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

Catoosa County treats 'massage parlor' as one of the licensed categories under Chapter 10's adult entertainment article, defined at Section 10-32 as any establishment the public is invited into where the trade of a masseur or masseuse is practiced. An applicant for a massage parlor license must satisfy the general adult entertainment application requirements in Section 10-69, plus additional items specific to massage: a current health certificate from a medical doctor covering the applicant or, for a corporate applicant, the agents and employees who will actually work at the parlor, and proof of training, either a diploma from at least a six-month course covering physical culture, massage, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, and hygiene or documentation of a two-year apprenticeship in a licensed massage or physical culture studio.

Section 10-101 then governs the staff who actually give massages: they must be licensed as a masseuse or masseur, unless the massage happens under the direct, same-room supervision of someone who is licensed. Section 10-105 lets a business tax certificate holder train new masseurs or masseuses on-site, but only under that same direct supervision and only once a health certificate has been produced for the trainee. Employees generally must also be at least 18 and of good moral character, and admission of a minor to patronize the massage parlor is unlawful unless a parent or guardian accompanies the minor with a doctor's written order for massage therapy.

Beyond the licensing article, Section 70-175 lists massage parlors among the businesses that owe the county's annual regulatory fee, paid each January 1 and delinquent if unpaid by March 1, which the county collects to offset the cost of inspecting and investigating the regulated trade rather than to raise general revenue.