Special Treatment Licence London: Who Needs One

You will usually need a special treatment licence in London, sometimes called a massage treatment licence, if you give massage at premises, including a treatment room in your own home. The licence covers the address, so the rules change if you only visit clients in their homes, rent a room in a licensed clinic, or belong to a professional body your council has approved for exemption.

Every borough runs its own scheme under the same law, so mobile therapists may still have to register, and exempt therapists are often asked to apply and send evidence before they start. Below you’ll find what five London councils say on their own websites, then the questions to put to your council before you open. Use it as a starting point and check with your own borough. It is general information, not legal advice.

Jump to: Five council examples | What to ask your council | Keeping your confirmation

What a special treatment licence in London covers

The licence comes from Part II of the London Local Authorities Act 1991. Councils that have adopted it require a licence for premises offering “special treatments”. Massage is named on the treatment list of every council page we checked for this guide, along with treatments such as manicure, sunbeds, saunas, tattooing and piercing. If you also offer reflexology, list it on your application. Hounslow, Ealing, Lewisham and Kingston all name it.

The licence belongs to the premises, not to you. It names the address and the treatments allowed there, and it normally lasts a year before you renew. Giving massage from unlicensed premises is an offence unless an exemption applies, and so is advertising it.

Not every borough runs the scheme in the same way. Confirm with your own council when it adopted the special treatment rules and how it applies them locally, rather than assuming the next borough works the same.

Who needs one

You will usually need a licence if you:

run a clinic, studio or salon that offers massage
see clients in a treatment room at home, such as a converted spare room in Walthamstow
own or manage a gym, spa or hotel where massage is given

Councils such as Hounslow and Waltham Forest say plainly that a private address counts as premises. A home studio is not a way around the rules.

If you rent a room by the hour in someone else’s clinic, the clinic usually holds the licence. Ask to see it, and check that massage is one of the treatments listed. Some councils also want every therapist working there registered by name. Our guide to renting a massage treatment room in London covers the other questions to ask before you sign.

Mobile and home-visit therapists

The Act is about premises, so a purely mobile service is often outside the premises licence. Harrow’s licensing policy, for example, lists a mobile service in clients’ own homes as an exemption. Bromley’s premises page says a mobile beautician who visits clients at home doesn’t need a licence, but Bromley also requires every therapist working in the borough to register unless exempt, so check how both apply to massage before you start.

That doesn’t always mean the council has no interest in you. Lewisham says mobile therapists who visit people in their own homes don’t need a licence but do need to register with the council. If you work across several boroughs, say zones 1 to 3 from a base in Brixton, check with each council where you see clients regularly.

Exemptions

The Act lets councils exempt treatments given by, or supervised by:

doctors registered with the General Medical Council
health professionals registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, such as physiotherapists
members of professional bodies on the exemption list agreed by the London Special Treatment Group

For massage therapists the important one is the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). The CNHC says the London group has given exempt status to its registered therapists, but it also warns that some councils may still require a licence or a formal exemption application. Ealing, for example, has its own exemption form.

Exemptions have limits. They often apply only to full members of a body, and only to the treatments that body covers. If you offer something your membership doesn’t cover, you may still need a licence. Get the council’s confirmation in writing, and until you have it, assume you need the licence.

Check your borough: five official council examples

These are five examples only, not a guide to all of London. We read each council’s own licensing page on 7 November 2026. We have not checked the other London boroughs or the City of London for this section, so if your council isn’t here, go to its licensing page or ask its licensing team. Where a page doesn’t answer a question, we say so rather than guess.

Councils also label treatments in their own way. Lewisham uses classes and Kingston uses risk bands, for example. Those labels are local and don’t carry across London.

