High Point, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Chapter 6 of Title 11 licenses 'massage businesses' and individual 'massagists,' both defined in § 11-6-2 as anyone practicing manipulation of body muscle or tissue by hand or mechanical device for a fee. Section 11-6-1 exempts licensed hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes, and any office or clinic run by a licensed physician, osteopath, chiropractor, physical therapist, or a 'registered massage therapist' holding a COMTAA-approved diploma, an NC Community College System diploma, or current National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork certification. Section 11-6-3 requires a business operator's privilege license from the city council before opening; the sworn application, filed with the city clerk, discloses every owner's residence, prior felony or prostitution convictions, and any past license revocation.

The city clerk routes the application to the police department for an investigative report, to inspections for zoning and building compliance, and to the fire department, each with up to 45 days to report back. The council must find no misstatement of fact, no sexual-misconduct or prostitution conviction among owners, full zoning, building and fire compliance, and no license revocation within the prior three years before it approves. Section 11-6-4 imposes a parallel individual license on each massagist, requiring fingerprints, two photographs, and a physician's certificate of freedom from communicable disease dated within seven days of application; the council can order a follow-up medical exam if it suspects infection, and refusal is grounds for revocation.

, prevailing time, for both the individual masseur or masseuse and the business admitting customers. Section 11-6-9 bars massaging anyone under 18 without a dated physician's order and bars employing anyone under 18 in the business at all. Before the council revokes or denies a license, § 11-6-7 requires certified-mail notice and a hearing where the applicant can appear with counsel and cross-examine witnesses. § 160A-175, and § 11-6-13 separately makes massaging another person's private parts for hire unlawful outright, regardless of licensing.