Washington, DC Business Licensing & Operations: Massage Establishments (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing law
- D.C. Code § 47-2811(a)
- License type
- Public Health: Public Accommodations endorsement
- Penalty
- Up to 90 days jail or fine (§ 47-2846)
- Revocation standard
- Mayor may revoke for public decency or safety
- Prosecuting authority
- Office of the Attorney General for D.C.
Summary
In Washington, D.C., no one may offer or administer a massage for commercial purposes without a license issued under D.C. Code § 47-2811(a), which requires licensing under Chapter 12 of Title 3. The license now issues as a Public Health: Public Accommodations endorsement on the District's basic business license, and operating without one exposes an owner to the licensing chapter's general penalties.
(a) No person shall offer or administer for commercial purposes a massage unless licensed pursuant to Chapter 12 of Title 3. ... [§ 47-2846] Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter, or additions thereto made from time to time by the Council of the District of Columbia, where no specific penalty is fixed, or the violation of any regulation made by the Council under the authority of this chapter, shall upon conviction be fined not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisoned for not more than 90 days.
Full Breakdown
" A former subsection (b), which once barred a massage establishment from letting a woman treat a male client or a man treat a female client and required Chief of Police approval before any license issued, has been repealed and is no longer current law in the District. 03a(k)(4) eliminates "Massage Establishment" as its own license category alongside Barber Shop, Beauty Shop, Health Spa, and Swimming Pool, and directs that a business meeting the licensing criteria "shall receive a Public Health: Public Accommodations license endorsement" on its master business license.
02 requires the applicant's Social Security number to be recorded on the application, § 47-2806 requires the license to be conspicuously posted on the premises and available for inspection by police, and § 47-2807 defines "person" broadly to include firms, corporations, and associations so that a company operating a spa is covered the same as an individual practitioner. The Mayor may suspend or revoke any license issued under the chapter, including a massage establishment's endorsement, "in the interest of public decency or the protection of lives, limbs, health, comfort, and quiet of the citizens of the District of Columbia, or for any other reason he may deem sufficient" under § 47-2844(a). C. Superior Court under § 47-2845.
Violations & Fines
Operating a massage business without the license required by § 47-2811(a) has no penalty spelled out in that section, so the general chapter penalty in § 47-2846 applies: a fine up to the amount set in § 22-3571.01 or imprisonment for up to 90 days upon conviction. The District may instead pursue the violation as a civil infraction under Chapter 18 of Title 2, with civil fines, penalties, and fees imposed through that adjudication process rather than criminal prosecution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a license to run a massage business in Washington, D.C.?
Can the District revoke my massage establishment license?
What happens if I operate without the required license?
Does the old rule about male and female clients still apply?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington
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