicate application with the Finance Director and pay a nonrefundable filing fee set at the same amount as the City's massage-establishment permit fee (§5.60.060). The Finance Director routes every application to the Chief of Police, Fire Chief, and Community Development Director for background investigation and recommendations (§5.60.080), and must grant or deny the permit within 20 days of receiving the Department of Justice background report, with denial appealable to the City Manager within 30 days (§5.60.110).

Grounds for denial or later suspension/revocation include disqualifying criminal convictions within specified lookback periods, material misrepresentation on the application, and failure to pay a civil penalty imposed under §5.60.200 (§5.60.120, §5.60.150). Permits run one year from issuance and are renewed by filing and paying the fee again in the 30 days before expiration (§5.60.100). Operating hours are limited to "between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m." being off-limits, i.e., establishments must stay closed overnight (§5.60.240), and alcoholic beverages may not be "sold, served, furnished, kept, or possessed on the premises" (§5.60.250).

Out-call operations are prohibited; all activity must occur on the permitted premises (§5.60.260). Employees also need an individual work permit before working on-site (§5.60.330), and the permit plus each employee's work permit and photo must be displayed openly on the premises (§5.60.300). Relocating requires a new application and fee to the Finance Director (§5.60.280), and any sale or transfer of interest must be reported within 10 days, triggering a new background investigation (§5.60.290). This 2026 grounding does not cover distance/spacing buffers from schools or residential zones, which fall under Stockton's separately published Development Code (Title 16) and are not addressed here.