Fresno, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Sec. 9-1603 makes it unlawful for an individual to practice massage for compensation unless a Certified Massage Practitioner, for a business to operate unless all persons performing massage are certified and the business holds a City Registration Certificate, and for a landlord to allow a massage business to operate without proof of that certificate. The registration application under Sec. 9-1604 must disclose the business's legal name, address, lease terms and landlord contact, the legal names of all owners and operators, a roster of employees and independent contractors with their CAMTC certifications, and requires each non-practitioner owner or operator to undergo a fingerprint-based state and federal background check covering the prior ten years of business, occupation, and employment history.

Sec. 9-1609 lists grounds for suspension or revocation, including loss of CAMTC certification, sex-offender registration, convictions for pandering, keeping a disorderly house, or soliciting prostitution, felony drug-sale convictions, or material misrepresentation on the application; a revoked owner or operator is barred from any Fresno massage business for five years, no new certificate issues at the same address for two years after a final revocation (three years if a second revocation hits the same address within three years), and reapplication by the same person is barred for five years.

Suspensions run five days to the remainder of the term at the discretion of the City Manager, Chief of Police, or Finance Director, take effect ten days after notice, and can be appealed to the City Manager and, ultimately, the Administrative Hearing Officer under Chapter 1, Article 4, though the business must stay closed during any appeal.