Applications for the new Delaware massage establishment license are now available on the Forms page of the Delaware Board of Massage and Bodywork's website. The deadline for massage businesses to apply for a massage establishment license is June 1, 2018. There is no fee for this license.
All "massage establishments" must obtain this license in order to continue conducting business in Delaware. The law defines "massage establishment" as:
Any place of business that offers the practice of massage and bodywork and where the practice of massage and bodywork is conducted on the premises of the business, or that represents itself to the public by any title or description of services incorporating the words "bodywork," "massage," "massage therapy," "massage practitioner," "massagist," "masseur," "masseuse," or other words identified by the Board in regulation. A "place of business" includes any office, clinic, facility, salon, spa, or other location where a person or persons engage in the practice of massage and bodywork.
The residence of a therapist or an out call location which is not owned, rented, or leased by a massage therapist or massage establishment shall not be considered a massage establishment, unless the location is advertised as the therapist's or establishment's place of business.
The term "massage establishment" shall not include any "facility" as defined in § 1131(4) of Title 16, any "hospital" as defined in § 1001(3) of Title 16, physician offices, physical therapy facilities, chiropractic offices, or athletic training facilities, whether or not they employ, contract with, or rent to massage therapists, or institutions of secondary or higher education when massage therapy is practiced in connection with employment related to athletic teams or any other business establishment licensed pursuant to another chapter of this title.
The Board may grant a waiver of the license requirement in cases of extreme and undue hardship, as long as granting the waiver will not jeapordize public health, safety, or welfare.
To read the establishment license law and regulations, click:
License Law (see 24 Del. C. § 5319)
Rules and Regulations (see Section 12.0)
For questions about the license or application, please contact the Delaware Board of Massage and Bodywork at:
Phone: (302) 744-4500:
Email: customerservice.dpr@state.de.us
Additionally, the state Division of Public Health will also be issuing new rules to establish minimum public health requirements in massage establishments. Click here to read the proposed rules. Any person who wishes to make written suggestions, testimony, briefs or other written materials concerning the proposed Division of Public Health rules must submit same to Elisabeth Scheneman by Friday, May 4, 2018, at:
Elisabeth Scheneman
Division of Public Health
417 Federal Street
Dover, DE 19901
Email: elisabeth.scheneman@state.de.us
Phone: (302) 744-4951