Hounslow

Source: Hounslow Council: massage and special treatment licences
Treatments and premises: a licence is needed to offer special treatments commercially from premises or from your home in the borough. Massage, including aromatherapy and reflexology, is on the list.
Exemption application and evidence: Hounslow has adopted the London Special Treatment Group list of exempt bodies. If you think you’re exempt, you fill in the council’s exempt form and send your current membership certificate, photo ID, public liability insurance (at least £2 million, naming your treatments) and a UK ENIC letter for overseas qualifications. The council then decides. It also asks for a therapist registration form.
Mobile and home: confirmed that you don’t need a licence if you only treat in a client’s own home and only treat that client. Anything else, including whether a mobile therapist must register, isn’t set out. Ask licensing.
Checked: 7 November 2026

Ealing

Source: Ealing Council: massage and special treatment licences
Treatments and premises: establishments providing massage or other special treatments in Ealing may need a licence. Massage therapies, including aromatherapy and reflexology, are listed.
Exemption application and evidence: being a member of an exempt organisation is not enough on its own. You still apply for an exemption letter and send proof of membership. Ealing refers to the London Special Treatment Group list. Exemption application form (PDF).
Mobile and home: The main licence page doesn’t cover mobile work. Ealing’s exemption application form lists a mobile service in clients’ own homes as one ground for exemption, so ask licensing whether you need to apply for a letter. A treatment room in your own home isn’t addressed. Ask licensing.
Checked: 7 November 2026

Lewisham

Source: Lewisham Council: apply for a special treatments licence
Treatments and premises: massage is listed. Lewisham’s Class 1 includes body massage, aromatherapy, reflexology and shiatsu.
Exemption application and evidence: the licence page doesn’t set out an exemption route for members of professional bodies. Ask the council before relying on one.
Mobile and home: confirmed that mobile therapists who visit people in their own homes don’t need a licence but do need to register, using the registration form on the same page. Seeing clients in your own home isn’t addressed. Ask the council.
Checked: 7 November 2026

Bromley

Sources: Bromley Council: special treatments licence (premises) and Bromley Council: special treatment therapist registration
Treatments and premises: the premises licence covers treatments involving massage, among others. Separately, every therapist working in the borough must be registered with the council, unless exempt.
Exemption application and evidence: exemptions are acknowledged, and the council offers its exemption list on request. The page doesn’t explain how to apply or what evidence it wants. Ask licensing.
Mobile and home: the premises page says a mobile beautician who visits clients in their own homes doesn’t need a licence. It doesn’t say this covers every massage arrangement, and therapist registration still applies to people working in the borough. Confirm both with licensing. A treatment room in your own home isn’t addressed.
Checked: 7 November 2026

Kingston upon Thames

Source: Royal Borough of Kingston: massage and special treatment licences
Treatments and premises: anyone who owns or manages premises providing massage or special treatments needs a licence. Aromatherapy, body massage and reflexology are listed as medium-risk treatments, which is how Kingston sets the fee band.
Exemption application and evidence: treatments by members of a body of health practitioners approved for exemption by Kingston are exempt. The page doesn’t say how to confirm this or which memberships currently qualify. Ask licensing.
Mobile and home: confirmed that fully mobile services from a vehicle or in clients’ own homes are listed as exempt. A studio in your own home, and whether individual therapists need to register, aren’t addressed. Ask licensing.
Checked: 7 November 2026

What to ask your council before relying on an exemption

An exemption is something your council confirms, not something you decide for yourself. Councils deal with three separate things: a premises licence for the address, registration for individual therapists, and confirmation that an exemption applies. You can need one, two or all three, so ask about each by name.

Identify treatments, practitioners and working addresses

Before you contact licensing, write down:

every treatment you offer, by name, such as sports massage, aromatherapy or reflexology rather than just “massage”
everyone who will treat clients, and whether each person is a member of a professional body
every address you work from: a clinic, a rented room, a room in your own home, clients’ homes, or events

An exemption usually covers a named person and the treatments their body covers. If one practitioner at a shared clinic is exempt, that doesn’t make the whole premises exempt, and anyone else working there may still need the premises licensed or their own registration.

