Mountain View, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Sec. 23(a) makes it unlawful to establish, operate or maintain a massage establishment, including a home massage establishment, within city limits without a permit from the police chief, and unlawful to keep operating once that permit is suspended, revoked or expired. Sec. 23(b) separately requires every massage practitioner, including those doing outcall massage, to hold a valid California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) certificate. Applicants file with the police chief under Sec. 24, listing prior addresses, employers, criminal history, any past license revocations and involvement in Red Light Abatement Act proceedings, and pay a council-set permit fee; the police chief runs fingerprints through the Department of Justice and FBI and refers the site to Community Development for zoning, building and fire review.

Sec. 25 gives the police chief 60 days, extendable to 90, to grant or deny, with denial grounds including a prior revoked massage permit, false statements, certain Penal Code convictions, or a site that would violate zoning, building or fire rules; a denied applicant can appeal to the city manager within 5 business days of personal service or 10 days of mailed service. Sec. unless a conditional use permit allows otherwise. Sec. 33 lets the police chief suspend a permit for up to nine months or revoke it for an uncertified practitioner, a code or law violation, false statements, or operating in a way that endangers client health and safety, following a noticed hearing with a right to appeal to the city manager.