Personal Services & Wellness · 6 min read · Last updated
Personal wellness services is the licence for hands-on wellness practices that are not provided by a Registered Massage Therapist: reflexology, osteotherapy, aromatherapy, Reiki and similar massage techniques. Its checklist has two items you will not see on most Hamilton licences, and both are about who is doing the work: a written account of your practitioners' training and experience, and an interview with a licensing officer.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “Personal Wellness Services is a service provided for any part of the human body which includes, but is not limited to, kneading, manipulating, rubbing, massaging, touching the body. May include but not limited to: Reflexology, Osteotherapy, Aromatherapy, Reiki, and other massage techniques not provided by a Registered Massage Therapist.”
Who needs this licence?
This licence covers services provided for any part of the human body involving kneading, manipulating, rubbing, massaging or touching, and the by-law names reflexology, osteotherapy, aromatherapy, Reiki and other massage techniques not provided by a Registered Massage Therapist as examples.
The phrase not provided by a Registered Massage Therapist is doing a lot of work. Massage therapy delivered by an RMT is a regulated health profession in Ontario and is dealt with under provincial regulation. This licence is for the wellness practices that sit outside that regulated stream.
It is also distinct from a body rub parlour licence. A body-rub under Schedule 3 is defined by an appeal to erotic or sexual appetites; personal wellness services are not. If you are unsure which schedule your practice falls under, raise it with Licensing and By-law Services early, because the two licences carry very different requirements and fees.
There is no criminal record check on this checklist, but there is an interview with a Licensing Compliance Officer or Licensing Supervisor, which serves a comparable purpose of putting a person rather than only paperwork in front of the City.
What documents do you need?
You start with the completed application form and a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year of the application.
The Zoning Verification Certificate confirms the address permits the use, or a Zoning Addendum may be completed if the same category of business was previously licensed at that address within one year.
The fourth item is specific to this class: a list of described services together with information on the training and experience of the operator and employees. The City is checking two things at once here, namely what is actually being offered and who is qualified to offer it. Write the service list plainly, and gather the training records for everyone who will work at the premises before you apply, because collecting certificates from staff after filing is what slows these applications down.
The fifth item is a premise plan drawn to scale, showing the layout of the premises including parking areas, walkways, seating areas, offices, washrooms, storage areas and entrances and exits.
Zoning and premises requirements
A Zoning Verification Certificate is required and confirms that the zoning at the address permits the use. It is issued for the property, so it needs to be settled before you commit to premises.
If the same category of business was previously licensed at your address within one year, a Zoning Addendum may be completed instead of the full certificate.
The scaled premise plan is the second half of the picture and shows how the space is laid out. Draw it to scale and include the parking areas, walkways, seating areas, offices, washrooms, storage areas and every entrance and exit. For a wellness practice, make sure treatment rooms and the reception area read clearly on the plan.
Inspections and approvals
Two things happen after your application is received, and the Licensing Team circulates the requests for both.
The first is a parking inspection, which checks the parking serving the premises against what the site requires.
The second is not a physical inspection at all: it is an interview with a Licensing Compliance Officer or Licensing Supervisor. Expect to talk through the services you described in your application, the training and experience of the people providing them, and how the business will operate day to day. Treat it as a substantive part of the application rather than a formality, and have the person who actually runs the practice attend.
There is no health or fire inspection on this checklist, so the interview and the parking inspection are the two steps that follow filing.
How much does it cost?
A new application is made up of a processing fee, the licence fee and a parking inspection fee. HST applies to the processing fee and the inspection fee; the licence fee is not subject to HST.
Zoning verification, or the addendum where you qualify for it, is charged separately and carries no HST. The fee schedule shows the application total both with and without that line.
There is no separate charge for the interview with the Licensing Compliance Officer or Licensing Supervisor; it is part of the process rather than a billed inspection.
Renewal is charged as the licence fee, with no recurring inspection charge. A licence allowed to lapse carries a reinstatement fee with HST. All amounts are set in the City's fee schedule and confirmed when you apply.
How to apply
Confirm the schedule first. Personal wellness services covers non-RMT hands-on practices such as reflexology, osteotherapy, aromatherapy and Reiki. If your practice is provided by a Registered Massage Therapist, or if it falls within the body-rub definition in Schedule 3, a different route applies.
Request the Zoning Verification Certificate, complete the application form, and obtain a business registration or corporate profile dated within the past year.
Write the list of described services and collect the training and experience information for the operator and every employee. Have the premise plan drawn to scale.
File the application. The Licensing Team then circulates the request for the parking inspection and arranges the interview with a Licensing Compliance Officer or Licensing Supervisor.
Renewals and staying compliant
Renewal requires Declaration B to be completed. There is no in-person photo identification requirement for this licence.
One requirement is unusual and easy to miss: a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence has to be submitted every three years at renewal, not only when you first apply. Diarise it, because a business registration is exactly the sort of document people assume is filed once and forgotten.
The renewal charge listed is the licence fee, with no repeat inspection fee in the renewal structure.
If your services or practitioners change materially between renewals, keep the City informed rather than waiting, since the service list and the training information were part of what the licence was granted on. Renew before expiry, because a late licence carries a reinstatement fee with HST.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. Which practices does the personal wellness services licence cover?
The definition names these modalities and expressly frames them as massage techniques not provided by a Registered Massage Therapist.
2. What follows your application besides the parking inspection?
The checklist lists the interview with a Licensing Compliance Officer or Licensing Supervisor alongside the parking inspection as a step after the application is received.
3. What does this licence require every three years at renewal?
The renewal requirements state that a valid business registration, corporate profile or master business licence must be submitted every three years.
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.