Confirm the approved organisation and membership conditions

Ask whether your professional body is on the list your council uses, which treatments it covers there, and what level of membership counts. Many London councils use a list agreed through the London Special Treatment Group, but each council decides how to apply it. Being on the CNHC register, or any other register, doesn’t prove your council has exempted you. Ask what form and evidence it wants, then wait for its reply in writing before you rely on it.

Ask separately about therapist registration and home visits

Some councils register individual therapists as well as licensing premises, and registration can apply even when no premises licence is needed. Ask both questions, and be specific about where you treat. Visiting clients in their own homes is not the same as clients coming to a room in your home. A council that is relaxed about the first may treat the second as licensable premises. Working only as a mobile therapist doesn’t automatically mean there’s nothing to do, so ask whether you need to register in each borough where you see clients regularly.

Keep your confirmation with your practice records

When the council replies, save the email or letter with your other practice paperwork, along with your current membership certificate and the insurance schedule that names your treatments. If anyone queries your position later, including your insurer, that reply is what you’ll point to.

Check again whenever something changes: you add a treatment, someone new starts treating clients, or you move to a new room or borough. A confirmation for one address and one set of treatments doesn’t carry over automatically.

For the rest of your setup, see our guides to insurance for massage therapists and renting a massage treatment room in London, and the massage therapist starter kit. Tax is a separate matter from licensing. A licence or exemption doesn’t change how you’re taxed, which our self-employed massage therapist tax guide covers.

What it costs

Fees are set by each council and reviewed regularly, often from April. These four published examples were checked on each council’s website on 7 November 2026:

Lewisham: £311 for a Class 1-only licence, which covers body massage, aromatherapy, reflexology and shiatsu; £403 for a full licence covering classes 1 to 3 (fees from 1 April 2026)
Waltham Forest: £590 minimum for premises offering up to two treatments (fees payable from 1 February 2026)
Tower Hamlets: £732 for a new licence or a renewal
Newham: £1,072.50 for massage treatments, new or renewal (1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027)

In these four boroughs the published figures run from £311 to £1,072.50, depending on the borough and the treatments you list, and your own council may sit outside that range. Some councils charge extra to register each therapist or to change the licence later. Others, like Hounslow, reduce the first year’s fee depending on the month you apply. Always check the current fee on your council’s own page before you apply.

How to apply and what the council checks

Most councils now take applications online. Expect to provide:

a plan of the premises and a list of the treatments you will offer
qualifications for each treatment (Hounslow asks for a UK ENIC letter for overseas qualifications)
proof of insurance
an electrical safety certificate
details of any criminal convictions

Some councils, such as Waltham Forest, also ask you to display a notice or place a newspaper advertisement. An officer will normally inspect before the licence is granted, looking at hygiene, hand washing, ventilation, safety and whether the room suits the treatments. The council can refuse premises that are not structurally suitable, and it can attach conditions to the licence.

Councils also check that applicants are fit and proper people. Ask your own council what convictions or other history it treats as a bar, because the detail varies by borough and can change.

If you’re converting part of a house or a shop, talk to the planning team as well. A change of use may need planning permission, which is separate from the special treatment licence, so check both with your council before you open.

Your insurance will be checked, so read our guide to insurance for massage therapists before you apply.

Common questions

Do I need a licence if I only see clients at home one day a week?

Usually yes. Councils look at whether you offer treatments from premises, not how often you do it.

I’m CNHC registered. Can I skip the licence?

Possibly. CNHC says the London Special Treatment Group has given its registered therapists exempt status, but your council decides how that applies to you. Some still want a written exemption application before you start, so ask first and keep the reply.

Does my licence move with me if I change rooms?

No. It is tied to the address. A new room needs its own licence, or you work under the licence of the clinic you move into.

How long does it take?

It varies by borough and depends on inspections and any advertising period. Ask your council for its current timescale and apply well before you plan to open.

If you’ve been through the process recently, your experience will save someone else a lot of phone calls. Share what your borough asked for, what it cost and how long it took in the insurance, qualifications and licensing forum. Thinking of starting out? Our guide on whether to become a massage therapist is a good place to begin, and you’ll find more practical advice in our massage guides.