Kingsport, TN Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- Parlor permit decided by
- Board of Mayor and Aldermen after a public hearing
- Massager permit issued by
- City recorder, after chief of police investigation
- Distance rule
- None in a residential zone or within 500 feet of listed uses
- Barred hours
- 10:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m. and all day Sunday
- Police report deadline
- 21 days after the application date
- Permit term
- Expires with the applicable City business license
- Signs
- Two only, each two feet by three feet at most
Summary
In the City of Kingsport, Tennessee, operating a massage parlor or working as a massager requires a City permit under Article III of Chapter 26. The chief of police takes and investigates applications, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen decides parlor permits after a public hearing, and no parlor permit can issue within a residential zone or within 500 feet of a church, school, hospital, funeral parlor, library, museum, playground or park.
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to establish, maintain or operate a massage parlor in the city without a valid permit issued pursuant to this division.(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to perform the services of a massager at a massage parlor in the city without a valid permit issued pursuant to this division. ... (h)The board of mayor and aldermen may not authorize the issuance of a permit to an applicant whose proposed premises for the establishment or the maintenance or operation of a massage parlor is within a residential zone or within 500 feet, measured from property line to property line, of any church, school, hospital, funeral parlor, library, museum, playground or park. ... Each massage parlor permit shall expire each year on the expiration date for the applicable business license issued by the city; each massager permit shall also expire on such date.
Full Breakdown
Article III of Chapter 26 applies, under Sec. 26-49, only to the extent it does not conflict with state law, and it specifically covers establishments not subject to the Massage Licensure Act of 1995, T.C.A. § 63-18-101 et seq. Inside that scope, Sec. 26-82 makes two permits mandatory: one for the parlor and one for each massager. Both expire on the expiration date of the applicable City business license (Sec. 26-86), and no permit is transferable (Sec. 26-87).
Parlor applications go to the chief of police with an investigation fee set by resolution of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Sec. 26-83 requires a five-year business or employment history, a statement of any prostitution, obscenity or similar convictions, fingerprints and two portrait photographs taken within 60 days of the application. The chief files an investigative report with the city manager within 21 days. The application then goes on the next regular Board agenda, a legal notice runs in a newspaper, and notice is posted on the premises at least ten days before the hearing. The Board authorizes the permit within one week after the hearing unless it finds a deficient application, false information, non-compliance with applicable laws or a listed conviction.
Massager applications follow a similar path but end with the city recorder issuing the permit. Sec. 26-84 requires a physician's certification of a physical examination within the prior 30 days, a monthly culture for gonorrhea and a quarterly blood test for syphilis after issuance, and completion of an approved massage course that includes one year of supervised or clinical training.
Operating rules sit in Secs. 26-52 and 26-54. A parlor cannot remain open between 10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. or at any time on Sundays. Massages take place in separate general areas for males and females, not in private rooms. Only two signs are allowed, each no larger than two feet by three feet, approved by the building official. The chief of police can enter permitted premises during business hours (Sec. 26-50).
Violations & Fines
Under Sec. 26-88 the chief of police can temporarily suspend a parlor permit when the premises do not conform or the permittee refuses entry, pending a hearing before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, and no one can operate under a suspension order. Sec. 26-89 requires revocation, after notice and hearing, on a listed conviction, and presumes an employee's violation had the permittee's knowledge and consent. Where a section prints no specific penalty, Sec. 1-14 sets $10.00 to $50.00, with each day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kingsport
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