Lynwood, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Before operating any massage parlor or bath, § 4-26.1
- Minimum lighting
- At least a 40-watt light in each treatment room
- Linen storage
- Separate marked cabinets for clean and soiled linen
- Alcohol/drugs
- Banned anywhere on licensed premises, § 4-26.10
- Technician permit
- Required separately for every massage technician hired
- General penalty
- Misdemeanor, up to $1,000 fine or 6 months jail
Summary
In the City of Lynwood, anyone operating a massage parlor, Turkish bath, or massage school open to the public must first get a license and pay an annual permit fee under Municipal Code § 4-26.1. Facilities must pass inspection, employees need their own permit, and alcohol or drugs are banned on the premises.
Every person conducting or managing a massage parlor or any other place where fomentations, massage, electric or magnetic treatment, alcohol rubs, Russian, Swedish, or Turkish baths are administered or given, or any public bathing place which has in connection a steamroom, dry or hot room plunge, swimming pool, shower bath, or sleeping accommodations, or any school of massage which performs any such activity for any member of the public for any form of consideration or gratuity, shall first procure a license, and for each of such places pay an annual permit fee in the amount set forth in Section 4-8 of this chapter. ... A person shall not enter, be, or remain in any part of a massage parlor or premises licensed as such while in the possession of, consuming, or using any alcoholic beverage or drugs. The licensee, manager, and every supervising employee shall not permit any such person to enter or remain upon such premises. ... A permittee or person required by this section to obtain a permit shall not hire or employ a massage technician unless such massage technician possesses a valid, subsisting permit required by this chapter.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 4-26 of the Lynwood Municipal Code licenses massage parlors, Turkish and Russian baths, and schools of massage that charge the public any form of consideration (§ 4-26.1). The annual permit fee is set under § 4-8, and a permit will not issue until an inspection confirms the establishment meets minimum requirements (§ 4-26.2): a readable identification sign at the main entrance (§ 4-26.3), Building Code lighting with at least a forty-watt light in every treatment room and Building Code ventilation (§ 4-26.4), disinfecting equipment, hot and cold running water, separate marked cabinets for clean and soiled linen, and all fixtures kept in good repair (§ 4-26.5).
Patrons of the same sex may share a room, but mixed-sex service requires separate bathing, massage, dressing and toilet facilities (§ 4-26.6), plus at minimum one tub or shower, one lockable dressing locker per patron, one toilet, and one washbasin (§ 4-26.7). Employee washbasins need soap and hot and cold water, with sanitary towels in permanent dispensers (§ 4-26.8). No patron or employee may possess, consume, or use alcohol or drugs anywhere in a licensed establishment, and the licensee, manager or supervising employee must not let anyone do so (§ 4-26.10).
Every technician performing massage on-site must separately hold a valid massage technician permit before the establishment can employ them (§ 4-26.12), which itself requires a diploma from a recognized school, five character references, proof of age over eighteen, fingerprints, and a doctor's certificate confirming freedom from communicable disease (§§ 4-27.3, 4-27.4). The chapter exempts licensed healing-art practitioners acting within their professional scope (§ 4-26.13).
Violations & Fines
Failing to hold a current massage establishment or technician permit, letting alcohol or drugs onto the premises, or missing a required inspection item violates chapter 4-26 and, under the code's general penalty section § 1-5, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, six months in the Los Angeles County jail, or both, with each day of continued violation charged separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Lynwood require a separate license for massage employees?
Can alcohol be served at a Lynwood massage establishment?
What facilities must a Lynwood massage parlor provide?
What happens if a Lynwood massage business skips its permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lynwood
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