Family & Community Alternative Education
Massachusetts Proprietary Schools

Massage Therapy Teacher Qualifications

On June 29, 2006, Chapter 135 of the Acts of 2006, An Act Relative to the Licensure of Massage Therapists, was enacted, which established the Board of Registration of Massage Therapy (Board). The Board is responsible for promulgating rules and regulations governing the licensure of massage therapists, massage therapy salons, and the operation of massage therapy schools. The regulations for the licensing of massage therapists went into effect on December 28, 2007 and in accordance with M.G.L. c. 112, § 227, apply to individuals who either teach or administer massage therapy for compensation.

The Board plans on adopting regulations regarding the oversight of massage facilities and the operation of massage therapy schools in the near future. Until such time as the Board promulgates regulations governing the operation of massage therapy schools, private business schools that offer courses or programs in massage therapy will continue to be licensed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in accordance with M.G.L. c. 75D.

M.G.L. c. 112, § 228, requires all massage therapy instructors to be licensed by the Board as massage therapists. The licensure requirements do not apply to instructors who use touch, words, or directed movement to deepen awareness of patterns of movement in the body, or the affectation of the human energy system or acupoints or Qi meridians of the human body. Such practices include, but are not be limited to:

These programs may use terms such as "bodywork", "bodyworker" and "bodywork therapist" in their promotional literature; however, they may not claim to teach massage or massage therapy.

All teachers that have received approval from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to provide massage therapy instruction must obtain their massage therapist license from the Board by May 1, 2008. All schools that are providing massage therapy instruction must submit documentation to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education by May 1, 2008 that its massage therapy instructors are licensed massage therapists. Any instructor teaching massage therapy that is not licensed as a massage therapist by May 1, 2008 will not be legally employable as a massage therapist instructor.

Licensure Requirements for Massage Therapists

The licensure requirements for massage therapists are set forth in 269 CMR 3.00.

Individuals who apply for licensure prior to May 1, 2008 may be eligible for licensure under the "grandfathering" provision if they meet the following requirements:

1. Possess a high school diploma or its equivalent;
2. Be at least 18 years of age;
3. Provide the Board with two letters of professional reference, one of which shall be from an employer in the massage therapy field, massage therapy instructor, or health care provider who can address the applicant's competency and integrity and one from any unrelated person who can attest to the applicant's business or professional integrity;
4. Be of good moral character;
5. Have not been convicted of a sexually-related crime or a crime involving moral turpitude for a period of 10 years immediately prior to application date;
6. Provide proof of coverage by a professional liability insurance policy of at least $2,000,000 per occurrence and at least $3,000,000 aggregate; and
7. Evidence of one of the following:
   • 500 hours of paid professional massage therapy practice within 5 years prior to application; or
   • Authorization to practice massage therapy by a city or town within the Commonwealth within the 2 years prior to application; or
   • Passage of either the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage (NCETM) or the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB), which are administered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB).

Individuals who apply after May 1, 2008 must meet the requirements listed in 1 through 6 above, as well as one of the following requirements:

• Hold a license, certification or registration as a massage therapist, from a state or jurisdiction with equivalent standards; or
• Completed a Board-approved course of study that includes a minimum of 500 classroom hours or an equivalent number of credit hours of supervised instruction at a licensed massage school.

If you have any questions, please contact Ann Constable (Ann.Constable@state.ma.us or 617-727-1747), the Board's Executive Director, or Mary Jayne Fay with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Office of Proprietary Schools (proprietaryschools@doe.mass.edu or 781-338-6048).