As with many professions, those in the massage therapy industry are required to renew their license. This ensures that you as a therapist stay on top of changes and advancements in the industry. In turn, you’re able to continuously provide the best possible service to clients, regardless of how long it's been since you initially became licensed.
How Often Is Renewal Required?
Individual states set their own laws and regulations when it comes to how often massage therapists need to renew their licenses. In most states, the renewal period is two years. During this time, the majority of the states require that current massage therapists complete at least 16 hours of continuing education (CE) credits before their license is set to expire. Specific expiration dates can also vary from one state to the next. Some states, for example, will set a uniform expiration date for all licenses whereas others will base expiration off of the carrier's date of birth.
What Are The Renewal Requirements?
As part of the 16 credits required for license renewal, most states also mandate that at least four of those credits come from ethics training related to massage therapy. It should also be noted that excess credits cannot be rolled over and used toward the next renewal period; they're only applicable during the two-year period in which they're obtained.
What Counts As A Continuing Education Credit?
There are essentially three different types of continuing education (CE) credits that can count toward your license renewal as a massage therapist. The first type of credit comes from taking an approved course, seminar, or workshop related to massage therapy practices. In most cases, the workshop or class must be "hands-on" massage training in order to count toward credit. Check with your state licensing boards before enrolling to ensure that the course will be counted.
The second type of CE credit is one obtained by taking a course of study at a university or college. The course must be taken at a registered massage therapy school or offered by a licensed massage therapy instructor in order to count as a CE credit.
Last, current massage therapists have the option to publish their own work in an approved publication, such as a magazine or journal, in order to receive CE credit. The publication can be local, national, or even global. However, in most cases, no more than 12 credits per renewal period can be applied based on publications alone.
Know What Your Career Will Require
As you can see, there's quite a bit to learn and understand when it comes to keeping your massage therapy license current. However, once you go through the renewal process once, it will become a lot easier for you when you have to do it again down the road.
