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Gretna, LA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

License required
Gretna Code § 12-329
Minimum applicant age
18 years
Alcohol sales
Prohibited at massage businesses (§ 12-328)
Health club masseuse/masseur cap
1 per facility (§ 12-297)
Injunction rights
Waived on license acceptance (§ 12-333)

Summary

Gretna requires massage parlors and massage services to hold an occupational license or business permit, bars alcohol sales at those businesses, and revokes the license immediately for a prostitution-related conviction by the owner or any employee.

No person or business engaged in the business of providing massage services shall also engage in the service of selling beverages in low- or high-alcoholic content at wholesale or retail, nor shall the city approve any permit for the sale of alcoholic beverages to such business. ... Every massage parlor and massage service shall first obtain an occupational license and/or business permit in accordance with the provisions of section 12-35.

Full Breakdown

Gretna Code of Ordinances Chapter 12, Article VII, Division 3 (§§ 12-328 to 12-333) governs "massage parlors," defined at § 12-266 as any place employing two or more masseurs or masseuses that offers physical massage as its primary purpose, and "massage service," a sole practitioner offering the same. Section 12-329 requires every massage parlor and massage service to "first obtain an occupational license and/or business permit in accordance with the provisions of section 12-35," the city's general occupational license tax section. Section 12-328 separately forbids anyone providing massage services from also selling alcoholic beverages, low- or high-content, at wholesale or retail, and bars the city from approving any alcohol permit for such a business.

citizen and state resident of at least one year, and never convicted of a felony or of prostitution-related or narcotics offenses; a person married to someone already denied a license is also disqualified. S. 4 (prostitution by massage) and to post a copy of that statute in every room where massage is performed, visible from the table. S. 51:1575 et seq.

Violations & Fines

Any violation of Division 3 results in "the immediate revocation of that establishment's business permit or occupational license" (§ 12-332(a)), and a conviction or confession of guilt by any employee for prostitution, pandering, or the other disqualifying offenses listed in § 12-330(3) triggers the same immediate revocation (§ 12-332(b)). Section 12-333 further requires the owner/operator, by accepting the license, to waive the right to seek a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction against a closure or forfeiture ordered under § 12-332.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Gretna issue a separate massage parlor license?
Massage parlors and massage services obtain their occupational license and/or business permit under the same general procedure in § 12-35, but § 12-329 conditions that license on meeting the specific massage-business qualifications in § 12-330.
Can a Gretna massage business also sell alcohol?
No. Section 12-328 bars anyone providing massage services from also selling alcoholic beverages at wholesale or retail, and the city will not approve an alcohol permit for such a business.
What happens if a masseuse is convicted of prostitution in Gretna?
Section 12-332(b) makes a conviction or confession of guilt by any employee for prostitution, pandering, or related offenses listed in § 12-330(3) grounds for immediate revocation of the establishment's occupational license or business permit.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Gretna

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