State Certifications

What are the state requirements for a Massage Therapist?

Most areas in the country require a massage therapist to obtain a license in order to practice. Licensing requirements vary greatly from state-to-state and city-to-city. Currently, there are 39 states in the United States that require and issue Massage Therapist licenses.

State Contact Information
Alaska Currently no state requirements 
Alabama  http://www.almtbd.state.al.us/
Arkansas http://www.arkansasmassagetherapy.com
Arizona  http://www.massageboard.az.gov
California State regulation in process (coming 9/2009)
Colorado http://www.dora.state.co.us/registrations
Connecticut http://www.ct.gov/dph/site/default.asp
Delaware  http://www.dpr.delaware.gov
Florida http://www.doh.state.fl.us
Georgia http://sos.georgia.gov/plb/massage
Hawaii http://hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/pvl/boards/massage
Idaho Currently no state requirements 
Illinois http://www.idfpr.com/dpr/who/masst.asp
Indiana Currently no state requirements 
Iowa http://www.idph.state.ia.us/licensure
Kansas Currently no state requirements 
Kentucky http://finance.ky.gov/ourcabinet/caboff/OAS/op
Louisiana  http://www.lsbmt.org
Maine  http://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/index.shtml
Maryland  http://www.mdmassage.org
Massachusetts  http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=ocasubtopic&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Licensee&L2=Division+of+Professional+Licensure+Boards&L3=Board+of+Registration+of+Massage+Therapy&sid=Eoca
Michigan Currently no state requirements 
Minnesota  Currently no state requirements 
Mississippi  http://www.msbmt.state.ms.us/msbmt/msbmt.nsf
Missouri http://pr.mo.gov/massage.asp 
Montana  Currently no state requirements 
Nebraska http://www.hhs.state.ne.us/crl/mhcs/mass/massage.htm 
Nevada http://massagetherapy.nv.gov
New Hampshire  http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/DHHS_SITE/default.htm
New Jersey  http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/nursing/know.htm
New Mexico http://www.rld.state.nm.us/massage/index.html 
New York  http://www.op.nysed.gov/massage.htm
North Carolina  http://www.bmbt.org
North Dakota  http://www.ndboardofmassage.com
Ohio http://med.ohio.gov/MTsubwebindex.htm 
Oklahoma  Currently no state requirements 
Oregon http://www.oregon.gov/OBMT
Pennsylvania Currently no state requirements 
Rhode Island  http://www.health.ri.gov
South Carolina http://www.llr.state.sc.us
South Dakota  http://doh.sd.gov/boards/Massage/
Tennessee http://health.state.tn.us/Boards/Massage
Texas  http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/massage/default.shtm 
Utah http://www.dopl.utah.gov/licensing/massage.html 
Vermont Currently no state requirements 
Virginia  http://www.dhp.virginia.gov
Washington https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/hps3/Massage_Therapy/licensure.htm
Washington DC http://hpla.doh.dc.gov/hpla/cwp/view,a,1195,q,488169,hplaNav,|30663|,.asp 
West Virginia http://www.wvmassage.org
Wisconsin http://drl.wi.gov
Wyoming Currently no state requirements 

For information on specific state requirements for licensing, visit the state’s government web site.

For those states that do not require state licensing, there are usually individual city requirements. You will have to inquire at your city’s local government office on how to obtain a license from the city.

Hear Massage Therapists discuss the benefits they have at Massage Envy.

Hear Massage Therapists discuss the benefits they have at Massage Envy.

Take a tour of a Massage Envy clinic.

Take a tour of a Massage Envy clinic.