Texas Occupations Code Chapter 455 places massage therapy licensing exclusively with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Harris County does not license massage establishments, but the County Attorney and Sheriff partner with TDLR and Texas Attorney General to investigate human trafficking nuisance cases at unlicensed massage parlors.
Texas Occupations Code Chapter 455 and 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 117 require every massage therapist, instructor, school, and establishment in Harris County to hold a TDLR license. License holders must post the certificate, pass background checks, and meet 500-hour training and continuing education requirements. Establishments cannot use private rooms with locking doors and must allow TDLR inspections. Harris County does not issue local massage permits. The Harris County Sheriff's Human Trafficking Unit and the County Attorney's nuisance abatement team work with TDLR and the Texas Attorney General to shut down unlicensed parlors used for trafficking under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 125.
Operating without TDLR licensure is a Class A misdemeanor under Section 455.251 and authorizes TDLR civil penalties up to $5,000 per violation per day, plus civil nuisance abatement and asset seizure where trafficking is documented.
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