Lakewood, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- Business permit filing fee
- $100, nonrefundable
- Masseur/masseuse annual fee
- $50, due March 1
- Training requirement
- 70-hour recognized school course
- Minimum age on premises
- 18 years
- Inspections
- At least twice yearly
- Alcohol on premises
- Prohibited
Summary
Lakewood Township requires a separate Township Clerk permit for every massage business and for each masseur or masseuse, backed by a $100 filing fee, a 70-hour training requirement, and a flat ban on touching a patron's sexual or genital area.
It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly, in a massage establishment, to place his or her hand upon, or touch with any part of his or her body, to fondle in any manner, or to massage a sexual or genital area of any other person. No masseur or masseuse, employee, or operator shall perform, offer or agree to perform, any act which would require the touching of the patron's sexual or genital area.
Full Breakdown
Under Township of Lakewood Code § 4-7.2, no one may operate a massage business, or work as a masseur or masseuse, without the matching permit. Every applicant files with the Township Clerk and pays a nonrefundable $100 filing fee (§ 4-7.3); masseurs and masseuses additionally pay a $50 annual license fee due each March 1 (§ 4-7.7). The person principally in charge of a massage establishment must have completed a resident course of at least 70 hours from a recognized school within three months (§ 4-7.1, § 4-7.10f).
The Township Clerk can deny a business permit for a felony, sexual-misconduct-with-a-minor, prostitution-related, or dishonesty conviction within the prior five years (§ 4-7.10g), and can deny an individual masseur permit on the same grounds (§ 4-7.11). Operating requirements bar alcohol on the premises (§ 4-7.24), bar anyone under 18 from being on site as masseur, employee or patron (§ 4-7.23), require the Health Officer, Building Inspector and Fire Inspector to certify the premises before licensing (§ 4-7.5), and require at least two Township inspections per year (§ 4-7.22). Permits are not transferable (§ 4-7.27).
Violations & Fines
Any violation of § 4-7's requirements, or engaging in prohibited touching, is unlawful and constitutes grounds for revocation of the permit under § 4-7.25. A permit may also be revoked or suspended after a hearing for sanitation failures reported by the Director of Public Health (§ 4-7.14), and refusing to allow a Police Officer or Health Inspector to inspect the premises is itself unlawful (§ 4-7.22).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every massage therapist need their own Lakewood permit?
Can someone under 18 be present at a Lakewood massage establishment?
What training does the person running a massage business need?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lakewood
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Massage Establishments in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle massage establishments.