Doña Ana County, NM Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- County license type
- No standalone massage establishment license
- Governing section
- § 350-510K(2), home occupation professional service
- State requirement
- Must hold NM massage therapy license
- Customer station cap
- 1 station per residential property
- Size cap
- Counts toward 600-sq-ft home occupation limit
Summary
Doña Ana County has no standalone massage establishment license; it regulates massage therapy only as a home occupation under UDC § 350-510K(2), requiring state licensure and limiting each residential property to one customer station for a state-licensed massage therapist working from home.
Professional service includes home occupations involving computer programming and internet/website development, beautician/hairdresser/barber services, direct distribution, maid services, mail order, massage therapy, ironing, pet grooming, telephone/fax answering, word processing and similar service uses. Beauticians/hairdressers/barbers and massage therapists licensed by the State of New Mexico shall be limited to one customer station per residential property for the home occupation.
Full Breakdown
The county's Unified Development Code does not create a separate massage-parlor or massage-establishment licensing chapter. ' In practice that means a resident who wants to offer massage therapy out of their home must already hold a New Mexico massage therapy license, then obtain a Doña Ana County home occupation permit and business registration, and operate with only one treatment station at a time. The activity also has to fit inside the home occupation's overall 600-square-foot cap under § 350-510C and can't exceed two customer vehicles parked on-site at once under § 350-510J, since massage isn't among the categories exempted from that parking limit.
A commercial massage studio in a standalone storefront falls outside § 350-510 entirely and is instead governed by the applicable commercial zoning district's permitted-use table, not by a dedicated massage-licensing chapter.
Violations & Fines
Operating a home-based massage practice without state licensure, without a home occupation permit, or with more than one customer station is a violation of § 350-510, enforced through the same certified-mail notice and revocation process as other home occupation breaches (§ 350-510O), with possible referral to Magistrate or District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Doña Ana County license massage establishments?
Can I run a massage business from my house in unincorporated Doña Ana County?
How many massage tables can I have in my home business?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Doña Ana County
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