St. Tammany Parish, LA Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing zoning section
- UDC § 400-8(AA)
- License required
- LA R.S. 37:3551 or 37:3552 et seq.
- Alternative to license
- Direct supervision of licensed physician
- State law incorporated
- LA R.S. 37:3551 through 37:3568
- Unlicensed operations treated as
- Adult use massage parlor
- Adult-use buffer distance
- 1,000 feet from residential/school/park
Summary
Unincorporated St. Tammany Parish treats massage establishments as a regulated land use under the Unified Development Code rather than a separate parish license. Section 400-8(AA) requires every massage business to hold current licensing under Louisiana's Massage Therapists and Massage Establishments Act, R.S. 37:3551 et seq., or operate under a licensed physician's direct supervision, and folds in all of that Act's state regulations by reference.
AA.Massage Establishment.1.Applicability. This section applies to massage establishments or any other place of business that offers the practice of massage therapy and where the practice of massage therapy is conducted on the premises of the business. A place of business includes any office, clinic, facility, or other location where a person or persons engage in the practice of massage therapy. The term "massage establishment" shall not include physician offices, physical therapy facilities, chiropractic offices, or athletic training facilities.2.No establishment may offer massage therapy or similar services unless they maintain current and proper licensing under R.S. 37:3551 or R.S. 37:3552 et seq. or perform such work under the direct supervision of a licensed physician.3.All massage establishments shall follow all state regulations promulgated between LA Rev Stat § 37:3551 through LA Rev Stat § 37:3568.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 12 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 400, Section 400-8(AA) of the UDC defines a massage establishment as any office, clinic, facility, or other place of business where massage therapy is practiced on-site, whether or not the business also does out-call work, but the definition carves out physician offices, physical therapy facilities, chiropractic offices, and athletic training facilities. , the Louisiana Massage Therapists and Massage Establishments Act, or must perform the work under a licensed physician's direct supervision; Section 400-8(AA)(3) then folds in the entire body of state regulation from § 37:3551 through § 37:3568 as parish law.
The parish's zoning code separately defines an Adult Use, Massage Parlor as a business offering physical massage, body rubs, or similar services, and Chapter 100's definitions expressly exclude massage businesses licensed by the State of Louisiana from that adult-use category. An unlicensed massage parlor is instead regulated as an adult use, which Chapter 100 restricts to a minimum distance of 1,000 feet from any residential district, place of worship, educational facility, park, or playground, and confines to zoning districts where adult uses are a permitted or conditional use.
In practice, a properly state-licensed massage establishment can locate under the ordinary commercial or office-use standards for its zoning district, while an operation without the state license is pushed into the parish's far more restrictive adult-use siting rules and distance buffers.
Violations & Fines
Operating a massage business without the state license required by Section 400-8(AA)(2), or outside a licensed physician's direct supervision, forfeits the zoning protection given to a licensed massage establishment; the parish can instead treat the operation as an unlicensed adult-use massage parlor under Chapter 100, subject to the 1,000-foot separation requirements and zoning-district restrictions on adult uses, plus building and zoning code enforcement for operating outside a permitted use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does St. Tammany Parish issue its own massage establishment license?
What happens to a massage business that isn't state-licensed?
Are chiropractors or physical therapists who offer massage covered by this section?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Tammany Parish
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