Personal Services & Wellness · 7 min read · Last updated
A body rub parlour in Hamilton is licensed under Schedule 3 of By-law 07-170, and the licence covers the establishment and the person or company that owns it. Council approval is required for any new licence, and only where one is available. The people who work at the parlour are licensed separately under Schedule 4.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “Body-rub means the kneading, manipulating, rubbing, massaging, touching appealing to or designed to appeal to erotic or sexual appetites. Does not include a body-rub performed for the purpose of medical or therapeutic treatment provided by a person licensed by the Province of Ontario.”
Who needs this licence?
This licence is for the owner of the establishment. The by-law defines a body-rub as kneading, manipulating, rubbing, massaging or touching appealing to or designed to appeal to erotic or sexual appetites. It expressly does not include a body-rub performed for the purpose of medical or therapeutic treatment provided by a person licensed by the Province of Ontario, which is the line that separates this licence from provincially regulated practice.
Council approval is required for any new licence, and only where one is available. Treat that as the gating item in your plan, because no amount of paperwork substitutes for it.
Staff are licensed separately under Schedule 4. Anyone who operates, manages or supervises the parlour needs a body rub parlour operator/manager licence, and anyone who offers or solicits a body-rub needs a body rub attendant licence. A person cannot be an attendant and an operator/manager at the same location at the same time.
The applicant attends in person with government-issued photo identification and provides a Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board in their city of residence, dated within 36 days of the application. Third party clearances are not accepted.
What documents do you need?
You submit the completed application form with a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year, so that the City can confirm the applying entity is currently registered.
The Zoning Verification Certificate deals with the address, and the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check deals with the applicant. The police check has to come from the police service board where you live and be dated within 36 days of your application; clearances bought from private screening companies are refused.
The fifth item is a detailed site plan, and it is different from the interior premise plans used elsewhere in the by-law. It shows the location of the establishment on the property with setbacks for all property lines, and the location, dimensions and driveway access to the required parking spaces. In other words it is about where the building sits and how vehicles reach it.
The sixth item is a list of the names of operators and body-rubbers employed at the establishment. This is how the City ties the establishment licence to the personal licences the staff hold, so it needs to be accurate and it needs to stay accurate.
Zoning and premises requirements
A Zoning Verification Certificate is required and confirms that the zoning at your address permits the use. It attaches to the property rather than the applicant, so it is worth resolving before you commit to premises.
Where the same category of business was previously licensed at the address within one year, a Zoning Addendum may be completed instead of the full certificate.
The detailed site plan covers ground the zoning certificate does not. It has to show the establishment's location on the property with setbacks from all property lines, plus the location, dimensions and driveway access of the required parking spaces. If you have only ever prepared an interior floor plan, budget time to have a proper site plan drawn.
Inspections and approvals
Two inspections are required and both are arranged after the application has been received: a health inspection and a parking inspection.
The health inspection covers the public health requirements applying to the premises. The parking inspection checks the parking provided against what is required, which links directly to the parking spaces, dimensions and driveway access shown on your site plan.
There is no fire inspection on this licence's checklist, which distinguishes it from the adult services entertainment establishment owner licence. The health inspection, by contrast, comes back at every renewal.
How much does it cost?
A new application combines a processing fee, the licence fee, a health inspection fee and a parking inspection fee. HST applies to the processing fee and both inspection fees; the licence fee itself is not subject to HST.
Zoning verification, or the addendum where you qualify, is charged on top and carries no HST. The fee schedule presents a total with the zoning line and a total without it.
The licence fee for this class is one of the highest in the by-law, so build it into your business case before you commit to a lease or a fit-out rather than treating licensing as an afterthought.
At renewal you pay the licence fee and the health inspection fee again. A licence that lapses carries a reinstatement fee with HST. All amounts sit in the City's fee schedule and are confirmed when you apply.
How to apply
Deal with the two structural questions first: whether Council approval is achievable for a new licence, and whether the zoning at your intended address permits the use.
Then build the file. Complete the application form, obtain a current business registration or corporate profile, have the detailed site plan drawn with setbacks and parking dimensions, and compile the list of operators and body-rubbers employed at the establishment.
Order the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check late enough that it is still within 36 days when you file, and get it from the police service board in your city of residence.
Attend in person with government-issued photo identification. Once the application is in, the City arranges the health and parking inspections. In parallel, make sure your operators, managers and attendants apply for their own Schedule 4 licences.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal must be completed in person with government-issued photo identification, and Declarations A and B both have to be completed.
The health inspection recurs at renewal and is charged again, so the premises have to keep meeting the standard rather than just meeting it once at opening.
Keep the list of operators and body-rubbers current through the year. Staff turnover is normal in this sector, and the personal licences held by your team are a separate obligation that does not renew simply because yours did.
Renew before the expiry date. A late licence has to be reinstated, and reinstatement carries its own fee with HST added.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. Which activity is outside the by-law's definition of a body-rub?
The definition excludes body-rubs performed for medical or therapeutic treatment by a person licensed by the Province of Ontario.
2. What kind of plan does the body rub parlour owner checklist require?
Schedule 3 asks for a detailed site plan covering the building's position, setbacks and the required parking spaces, not an interior floor plan.
3. Does the owner licence cover the parlour's staff?
The owner's list of operators and body-rubbers is a disclosure requirement; each of those people still needs a personal licence under Schedule 4.
Skip the paperwork
Tell Permits2Go about your business and it assembles the licence application for you — document checklists, e-signatures and a guided workspace for Hamilton, with more cities on the way.
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Licensing requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with the City before you apply.