How to Start a Massage Business in New Hampshire

Who regulates massage in New Hampshire

Massage answers to the Advisory Board of Massage Therapists inside the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification, under chapter 328-B of the Revised Statutes, titled Massage Therapists and Massage Establishments. The executive director licenses, and the chapter's rulemaking list at RSA 328-B:4 covers application forms, qualifications, renewal, continuing education and, from July 1, 2027, establishments. The scope of the license is drawn at RSA 328-B:2-a: a massage therapist may use heat and cold, hydrotherapy, heliotherapy and the external application of herbal or topical preparations not classified as prescription drugs, analyze posture and movement, provide education in self-care and stress management, and perform techniques in which the therapist was trained. RSA 328-B:3 makes it a prohibited act to act or advertise as a massage therapist for compensation without the license, and to hire an unlicensed massage therapist as an employee; administrative fines run up to $2,000 per offense under RSA 328-B:11-a.

Two boundaries in the chapter matter to how a practice describes itself. RSA 328-B:10 II and III place movement-awareness practices, Feldenkrais, Trager, the Alexander technique and body-mind centering, and energy or superficial-touch practices, polarity therapy, therapeutic touch, Bowen therapy and reiki, outside the chapter when they are practiced within an established profession's standards and are not designated or implied to be massage or massage therapy. A practice offering both licensed massage and exempt modalities should keep the service names on the right side of that line, because the exemption is lost by the labeling rather than by the touch. The rest of the stack is the general one: the Secretary of State's Corporation Division for the LLC and trade names, the Department of Revenue Administration for the two business taxes, New Hampshire Employment Security for unemployment insurance, the Department of Labor for wages and workers' compensation, and your city or town for zoning.

New Hampshire massage at a glance

The massage therapist license, step by step

The license rests on RSA 328-B:6 I. The applicant submits the application form and the licensing fee, is at least 18 years old on the date of application, has not been convicted in New Hampshire or any other state of a crime involving violence inflicted on or threatened against a person, or of any sexually-related crime, and submits written evidence of being in good mental and physical health. Paragraph III adds the reciprocity door: the executive director may waive other requirements for an applicant holding a valid license in a jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially equivalent or not less. The application itself, the "Massage Therapist Licensure Application" under Plc 902.06, assembles the proof: the schools attended with enrollment and graduation dates, an official diploma or certificate, official transcripts verifying the education, documentation of passage of the written examination under Plc 902.05, a copy of current first aid certification, a copy of current adult CPR certification, and the health statement the statute requires.

The education standard sits at Plc 902.02, and it is a 750 hour course of study at a qualifying massage therapy school, on top of a high school diploma or its equivalent. The rule names five components rather than apportioning hours among them: anatomy and physiology; the history, theory, practice, benefits and contraindications of massage therapy, related modalities and adjunct therapies within the scope of practice, including Swedish massage and hydrotherapy; hygiene and sanitary practices, including blood-borne pathogen standards and adult CPR and first aid, each documented by current certification; health service management, business practices and ethics of massage; and verifiably documented practical hours, which Plc 902.03 defines through client information forms, client notes and a school log signed off at completion of the 750 hours. Continuing education events do not count toward the 750, and distance learning is accepted for courses that are not palpation-dependent or hands-on, under the conditions the rule sets. The per-subject hour splits circulating on national sites are not in the rule as adopted. The fee is the simplest in the cluster: Plc 908.01 sets one amount, $110, for initial, temporary and renewal licensure, payable to Treasurer-State of New Hampshire.

Renewal is where this chapter needs careful reading, because three texts overlap. RSA 328-B:7 as printed expires the license on the last day of the licensee's birth month in the even-numbered year, on approval of the renewal application and submission of the renewal fee. The renewal rule at Plc 905.03 requires the renewal application at least 30 days before expiration, documented continuing education under Plc 905.02, the 12 hours per two year cycle that RSA 328-B:4 VII(j) mandates, and a five percent random audit of that documentation each cycle. Over both sits RSA 310:8, which states that OPLC licenses are valid for two years from issuance and that its terms supersede conflicting terms in a board's chapter, and a 2026 amendment replaces the birth month text with the 310:8 framework effective July 1, 2027. The practical instruction is unglamorous and safe: work from the expiration date on your license and OPLC's renewal notice, file 30 or more days ahead, and have the 12 hours documented before either clock runs out. For therapists arriving mid-stream, the temporary license at RSA 328-B:5-a covers the gap year: an out-of-state program of at least 500 hours, at least 21 years of age, documentation of a year of practice in another state, one year of validity to finish the outstanding education or examination, and no renewal.

The establishment position today, and the license arriving in 2027

Today, there is no massage establishment license in New Hampshire. Chapter 328-B licenses therapists, and a practice's premises carry no OPLC filing, inspection cycle or premises fee: a licensed therapist may open a studio, rent a room or practice from a compliant home setting on the strength of the personal license alone, subject to the town layer below.

