Dearborn Heights, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

City Code § 19-26 flatly bars engaging in or carrying on the business of massage without a valid massage business license from the city, and a separate license is required for each office or place of business. Section 19-27 requires a sworn application to the city clerk with a nonrefundable annual fee of $500, plus extensive disclosures: the applicant's identity and addresses for the last two locations, corporate officers or partners for entity applicants, a photograph and full fingerprints taken by the police department, criminal conviction history, prior license denials or revocations, and the name of every massagist to be employed.

Within five days the application goes to the building and engineering department and fire department for a facility inspection within thirty days, and to the police department for a character and background investigation under § 19-27(b)-(c). Section 19-28 sets minimum facility standards, including waterproof steam and shower rooms, disinfecting equipment for reusable tools, separate clean and soiled linen storage, sex-separated toilets past twenty employees or patrons, and viewing openings in cubicle doors sized between 4.5 and 5.5 feet from the floor. The city can deny a license under § 19-29 for an unpaid fee, noncompliance with building, zoning or health codes, disqualifying felony or sexual-misconduct convictions within the last five years, a false statement on the application, or a license denial or revocation elsewhere within five years; a decision must issue within ninety days under § 19-30, with appeal to the council.

Separately, § 19-8 requires every individual masseur or masseuse to hold a personal permit, and § 19-7 bars any massage business from staying open between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.