Littleton City Council approves annual massage-business licenses, background checks

Littleton City Council voted 7-0 on Oct. 20 to approve an ordinance requiring annual city licenses and fingerprint-based criminal-history checks for massage establishments, with transition periods for existing businesses.

A massage facility must have a city license to operate and renew it annually. The ordinance caps application and renewal fees at $150, subject to permitted inflation adjustments. Licenses do not transfer to a new owner or location; a change requires a new application. The ordinance materials presented to council also detail operating requirements.

Existing operators, owners and employees have 60 days after the ordinance takes effect to submit for background checks. Existing facilities may continue under their current licenses until the earlier of the license’s expiration or 180 days after the ordinance takes effect. By then, they must apply for a new city license. Prospective employees must complete checks before starting work; prospective operators and owners must do so at least 30 days before licensure or taking an ownership interest.

The council removed the Littleton Police Department as a fingerprinting option because it no longer provides the service. The ordinance materials identify a third-party provider approved by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and describe the use of state-approved electronic fingerprinting equipment.

City staff identified nine active massage-related businesses through sales-tax records and planned to contact them about the changes, staff told the council. That is not a confirmed count of all establishments that will need a city license; exemptions may apply.

The city’s legal-notices page says ordinances take effect no sooner than seven days after publication. It does not list a publication date for this ordinance, so its specific effective date and the calendar dates for the transition deadlines are not established.