Albuquerque, NM Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

IDO § 14-16-4-3(D)(28)(c) is the only use-specific standard the zoning code attaches to massage businesses, and it is short by design: massage businesses are allowed in whatever zone district Table 4-2-1 permits them, so long as the business complies with all applicable federal, State, and City requirements. The IDO then places the compliance burden squarely on the owner, who must ensure the business remains continually in compliance with the New Mexico Massage Therapy Practice Act, NMSA 1978 §§ 61-12C-1 through 61-12C-25, administered by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department's Board of Massage Therapy, not the City.

That state law is what actually requires an individual massage therapist's license, continuing education, and standards of practice; the City's role under the IDO is limited to confirming, at zoning clearance or business registration, that the operator holds and keeps current whatever license the state requires. Unlike several neighboring commercial uses in the same Part 14-16-4-3(D), such as bail bond businesses or small loan businesses, the massage standard carries no mile-radius spacing rule, no floor-area cap, and no Main Street area restriction, so the zoning question for a massage business turns almost entirely on whether the use table allows personal-service uses in that zone district.