Casper, Wyoming — Following deliberation and feedback from various local experts, the City of Casper will abolish provisions of the municipal code governing massage therapists and massage parlors.
At its Tuesday work session, the Casper City Council voted to delete the permitting sections of the city’s ordinance while also campaigning for the state to establish a licensing board for massage therapists in Wyoming. It will also repeal the business license provision of the ordinance. Casper is currently only available
The current ordinance can be found in Chapter 8.04 of the Casper Municipal Code, which deals with businesses that affect public health. Massage therapists must obtain city permission, pass a background check, and provide documents verifying completion of a massage therapy school.
The ordinance was originally intended to help give traction to efforts to develop statewide massage therapist rules. Because that never happened, the city is serving as the licensing agency, which municipal staff say is difficult.
“It’s not working as intended, and we don’t believe it can be used effectively at the city level,” Casper Chief of Staff Fleur Tremel said. “We don’t have the expertise to do this here.”
The state currently utilizes licensing boards to assess the qualifications of many other health-related professions and services, such as tattoo artists, counselors, physical therapists, dietitians, and others. The complete list of Wyoming’s licensed professions can be found here.
According to City Attorney Eric Nelson, most states have a statewide licensing board for massage therapists, with Wyoming being one of just three in the country without one.
The repeal of the law will be voted on at a future City Council meeting and will require many readings before it becomes effective.
