Spas Licensing and Permits

Every state has its rules. Did you know that in some states every city has its own twist to the state guidelines, and some go as far as having different guidelines within the same city but according to zip codes? Such is the tale of the city of San Diego, CA. If you are thinking of opening or expanding a Spa. I strongly recommend that you verify the specific Police Department and City Planning or Business Permits Office, as it relates to the zip code of the spa location (not the employee residential address) regarding the license requirements for the Establishment and the service provider (Massage Therapist or Technician or Holistic Health Practitioner requirements). In addition some cities in CA require the Licensed Estheticians to have their own License Tax, which is mandated even if you are an employee.

CA is not the only complicated state, every state is unique and before you make a job offer it is advisable that you do the research to find out exactly what you need the candidate to provide. This is one of the components that need to be included in the job descriptions and the materials you create such as recruitment ads. I always advise my clients to count three months backwards from the date they want to open or need the new staff member to figure out when to start their recruitment efforts. Some licensing and/or business permit processes can take up to 2 months. In addition I am seeing an increase in the requirement of National Massage Certification in order to be able to apply for the city or state permit. This is great, but I still interview a lot of candidates that are NOT Nationally Certified and don't even know it is a requirement for them, yet they are working without a permit and in the end the Spa that hires them would be the one to have to pay fines and be at risk of loosing their establishment license or business permit.

We have also heard news of some states such as Florida passing new Senate Bills that impact the Medical Spa field tremendously. We currently have approximately 36 States that have enacted laws regulating Massage Therapy, and others that are in the process. For information on specific state guidelines do visit the American Massage Therapy Association website Information Center and go to the State Practice Law Information Guide at http://www.amtamassage.org/about/lawstate.html

For specific guidelines on Salon Establishment Licenses and/or Cosmetology individual licenses do visit the specific State Cosmetology Board page. You can find listings and information regarding licensing requirements by State at www.ncea.tv and www.dayspaassociation.com

However, as I try to assist owners and operators in figuring these things out, I've also learned that the state information is not enough. You have to become a P.I. and do all the research as it pertains to the city and the zip code and then research again, because you might get contradicting information between the government agencies. I recommend you to follow the highest, strictest standard you find in your geographical area. Better safe than sorry!

Stay tuned........

Written by Zahira J Coll, all rights reserved, the content of this article, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.

Comments

[Debbie]

Sounds really good! Recently I came upon a very useful site. It is http://www.businesslicenses.com It is a company that is based in Airmont, NY
and it has over 50,000 business licenses, tax registration forms and all types of permits…..…. etc. for every city, county, and state
serving the entire United States. Try it!! I think it will really help you!

[Diane Billings]

Is there any thing on canadian laws that you could tell me that I need to know about opening a day spa in Ontario Canada so far I have not had much luck