Ventura, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Municipal Code Chapter 6.900 (adopted 2015)
- License required for
- Adult arcades, cabarets, theaters, retail stores, modeling studios
- Application review time
- 21 days after public hearing
- Disqualifying record
- Sex offense conviction within 2-5 years bars license
- Enforcing office
- Community Development Director
- Default penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine or 6 months jail
Summary
Any adult business in the City of Ventura, from adult arcades to adult cabarets, must hold an adult business regulatory license before opening. Municipal Code Chapter 6.900 sets licensing, background-check, and operating standards that the Community Development Director enforces on top of the zoning rules in Section 24.492.
It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to regulate the operations of adult businesses, which tend to have judicially recognized adverse secondary effects on the community, including, but not limited to, increases in crime in the vicinity of adult businesses; increases in vacancies in residential and commercial areas in the vicinity of adult businesses; interference with residential property owners’ enjoyment of their properties when such properties are located in the vicinity of adult businesses as a result of increases in crime, litter, noise, and vandalism; and the deterioration of neighborhoods. ... It shall be unlawful for any person to establish, operate, engage in, conduct, or carry on any adult business within San Buenaventura unless the person first obtains, and continues to maintain in full force and effect, an adult business regulatory license as herein required.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-008, passed May 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
900 defines 'adult business' broadly to include adult retail stores, adult motion picture theaters, adult arcades, adult cabarets, adult motels, and adult modeling studios, and finds that such uses carry judicially recognized secondary effects: rising crime, more vacancies, and neighborhood deterioration. 020 makes it unlawful to establish, operate, or carry on any adult business in Ventura without a license issued by the Community Development Director, and every occurrence of 'establishment of an adult business,' including converting an existing business or expanding its floor area by more than 10 percent, triggers a new application.
020(C)(4) that neither the applicant nor any performer or nonperformer has pled guilty to or been convicted of a sex-related offense within the last two years for a misdemeanor or five years for a felony. The director must rule on a completed application within 21 days after a public hearing noticed under California Government Code Sections 65091 and 65905, and a nonrefundable application fee set by council resolution accompanies every application. 050 for the site.
Violations & Fines
The director can suspend or revoke an adult business license under Section 6.900.040 for operating outside a licensed location, violating the operating standards, or falsifying application information, with the licensee entitled to appeal under Section 6.900.045. Operating an adult business without a valid regulatory license, or continuing to operate after suspension or revocation, exposes the operator to the code's general misdemeanor penalties under Section 1.150.020: a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an adult business under Ventura's code?
Who issues the adult business license?
Does a background check apply to employees, not just owners?
Can the city revoke an adult business license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ventura
California rules heatmap·Compare Ventura to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
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Adult Entertainment in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Ventura County handle adult entertainment.