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

Chapter 99, Article III governs massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishments. § 99-20 states the city's purpose plainly: while N.J.S.A. 45:11-53 et seq. already licenses the profession statewide, the city found that 'the practice of such therapy by untrained and unlicensed practitioners can both cause injury and illness to clients and can encourage and foster prostitution.' § 99-22 makes it unlawful for anyone to practice, or for any establishment to employ anyone to practice, massage, bodywork or somatic therapy without a valid state license, and requires every employed therapist's license to be displayed 'in an open and conspicuous place' on the premises. § 99-23 layers on eleven sanitary and operational requirements: clean and sanitary premises and equipment; posted price lists in the reception area; clean non-transparent outer garments for staff with self-closing, inward-opening dressing room doors; laundered sheets and towels after each use; disinfected tables after each use; daily cleaning of wet/dry heat rooms and steam facilities and per-use cleaning of tubs and showers; nonporous, disinfectable surfaces on tables, tubs and floors outside reception areas; closed containers for oils and creams; a ban on animals except seeing-eye dogs in the work area; hand-washing before each session; and posting of § 99-23 itself where clients can see it. § 99-24 bars touching a patron's buttocks, genital area or female breasts absent a doctor's, chiropractor's or osteopath's prescription, and requires those areas covered by towel, cloth or garment in a therapist's presence. § 99-25 requires anyone under 18 to be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or an adult with written parental permission, and § 99-26 bans alcohol and controlled substances on the premises. § 99-28 exempts licensed physicians, chiropractors, physical therapists and licensed cosmetologists working within the scope of the Cosmetology and Hairstyling Act.