Massage businesses in Seattle must hold both a state Department of Health practitioner license under RCW 18.108 and a city massage business license under SMC 6.290, with background checks, anti-trafficking signage, and inspections targeting illicit massage operations.
Practitioners need a Washington Department of Health massage therapist license (640 hours of approved education plus exam). The city layers SMC 6.290 on top, requiring a massage business premises license, manager qualifications, fingerprint-based background checks, and posting of state human-trafficking notices. Hours are restricted, sleeping on premises is barred, and locked private rooms are prohibited. Reflexology, structural integration, and Asian bodywork have separate state credentials. Seattle Police Vice and FAS Licensing inspect for compliance, focusing on indicators of commercial sexual exploitation.
Operating an unlicensed massage business, employing unlicensed practitioners, missing trafficking notices, allowing residential use of treatment rooms, or sexual contact triggers license revocation, criminal charges, fines up to $5,000, and possible state license discipline.
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