Lynnwood, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- Local licensing authority
- Business license clerk, City of Lynnwood
- State license required
- Chapter 18.108 RCW
- Practice location rule
- Licensed premises or exempt site only
- Health-practitioner exemption
- RCW 18.74.010(7) practitioners
- State license lapse effect
- Grounds for city license revocation
Summary
Lynnwood requires anyone practicing massage in the city to hold a business license and to give massages only on a licensed business premises or an exempt location. Practitioners must also prove they hold a valid Washington state massage license before the city will issue a business license.
It shall be unlawful for any person to practice massage unless: A. The massage is given on the licensee’s business premises or on premises which are exempt from the provisions of this chapter. ... It shall be unlawful for any massage practitioner to engage in business in the city of Lynnwood (“Lynnwood”) without securing and holding a valid business license issued by the business license clerk pursuant to the business licensing procedures set forth in Chapter 5.04 LMC and this chapter. ... Before issuing a business license to a massage practitioner, the director or the director’s designee shall require satisfactory proof that such company or agency possesses a valid state license issued pursuant to Chapter 18.108 RCW, as now existing or hereafter amended, revised, recodified, or reenacted. Revocation or suspension of the state license shall constitute grounds for revocation or suspension of the licensee’s Lynnwood business license.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3512, passed May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
53 of the Lynnwood Municipal Code governs the practice of massage within the city of Lynnwood, Washington, separately from Snohomish County's requirements. 020 makes it unlawful for any person to practice massage unless the massage is given on the licensee's business premises or on premises exempt from the chapter, tying the physical location of the massage directly to licensure. 04 LMC and this chapter. 108 RCW, Washington's statewide massage practitioner licensing law; revocation or suspension of that state license is itself grounds for the city to revoke or suspend the local Lynnwood business license.
010(7)), massages given in a private residence with no fee charged, treatments given under a written prescription from an authorized health care practitioner, athletic coaches or trainers affiliated with schools, massage students performing practices incidental to coursework, treatments given in a licensed hospital or nursing home, and licensed beauty operators or barbers performing only customary beautification massage. 010, defines massage broadly as external manipulation or pressure of soft tissue by hand or equipment, excluding chiropractic-style adjustment or thrusting-force mobilization of body articulations.
Violations & Fines
Practicing massage off a licensed business premises, or engaging in the massage business in Lynnwood without a valid business license from the business license clerk, is unlawful under LMC 5.53.020 and LMC 5.53.055. Because the local business license depends on holding a current Washington state massage license under Chapter 18.108 RCW, suspension or revocation of the state license under LMC 5.53.060 is independent grounds for the city to suspend or revoke the practitioner's Lynnwood business license.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a massage practitioner need a Lynnwood business license?
Can a massage practitioner work anywhere in Lynnwood?
What happens if a massage practitioner's state license is revoked?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lynnwood
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