Duluth, MN Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Duluth Legislative Code § 14-2 bars operating a massage establishment, alone or alongside another business, without first obtaining a license for each establishment. Under § 14-3, the application to the city clerk must disclose the services offered, the premises location, the owners' and manager's names, addresses and birthdates, any relevant corporate officers or partners, prior criminal convictions, whether anyone involved held a massage license elsewhere that was revoked or suspended, how therapists are paid, and whether anyone has been disciplined by the state under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 146A.

Section 14-6 routes every application through the chief of police for a criminal history check plus a comprehensive national background check paid for by the applicant, and the chief administrative officer must deny the license if granting it would violate the law, the application contains false statements, or other good cause exists; an establishment license also cannot issue until the premises passes fire and health inspections. Massage therapists must separately hold a license under § 14-5: applicants must be at least 18, of good moral character, and have completed 500 hours of certified therapeutic massage training from an accredited program, verified by a certified transcript, though anyone licensed before July 15, 2001 is grandfathered below that threshold.

, hiring an unlicensed therapist, allowing alcohol on the premises, or permitting a massage room with a locking door, and bars a therapist from massaging a customer's genital area. Section 14-10 lets the chief administrative officer suspend or revoke a license, after a hearing, for a Chapter 14 violation, fraud in the application, failure to cooperate with police, fire or health officers, or operating in a way that endangers public health or safety or constitutes a public nuisance; § 14-11 allows appeal to the city council by written notice to the city clerk within 15 days.