Bensalem, PA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Bensalem's Chapter 142, adopted by Ord. No. 86 in 1965 and amended by Ord. No. 414 in 1988, regulates massage businesses township-wide rather than issuing a conventional license. Sec. 142-1 bars any massage business, health center, or health salon from allowing a masseur or masseuse, or any other person, to treat a client of the opposite sex, and lists the only exceptions: treatment in the office of a licensed physician, osteopath, chiropractor, or physical therapist; in an established medical center, hospital, or sanatorium; in the residence of a patient under a doctor's care; or upon a doctor's direct order.

Sec. 142-2 gives members of the Bensalem Township Police Department and the Bucks County Department of Health authority to enter the premises of any massage business during normal working hours, at a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner, to check compliance. The chapter cross-references the Township's zoning chapter, Ch. 232, and the obscenity chapter, Ch. 151, and notes the Commonwealth's Physical Therapy Practice Act, 63 P.S. Section 1301 et seq., as background law for licensed therapists who fall under the exceptions. Sec. 142-3 sets the penalty: a fine of up to $600 payable to the Township plus costs of prosecution, or, if unpaid, commitment to the Bucks County Prison for up to 30 days, imposed upon summary conviction before a District Justice.