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

Chapter 128 of the Bristol Township Code, adopted by the Board of Commissioners that is now the Township Council, requires two credentials. Section 128-2A demands a valid massage business license for each and every separate office or place of business, and § 128-2B demands a massagist's permit for any person who practices massage as a massagist, employee or otherwise.

The application is filed under oath with a nonrefundable annual license fee set by Township Council resolution or ordinance (see Chapter 101, Fees). Copies go within five days to the Fire Prevention Board and the Bucks County Department of Health, which must inspect the premises within 30 days, and the Police Department investigates the applicant's character. Applicants supply fingerprints taken by the Chief of Police, photographs, two previous addresses, a criminal conviction history, and written statements from at least three bona fide permanent residents on good moral character. Anyone who will personally give massages must furnish a diploma from a recognized school, defined as a school requiring a resident course of not less than 70 hours.

The Township must approve or deny within 90 days of the date the application was accepted, and every license or permit terminates one year after issuance (§ 128-7). Section 128-6 lists the grounds for denial, including a felony involving force and violence, an offense involving sexual misconduct, and a narcotics, dangerous drugs or dangerous weapons felony. The Township can still issue where the conviction is at least five years old and no later disqualifying convictions exist.

Location rules are tight. Under § 128-25 a massage establishment is permitted only in Planned Industrial Districts, and it is unlawful within 1,000 feet of a church, synagogue or place of worship, a public or private elementary or secondary school, a residential district boundary, a public park, a licensed day-care center or another massage establishment. The Zoning Hearing Board can waive that restriction under § 128-26 on specific findings. Operating rules bar any massage business from being open between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. (§ 128-18), bar minors from the premises unless on lawful business (§ 128-16), and bar alcoholic beverages (§ 128-17). Physicians, surgeons, chiropractors, osteopaths, physical therapists and registered nurses are exempt under § 128-3, and licensed barbers and beauticians are exempt only for massaging the neck, face, scalp and hair.