Utah is turning up the heat on storefronts that quietly sell sex while advertising massage therapy. State regulators and local police say a new 2025 law finally gives them practical tools like registration, owner background checks, and on-site inspection authority that they did not have before. The goal, they say, is to make it far harder for illicit parlors to simply slap on a new name and reopen a few doors down.
What the law requires
Under the statute, most massage businesses must register with the Division of Professional Licensing. Owners and general managers are subject to criminal background checks and fingerprinting, as detailed by ABMP. The law also lays out requirements for signage, recordkeeping, and employee documentation, all of which can be reviewed when inspectors visit a business.
How the state will roll it out
The law took effect on Oct. 1, 2025, and the Division of Professional Licensing has 180 days to finalize its administrative rules, according to the Utah Department of Commerce. The agency expects to open registration for establishments in early 2026. Its guidance also notes that in-house fingerprinting will be discontinued, and that businesses will receive instructions on how to submit prints once the registration portal goes live. Regulators say the schedule is meant to give legitimate operators a reasonable runway to comply while giving investigators better information for tracking who actually owns and runs these shops.
Why police say it will help
State officials and police describe the measure as a direct answer to what they call a revolving door of storefronts that host illegal activity, shut down, and then pop back up under a different name. “Get out of town. Get out of our state,” Margaret Busse, executive director of the Department of Commerce, told reporters, according to the Idaho State Journal.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd said investigators have identified nearly 200 suspected illicit massage businesses statewide, including 61 in Salt Lake City, and argued that the new registration data should give officers stronger leads. Mark Steinagel, director of the Division of Professional Licensing, added that the law makes it unlawful to lock doors or otherwise block inspectors from entering a business during an inspection.
Industry reaction and politics
An earlier version of the proposal met resistance from the American Massage Therapy Association, which warned that some language could weaken professional safeguards, according to the American Massage Therapy Association. Lawmakers and industry groups spent the legislative session negotiating changes, and sponsors ultimately pitched the final bill as a way to shield legitimate therapists while zeroing in on exploitative operators. Supporters point to other cities, including Aurora, Colorado, where tighter licensing rules and the ability to revoke licenses have been used to stop problematic parlors from reopening again and again.
Legal implications
The bill was passed by the 2025 Legislature and signed by Gov. Spencer Cox, according to the Utah Governor’s Office. Backers say it closes a long-standing administrative loophole that kept most enforcement aimed at individual workers instead of business owners. Legal analyses note that the measure expands what counts as unlawful conduct related to massage operations and can create misdemeanor exposure for certain violations, per the Utah Defense Attorney Association. The law also lets the state alert cities when owners fail to register, giving local governments another way to pull business licenses…