El Dorado County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Chapter 5.34 folds massage establishments and out-call massage services into the county's adult-related establishment licensing scheme, adopted because the Board found a demonstrated link between unregulated massage parlors and prostitution or drug crime (Section 5.34.010). Section 5.34.030(F) carves out a major exemption: any business that employs only massage therapists certified by the California Massage Therapy Council under Business and Professions Code Section 4600 et seq. is not subject to Chapter 5.34's special licensing, though it still needs the standard County Business License. Establishments outside that exemption must obtain a special business license before operating (Section 5.34.140(A)) and cannot run between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

(Section 5.34.040). Every manager and massage technician working at a covered establishment needs an individual Sheriff-issued employee permit, obtained through the same fingerprint-and-background application process used for other special licenses, and the Sheriff can deny a permit for a disqualifying felony or moral-turpitude conviction (Section 5.34.140(C)-(E)). A covered establishment must be managed on-site, by someone holding a diploma from a recognized school of massage, for at least 75 percent of the hours it is open (Section 5.34.120). Operators must keep a personnel register of every technician's name and permit number available for Sheriff inspection (Section 5.34.060), supply clean, disinfected towels and linens for each patron, and sterilize instruments between uses under standards set by the Health Officer (Section 5.34.090). Technicians must wear non-transparent garments covering the body except the head, neck, arms, legs, hands and feet while giving a massage (Section 5.34.110).