Alachua County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- Allowed districts
- AP, BP, BR, BR-1, BH, BA, BA-1, BW
- Establishment license
- Florida Board of Massage Therapy, F.S. § 480.031
- Posting duty
- Therapist licenses posted on-premises
- Unposted license
- Rebuttable presumption of violation
- Enforced under
- Alachua County Code Chapter 409
Summary
Alachua County allows a massage therapist or massage establishment as a limited use in the AP, BP, BR, BR-1, BH, BA, BA-1, and BW districts, but County Code § 404.47 layers a local licensing-posting duty on top of state law: every establishment and every therapist must hold a Florida Board of Massage Therapy license, and copies must stay posted on-premises.
(a)Licensing.(1)The establishment shall be licensed by the Board of Massage Therapy in accordance with the Florida Massage Therapy Practice Act, as codified at F.S. § 480.031 et seq.(2)Any massage therapists shall be licensed by the Board of Massage Therapy.(3)A massage therapist shall maintain posted on-premises copies of the licenses of the therapists who provide services at the establishment.(b)Violation. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that any therapist who is not licensed and any facility that does not have posted on its premises licenses of massage therapists who provide services there, is operating in violation of this Section and subject to enforcement action and penalty under Chapter 409, in addition to any violation of the Massage Therapy Practice Act.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
47 first sets the zoning: a massage therapist or an establishment staffed by one or more massage therapists is a limited use in the AP, BP, BR, BR-1, BH, BA, BA-1, and BW districts, and in traditional neighborhood and TOD developments. The licensing standard in subsection (a) then does three things. ; it requires every individual massage therapist working there to hold their own Board of Massage Therapy license; and it requires the establishment to keep copies of those therapist licenses posted on the premises.
47, meaning the burden shifts to the operator to prove compliance once code enforcement flags the missing postings. That violation is prosecuted under Chapter 409 of the county code, separate from and in addition to whatever the state pursues under the Massage Therapy Practice Act. Subsection (c) carves out massage schools, so licensed massage education and clinical training placements are not swept into the establishment-licensing rule.
Violations & Fines
An establishment or therapist without posted, current Board of Massage Therapy licenses is presumed to be operating unlawfully under § 404.47(b), enforceable under Chapter 409 of the Alachua County Code in addition to any state discipline under F.S. § 480.031 et seq. County violations of this kind go through Code Enforcement (Chapter 24), where a special magistrate can impose fines up to $1,000 per day for a first violation and $5,000 per day for a repeat violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a massage business need a county license in Alachua County, or just a state one?
What happens if a massage establishment doesn't post its therapists' licenses?
Are massage schools covered by this establishment-licensing rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alachua County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Alachua County to another location·View the Florida business licensing & operations overview
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