Okaloosa County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Section 12-159 sits inside the county's Adult Entertainment Code, Chapter 12, Article V, right alongside Section 12-158's identical deferral on obscenity. Where the Adult Entertainment Code otherwise licenses and zones adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters and adult dancing establishments under Divisions 2 through 5, the board carved massage establishments out entirely: it says plainly that it is not the county's intent to legislate on massage establishments, because that field is already regulated by the state agency, the Department of Professional Regulation's Board of Massage, and by Chapter 480, Florida Statutes.

Practically, that means a massage business operating in unincorporated Okaloosa County is not subject to Article V's licensing fees, the 1,000/500/200-foot buffer distances from schools, churches, parks and alcohol-serving establishments, or the nonconforming-use rules that apply to adult bookstores, theaters and dancing establishments. A massage establishment still needs the county's standard local business tax receipt under Section 12-31 like any other business operating in the unincorporated area, but the establishment-specific licensing, staff permits and inspection regime built for the rest of Article V simply does not reach it.