Alpharetta, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Alpharetta Code of Ordinances Chapter 10, Article IX (readopted by Ord. No. 886, effective April 28, 2025) regulates massage and spa establishments. Sec. 10-276's definition of 'massage or massage therapy' folds in size, spacing and locational limits: a covered business must sit in a zoning category allowing retail use, cannot occupy more than 4,000 square feet, and cannot be closer than 2,000 feet to a comparable business. The same section separately bars establishing a massage establishment unless it sits at least 300 feet from State Route 9, at least 300 feet from State Route 120, and at least 300 feet from any parcel holding a house of worship, public or private elementary or secondary school, public park, state-licensed day care, or residence, measured in a straight line from the closest boundary points; those distance rules do not apply to a mixed-use development in the MU district.

The identical size, spacing and 300-foot buffer rules are repeated for spa establishments. Sec. 10-279 requires a massage/spa establishment license before operating, filed in person at the department of community development, sworn before a notary, and accompanied by a survey no more than 180 days old confirming the buffer distances, plus complete fingerprinting of every listed applicant, officer, member or shareholder for GBI and FBI criminal history checks, at a $20.00 city administrative fingerprinting fee plus the state and federal record-check charge. The director of community development must issue or deny the license within 60 days of a complete application; licenses run on a calendar year and expire December 31, with renewal applications due by November 1 under Sec. 10-280.