Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam

Massage and Bodywork Licensing Exam (MBLEX)

There is a new test in town! The Federation of State Massage Therapy boards, founded in 2004, has developed and released a state licensing exam. The members of the Federation are persons that hold board positions on state massage boards across the country.

There are four major reasons why states should choose the MBLEX over other options:

1. to offer the first standardized licensing exam for the massage and bodywork profession
2. to facilitate professional mobility;
3. to give the regulatory community oversight over the content, and policies and procedures pertaining to the exam; and not leave these critical functions up to an independent organization who has their own agenda
4. to significantly speed up the process between application and examination to avoid unnecessary delays in licensure.

The MBLEX has been adopted by16 states as either a choice for therapist licensing or as the only option.

Arkansas
Georgia
Iowa
Louisiana
Maine
Mississippi
New Mexico*
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Washington
West Virginia

*The New Mexico Massage Therapy Board intends to use the MBLEx for licensure purposes; however, until the Rules language is rewritten, NM cannot currently accept MBLEX scores.

For more information about the Federation of State Massage Boards and the MBLEX, visit http://www.fsmtb.org/.