Warwick, RI Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing authority
- Board of public safety
- License required for
- Massage, vapor, pool, bath establishments
- Max general penalty
- $500 fine or 30 days jail
- Continuing violation
- Each day is a separate offense
- State law layer
- G.L. 1956 § 23-20.8-1 et seq.
Summary
Warwick requires anyone operating a massage, vapor, pool or bath establishment for hire to hold a license from the board of public safety first. The board writes the operating rules and sets license fees under City Code Chapter 38.
(a)No person, firm or corporation shall practice or conduct an establishment for giving of massage, vapor, pool or other baths for hire, reward or compensation, nor shall any person, firm or corporation advise or hold himself/herself, itself or themselves out as being engaged in the business of massage or the giving of said baths in the city without receiving a license therefor from the board of public safety.(b)The board of public safety is hereby authorized to formulate rules and regulations governing the practice of massage and the operation of establishments for the giving of massage, vapor, pool, shower or other baths and to establish fees for the issuance of licenses hereunder.
Full Breakdown
City Code § 38-1(a) bars any person, firm or corporation from practicing or conducting an establishment for giving massage, vapor, pool or other baths for hire, reward or compensation, and bars anyone from even advertising or holding themselves out as being in that business in Warwick, without first getting a license from the board of public safety. Section 38-1(b) hands the board of public safety full authority to write the operating rules for massage and bath establishments and to set the license fees. There is no fixed statewide fee schedule in the local code; the board sets it administratively, so an applicant must go through the board of public safety rather than a standard business-license clerk.
L. governs massage therapist licensing at the state level, layered on top of this local establishment license. Operating without the Warwick license, or advertising massage services in the city before receiving one, is the violation the board of public safety enforces, and it can also condition, deny or revoke the license through the rules it adopts under subsection (b).
Violations & Fines
Chapter 38 sets no separate fine schedule, so a violation falls under the Code's general penalty, § 1-4: a fine not exceeding $500.00 or imprisonment not exceeding 30 days, with each day of unlicensed operation counted as a separate offense. The board of public safety can also deny, suspend or revoke the license under its § 38-1(b) rulemaking authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who issues a massage establishment license in Warwick?
Does Warwick set the license fee in the code itself?
What happens if someone operates without the license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Warwick
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