Baltimore County, MD Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Article 4B of the Zoning Regulations defines a "massage establishment" as any establishment where a massage technician administers a massage to another person for compensation, expressly excluding a hospital, nursing home, medical clinic, or other setting where massages are administered by individuals identified under Baltimore County Code § 24-442, 1988 Edition, as revised. A "massage technician" is defined as an individual who administers a massage for compensation, excluding a medical practitioner as defined in Section 101 of the regulations. H. Zone. Subsection B imposes the same siting buffers that apply to tattoo/piercing and adult entertainment uses: no location within 1,000 feet of a house of worship, public or private school, public park or recreational facility, public library, licensed child care home or institution, or a residentially zoned or used lot, and no location within 2,500 feet of another massage establishment, tattoo or body-piercing establishment, or adult entertainment business.

Subsection D specifies the measurement method: a straight line from the closest point of the structure housing the massage establishment to the nearest property line of the protected use or lot, without regard to any intervening buildings. H. Zone, so any location outside that zone requires a variance or zoning reclassification rather than a special exception carve-out.