Santa Maria, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)

Enacted by Ordinance 2017-18, Chapter 4-18 folds Santa Maria's massage regulation into the state's CAMTC certification system created by Business and Professions Code Sections 4600 et seq. 103 makes it unlawful for an individual to practice massage for compensation, in any capacity, unless certified by the California Massage Therapy Council, and unlawful for a business to offer massage unless every practitioner it uses is CAMTC-certified and the business itself holds a valid City Registration Certificate. A lets practitioners licensed by the City before the ordinance's effective date, who applied by November 7, 2017, keep working without CAMTC certification so long as their City license stays current.

104 spells out the registration application: legal name and address of the business, names and addresses of all owners and managers, a roster of every practitioner with CAMTC numbers or City license numbers, and a background check with Live Scan fingerprints for any owner or manager who isn't CAMTC-certified. The Chief of Police has up to 30 days to issue or deny the certificate, which then runs for two years, and no reapplication is accepted within one year of a denial or revocation. 110(a)). Suspensions can run from five days up to the end of the certificate term, and every denial, suspension or revocation carries a right to appeal to an Administrative Hearing Officer whose decision is final.