If you were touched inappropriately or sexually assaulted during a massage in Illinois, one of the first things you can do is quietly check who the therapist was. Illinois licenses massage therapists, and that means a state agency keeps a complaint and discipline file that has nothing to do with the spa's own records. That file is often the fastest way to learn whether a therapist had been reported before.
You can do this lookup privately. You do not need to have reported the assault, and no one needs to have been charged. A civil claim is not a criminal case. It asks what the business or franchise knew, what it should have known and what it did.
Step One: Search the State License Database
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) oversees massage licenses. Its Check License page links to the Professional Regulation License Look Up tool, where you can search by a therapist's name or license number. IDFPR says the single-license lookup is refreshed daily.
Step Two: Review Public Discipline Reports
IDFPR also has an Enforcement Actions page. From there, you can open the Department's consolidated disciplinary reports, which list actions taken against licensees along with the date and a brief summary of each.
Step Three: Request the Full File
If you want everything IDFPR holds on a particular therapist, the Department says requests for disciplinary documents about an individual go through its Freedom of Information Act process. Those requests are addressed to the Department's FOIA officer.
Where to Find a License Number
Illinois law puts the license number where clients can see it. Under Section 32 of the Massage Therapy Practice Act, every licensee must display their license, with the number visible, at each place they practice. When a client asks, the therapist must show the license along with either a photo badge from the employer or a government photo ID. Section 50 requires the license number on every advertisement. It is a misdemeanor for any person or business to advertise massage unless the person giving it is licensed.
What If There Is No License?
Not finding a massage license is worth noting, but it is not always the end of the story. The Act exempts some other professionals who may perform massage within their own training, including nurses, cosmetologists and estheticians. Certain bodywork, such as reflexology limited to the feet, hands and ears with no disrobing, is exempt as well.
If a spa put an unlicensed person in a treatment room, that is its own problem. Under Section 45, IDFPR can treat an unlicensed business owner who employs unlicensed practitioners as a licensee for purposes of discipline.
The Law That Governs Massage in Illinois
The Massage Therapy Practice Act, 225 ILCS 57, sets the rules. Before Public Act 102-20 took effect on January 1, 2022, it was known as the Massage Licensing Act, and you may still see that name on some state pages. IDFPR administers the Act, and a seven-member Massage Licensing Board advises the Department.
The Act requires anyone who performs massage for compensation to be licensed. Applicants must be at least 18, of good moral character, graduates of a Department-approved massage therapy program of at least 600 hours and must pass an approved competency exam. Their fingerprints go to the Illinois State Police and are checked against state police and FBI criminal history databases. License renewal requires 25 hours of continuing education, including one hour on domestic violence and sexual assault awareness.
How Discipline Works Under Section 45
Section 45 spells out when IDFPR may refuse, suspend, revoke or otherwise discipline a license. One listed ground is immoral conduct related to the therapist's practice, such as sexual abuse, sexual misconduct or sexual exploitation. The Department may also fine a therapist up to $10,000 per violation.
The section includes two rules that survivors should know about. A therapist convicted of prostitution, rape, sexual misconduct or any crime that requires registration under the Sex Offender Registration Act must have their license revoked, and the conviction permanently bars them from practicing massage in Illinois.
Criminal charges can also lead to a chaperone order. When a licensed therapist is charged with certain offenses, including battery against a patient based on sexual conduct during treatment, the prosecutor must notify IDFPR. Within five business days, the Secretary must order that the therapist practice only with a chaperone. The chaperone must give each patient written notice of the order, and patients sign an acknowledgment. If there is no conviction, the order is vacated and taken off the record.
Before any Section 45 discipline, the therapist gets written notice of the charges and a hearing.
License Discipline and a Civil Claim Are Separate
IDFPR decides whether a therapist may keep practicing. It does not award survivors anything, and you do not need an IDFPR finding to bring a civil claim. The discipline record can still be important, though, because it may show what the spa was told and when.
Why Survivors Doubt Themselves
Massage is a setting where undressing and physical contact are expected. That is exactly why people often question their own memory afterward. If you are wrestling with that doubt, you are not alone, and it does not mean your experience was not real.
Who Is Responsible
A massage assault claim is usually brought against the business or franchise, rather than only the therapist. The theory most often at the center is negligent hiring, though several theories usually work together, and the right fit depends on your facts.
The business is usually private, so the Illinois Tort Immunity rules for public bodies do not apply in the same way. The liability questions are the ordinary institutional ones under Illinois law.
When the spa is a franchise, both the local operator and the franchisor may be involved, particularly when the franchisor set the hiring and safety standards the operator was supposed to follow. The local franchisee usually owns the location and hires and schedules therapists. The franchisor licenses its brand and sells the operating system, including the booking platform, training and manuals.
The local owner, as employer, faces the first questions about hiring, screening, training and negligent supervision of staff. Whether the franchisor can also be sued is a separate question. It generally turns on how much control the franchisor had, or reserved the right to have, over hiring, required background checks, how client complaints were reported and handled and what happened to a therapist after a complaint. Another question is whether the brand presented itself so that a client reasonably believed they were dealing with the national company. Illinois courts answer these questions based on the facts and documents, so nothing should be assumed at the outset. Those documents usually include the franchise agreement, the operations manual, any complaint or incident reporting system and records of what each company knew about the therapist before your visit.
How These Cases Come to Light
Most treatment room assaults have no witness. They tend to surface later, when a survivor tells a friend or partner, reads that the same therapist has been accused by someone else or sees a disciplinary notice. Because of the chaperone rule, some clients first learn of a pending case through the written notice they receive.
It can help to write down the date, location, the therapist's name as it appeared on your booking and what you remember. Keep your booking confirmation, receipt and any messages with the spa. The spa will have appointment logs, intake forms, therapist schedules and any earlier complaints. Reporting to the police or to IDFPR is your decision.
Questions People Ask
Do I need to have reported it? No. A civil claim needs no police report, no charge and no conviction. Most people we speak with never reported.
Does someone have to be convicted? No. Civil cases use a lower standard of proof and are usually brought against the institution, not the individual.
It was a long time ago. That is common. Your age at the time, who was responsible and the facts all matter, and timing should be checked with a lawyer.
Can I complain to IDFPR and also bring a civil claim? Yes. The two are separate. IDFPR's process concerns the license, while a civil claim seeks compensation from those responsible, usually the business.
The spa belonged to a national chain. Who is the claim against? Usually the local company that owned the location and employed the therapist. Whether the franchisor can also be named depends on its control over hiring, screening and complaint handling, as shown in the franchise documents.
What Happens After You Call
Nothing starts just because you ask a question. You speak to a person, not a form, and you do not have to explain what happened. We look into which business had a duty, what it knew, what records exist and whether a claim can still be brought, at no cost to you. We tell you plainly what is possible, and you decide. If you stop there, what you shared stays confidential. If you go ahead, we handle the filings, deadlines, records and insurers, and steps can be taken to protect your identity in the court record.
Contact Ervin Nevitt
Ervin Nevitt is a partner at Coplan + Crane, admitted in Illinois in 2014. Call (708) 671-6858 any time; calls are answered 24 hours a day. The office is at 60 W Randolph St, Suite 333, Chicago, IL 60601.
For immediate support, call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. It is free, confidential and open 24/7. If you are in danger, call 911. A hotline call does not affect your legal options.
Attorney advertising. This post is general information, not legal advice.
