Adair County, IA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Adair County Ordinance No. 29 defines an "Adult Massage Parlor, Health/Sport Club" in Paragraph 4(J) as a massage parlor or health/sport club that restricts minors because of age and law and provides massage services distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on "specified sexual activities" or "specified anatomical areas." The test is the dominant or principal theme of the services, which the ordinance defines in Paragraph 4(T). Paragraph 5 then lists adult massage parlors and adult health/sport clubs among the classifications of sexually oriented business, so the full licensing system applies to them.

Paragraph 6 makes it unlawful to operate a sexually oriented business in the County without a valid license, and unlawful to be an employee of one without a valid employee license. An employee is anyone who performs a service on the premises on a full-time, part-time, contract or rental basis, so a massage worker paid as an independent contractor still needs the license. Applications are filed in person at the County Auditor's office. The Auditor issues a Temporary License on a complete filing and then issues the license or a letter of intent to deny within twenty days. Licenses run one calendar year, and the fee is set by the Board of Supervisors and is not refunded.

Conduct rules in the ordinance also reach these premises. Agents of the County can inspect the patron areas under Paragraph 9, and Paragraph 16 bars operation between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on a weekday. Paragraph 20 prohibits an employee from touching a customer, or a customer touching an employee, while the employee is nude or semi-nude.

The scope is narrow. A massage business that does not meet the Paragraph 4(J) definition is not covered, and the posted Adair County ordinances contain no separate county license for ordinary massage therapy. The ordinance applies only to the unincorporated territory of the county, so businesses inside Greenfield, Stuart, Adair and the other cities follow city rules.