Jackson, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Under § 268-2, no person, firm or corporation may operate a massage establishment anywhere in Jackson Township, Ocean County, without first obtaining an establishment license from the Township Clerk, and § 268-3 imposes the same requirement on every individual massagist, who must also submit a photograph and a medical certificate showing good health. Applicants for either license must give three years of prior addresses and, for a massagist, three years of employment history, plus disclose any prior criminal conviction, per § 268-4. Both the establishment license and the massagist's license carry an annual fee of $100 under § 268-5, due every January 1.

Before the Township Council can approve an establishment license it must hold a public hearing, with notice published at least 10 days beforehand under § 268-6, and it may then issue the license within 14 days under § 268-7 unless the operation would violate the Building, Health, Housing, Zoning or Fire Codes, or the applicant or manager has been convicted of a felony, a sex offense against a child, or an offense such as keeping a house of ill fame, lewdness, prostitution or pandering; the Council has discretion to still issue the license if that conviction is at least three years old with no later convictions.

A massagist's license follows the same conviction-based grounds and three-year lookback under § 268-8, and can be granted within 21 days of application. The Council may revoke or suspend either license after a hearing on 10 days' written notice, under §§ 268-9 and 268-10. Section 268-11 exempts massage or physical therapy given by a licensed physician, chiropractor or physical therapist in their office, a hospital or sanatorium, or in a patient's home. Every establishment must post a legible sign identifying it at the main entrance and at every exit under § 268-12, and § 268-13 bars anyone under 18 from being present during operating hours unless a parent or guardian accompanies the minor as a patron.