Waukesha, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

195 defines several categories of regulated business, from "adult bookstore" to "adult cabaret" to any establishment offering private viewing booths for "adult entertainment," and requires each to hold a City-issued Adult Oriented Establishment license before opening. A license covers a single fixed address; anyone running more than one location needs a separate license for each, and licenses cannot be transferred. Applicants apply to the City Clerk, who forwards a copy to the Police Department, and must be at least 18, with no finding of a violation of this section within the preceding five years (the same clean-record standard applies to every officer, director or stockholder of a corporate applicant, or every partner of a partnership).

The license fee is $250, half-refundable if the application is denied, and the license runs one year, renewed for another $250 with a $100 late penalty added if the renewal application is filed less than 60 days before expiration. Before any renewal, the Building Inspector must inspect the premises, and the Building Inspector also conducts monthly compliance inspections of any booths on site. If a premises operated as an adult oriented establishment without a license, no license can be granted for that location for one year after the Council makes that finding, and after a revocation the location is frozen for six months, extending to a full year if the use is nonconforming under the zoning code.

Any establishment with private viewing booths must build each booth with solid walls at least 6 feet high, keep the floor and walls light-colored and easily cleanable, keep at least one side open to a lighted public aisle, maintain 10 foot-candles of light in the booth when unoccupied, and limit occupancy to one person per booth. 05.