The step has been taken, with a future date. Chapter 305 of 2026 adds the establishment regime effective July 1, 2027, and a practice opening in 2026 should be built with it in view. New RSA 328-B:2 VII defines a massage establishment as a commercial location where massage is advertised and where massage is performed by more than one licensed massage therapist, excluding locations where massage is an adjunct to medical care in a facility run by licensed health care professionals within their scope, and temporary and incidental massage offered in the open in public accommodations. New RSA 328-B:3 VII and VIII prohibit operating an establishment without an establishment license and require it to be at all times under the direct supervision and management of a professional licensed under the chapter. New RSA 328-B:14 makes unlicensed operation a misdemeanor, lets any licensed massage therapist obtain the license on application and payment of the fee if the establishment meets the rules, lets a non-therapist owner hold one where a licensed massage therapist is employed as manager without authorizing the owner to practice, and sets the carve-outs: the requirement does not apply to a sole proprietor of his or her own business or to independent contractors, except that a sole proprietor or independent contractor providing services without a prior appointment must obtain the license after all. Only licensed establishments may use the terms "licensed massage establishment" or "massage establishment," establishment fees will be set by rule, and new RSA 328-B:4 VIII adds the establishment rulemaking, covering standards, inspections, opening, closing, relocation and renewal, and the documentation for sole proprietor or independent contractor designation. Residential care and health facilities licensed under RSA 151:2 are exempt under new RSA 328-B:10 IV. Read together, the 2027 design licenses the multi-therapist premises, leaves the appointment-only solo practitioner alone, and pulls walk-in solo practice back in, a distinction a new practice should settle in its booking model before the date arrives.

Forming your business: the LLC

Entity filings run through the Corporation Division of the Secretary of State, online through NH QuickStart. The limited liability company is the default vehicle, and its formation document is a Certificate of Formation, Form LLC-1, not articles of organization. RSA 304-C:191 II(c) sets the filing fee at $100, flat. The company's name must contain "Limited Liability Company" or "LLC" or a similar abbreviation under RSA 304-C:32, and the filing names a registered agent with a New Hampshire address. The recurring obligation is the annual report under RSA 304-C:194: $100, filed between January 1 and April 1 each year, the first report due in the year after formation, an LLC formed between December 1 and April 1 excused from that year's report, and a $50 late filing fee under RSA 304-C:191 II(f) after April 1. One definition from the coming establishment regime is worth borrowing early: the 2027 text defines a sole proprietor, for its carve-out, as a person who owns a business by himself or herself and has no employees, so a therapist planning to rely on the carve-out should notice that hiring a first employee is also the act that can end sole proprietor status.

Registering your practice name

A New Hampshire trade name is a state registration with the Secretary of State under RSA chapter 349. Section 349:5 requires anyone conducting business under a trade name, firm or style other than their own legal name to file a registration certificate; section 349:6 makes it effective on filing for a five year term; section 349:7 prices it at $50, with renewals at $50 and a $10 fee for a notice of discontinuance, addition or withdrawal; and section 349:8 has the Secretary of State forward a renewal notice at least six months before the term expires. The registration is separate from forming the LLC, whose name is fixed in the Certificate of Formation. A practice that will sign, bank and book under a different name registers that name first. One naming caution is statutory rather than clerical: from July 1, 2027, only licensed establishments may call themselves a massage establishment, so a multi-therapist practice choosing its name today should choose one it can keep licensed, or one that does not use the reserved terms.

Getting your EIN

The Employer Identification Number is the federal tax identity the rest of the stack hangs on. It is free from the IRS through the IRS online application, and no legitimate service charges for it. The practice needs the number before it registers as an employer with New Hampshire Employment Security and before payroll can run under the entity's name, and a solo therapist needs one for business banking and payment processing. Apply in the LLC's exact registered name, keep the confirmation letter with the entity records, and use the same spelling on every filing that follows. Because New Hampshire does not tax wages, there is no state withholding account to open alongside the federal number.

No sales tax, and the two business taxes instead

New Hampshire has no general sales tax, so the massage session and the retail products a client takes home all ring up with no tax added, and no city or town levies one underneath. Massage is also outside the state's rooms and meals framework entirely; it is a personal service sold by a licensed professional, and nothing in the business tax chapter treats it as a taxable retail category. The state's claim on the business arrives through two Department of Revenue Administration taxes. The Business Profits Tax, RSA 77-A, takes 7.5 percent of taxable business profits, with a return required only when gross business income from all activities passes the filing threshold, $103,000 for taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023. The Business Enterprise Tax, RSA 77-E, takes 0.55 percent of the enterprise value tax base, the sum of compensation, interest and dividends the business pays, with a filing threshold of $281,000 of gross receipts or of tax base on the same vintage. Both thresholds are adjusted biennially, BET paid is a credit against BPT with unused credit carried forward ten taxable periods, and every filer also submits Form BT-SUMMARY with the return itself, Form NH-1040 for a proprietorship, NH-1065 for a partnership or NH-1120 for a corporation, due in the spring following the tax year, April 15 for calendar-year proprietorships and corporations.

