Charlottesville, VA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- Classification
- BPOL Class IV, Subclassification D
- Tax rate
- $0.25 per $100 gross receipts
- Filing deadline
- March 1 each license year
- Exemption threshold
- $100,000 gross receipts
- Licensing office
- Commissioner of the Revenue
- Grouped with
- barbers, health clubs, dry cleaners
Summary
Massage businesses in Charlottesville are licensed as Class IV services under City Code § 14-19(e), grouped with barbers, health clubs and dry cleaners. The Commissioner of the Revenue collects an annual license tax of $0.25 per $100 of gross receipts before the business may open its doors.
(e)Subclassification D. Persons engaged in the following types of businesses shall obtain a city business license and shall pay an annual license tax of twenty-five cents ($0.25) per hundred dollars ($100.00) of gross receipts:(1)Barbers and beauticians.(2)Exterminators.(3)Health clubs, gymnasiums, reducing salons, spas and sauna, steam or whirlpool baths.(4)Laundries (including coin-operated), dry cleaning, pressing and clothing storage, diaper, linen and uniform services, carpet and upholstery cleaners.(5)Machine shops.(6)Massage.(7)Rental of storage spaces of all types.
Full Breakdown
25-per-$100 rate: barbers and beauticians, exterminators, health clubs and spas, laundries and dry cleaners, machine shops, massage, and storage-space rentals. As with every BPOL class, a massage business with $100,000 or less in annual gross receipts owes no license tax under § 14-15(a), though it may still owe the flat issuance fee of $35 or $50 fixed by § 14-15(b). The application itself must be filed with the Commissioner of the Revenue before the business begins operating, stating the applicant's residence and the business's nature and proposed location, per § 14-11(a)-(b); the Commissioner will not knowingly issue the license for a location where the use is barred by the city's Development Code, per § 14-11(c).
A massage business with more than one location in the city needs a separate license for each address under § 14-10(a), and its books and receipt records are subject to audit by the Commissioner's license inspector under § 14-14(a). Like every other BPOL classification, the license and its tax are due by March 1 of each license year under § 14-12(a).
Violations & Fines
A massage business that opens without first obtaining the Class IV license from the Commissioner of the Revenue is doing business without a license and subject to prosecution on that basis. Filing a false statement on the license application violates § 14-11(g), refusing to produce gross-receipts records for audit is a Class 3 misdemeanor under § 14-9(e) with each day a separate offense, and an unpaid license tax draws a 10 percent penalty plus 8 percent annual interest under § 14-12(d)-(e).
Frequently Asked Questions
What license does a massage business need in Charlottesville?
Is there a separate massage-therapist permit beyond the business license?
Does a small massage studio owe the license tax?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Charlottesville
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