Johnston County, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

" The section defines "massage" broadly as "the manipulation of body muscle or tissue by rubbing, stroking, kneading, or tapping, by hand or mechanical device" and defines "private parts" as "the penis, scrotum, mons, veneris, vulva or vaginal area," so the ban reaches any hired manipulation of those areas regardless of what the business calls itself. The only carve-out is for "licensed medical practitioners, osteopaths, or chiropractors, or persons operating at their direction, in connection with the practice of medicine, chiropractic, or osteopathy"; there is no exemption written in for state-licensed massage and bodywork therapists as such.

health clubs, physical culture studios, massage studios, or massage parlors") into the article's definition of "sexually oriented business," which means a massage parlor is also subject to the 1,000-foot siting buffer from dwellings, churches, schools, day cares, and parks set out in Section 6-76(b). Johnston County's own code does not otherwise require a business license, permit, or inspection specific to massage establishments; day-to-day massage therapist licensing runs through the state rather than this chapter.