A multi-therapist practice is the beauty format most likely to meet the enterprise tax first, because its base is the payroll itself. When the 2027 establishment license arrives it changes the licensing calendar, not the tax one; the two systems run independently, and both belong in the practice's second year plan.

Renting a treatment room in New Hampshire

The rented treatment room, inside a wellness center, a chiropractic office or a salon, is the standard first premises for a New Hampshire therapist, and today it is structurally simple: the therapist's own license is the only state credential in the arrangement, because there is no establishment license for the host to hold and no renter's license for the therapist to add. The written agreement carries the weight instead: rent, room access and hours, linen, booking, collections, and keeping the license and certifications current. Where the room sits inside a licensed salon, the salon's shop license governs the salon's own trades; massage is not one of them, and the therapist's practice inside the building rests on chapter 328-B rather than on the host's license.

Two forward-looking clauses belong in any room agreement signed now. The first is the 2027 question: if the therapist works as an independent contractor and takes clients only by appointment, the carve-out keeps the room outside the establishment regime; if the arrangement grows into a multi-therapist location under one business, the establishment license lands on someone, and the agreement should say who applies and who pays. The second is classification, which follows conduct as everywhere in this state: a therapist whose schedule, prices and protocols the house sets is an employee, with unemployment tax and workers' compensation attached, and RSA 328-B:3 makes hiring an unlicensed therapist as an employee a prohibited act in its own right, so the host verifies the license before the first shift either way.

Hiring therapists: wages, unemployment and workers' comp

The wage floor is the federal one. RSA 279 ties New Hampshire's minimum wage to the federal rate, and the Department of Labor's minimum wage page states the rule directly: no employer may pay less than $7.25 an hour. Overtime runs at time and one half beyond forty hours in a week, tipped employees are paid at 45 percent of the applicable minimum wage by the employer, and wages are paid weekly or every two weeks under the state's wage payment law.

Register with New Hampshire Employment Security when you hire your first employee, file the Employer Status Report that opens the unemployment account, and report new hires to the same agency. Unemployment tax is fully employer paid, starting at a 2.7 percent new employer rate on the first $14,000 of wages per employee under the U.S. Department of Labor's state table, experience-rated afterward, with trust fund solvency adjustments capable of lowering the effective rate. There is no state income tax on wages, so there is no state withholding to run. Workers' compensation insurance is a statutory duty for New Hampshire employers under RSA 281-A. The massage chapter adds two employment-specific duties: never employ an unlicensed therapist, which RSA 328-B:3 prohibits, and, from July 1, 2027, keep any licensed establishment under the direct supervision and management of a licensee at all times, which is a staffing requirement as much as a licensing one.

The local layer: towns, zoning and premises

With no state establishment license today, the local layer is the only premises review a massage practice gets, and it runs through your city or town: land use, building permits, signage and occupancy under the zoning ordinance and the state building and fire codes as locally enforced. A massage practice is a commercial use in most ordinances, sometimes grouped with personal services and sometimes named separately, and the parcel has to allow it before the lease is signed. The home-based version is the recurring New Hampshire question for this trade, because so many therapists start at home: the state license travels with the therapist, but the town's home occupation rules decide whether clients may come to the house. Ask for the specific address, in terms of massage therapy, and keep the answer with the lease file. After July 1, 2027 the state layer joins the local one for multi-therapist locations, and a practice planning to grow should choose premises that can satisfy both.

Insurance for a New Hampshire massage practice

Chapter 328-B sets no liability insurance minimum as a condition of the therapist license, which distinguishes New Hampshire from states in this library where insurance is a licensing input; the coverage stack here is a lease and judgment question, with one statutory exception for employers, workers' compensation under RSA 281-A. Professional liability written for massage therapy is the core purchase, and it is the document landlords, wellness centers and referral partners actually ask to see. General liability limits are typically set by the lease. A therapist renting a room should carry her own professional policy, named in the written agreement, because her clients are her business regardless of whose name is on the building. This guide quotes no premium benchmarks; a broker pricing your actual service mix is the only reliable source.

Renewal and filing calendar

The license clock is the one to watch in this trade; everything else runs on the spring calendar underneath it, and the establishment license joins the list in 2027.

Official sources

• RSA chapter 328-B: massage therapists and massage establishments, including licensure, renewal and the establishment license effective July 1, 2027
• NH Administrative Rules, Plc 902.02: the 750 hour educational requirements and the five subject areas
• NH Administrative Rules, Plc 908.01: the $110 fee for initial, temporary and renewal massage licensure
• NH Administrative Rules, Plc 905.03: the renewal application, filed at least 30 days before expiration, and the continuing education audit
• RSA 310:8: two year license terms from issuance, renewal and lapse rules for OPLC licenses
• RSA chapter 304-C: the LLC Certificate of Formation and the annual report
• New Hampshire Secretary of State: Corporation Division, NH QuickStart and trade name registration
• Department of Revenue Administration: Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax rates and filing thresholds
• Department of Labor: minimum wage under RSA 279, overtime and tipped wages
• IRS: apply for an Employer Identification Number online, free

New Hampshire massage FAQ