Application and Licensing

(1) Application. (a) Application for licensure must be made in the manner prescribed by the Board. (b) No application shall be acted upon by the Board unless said application is made on forms which are furnished by the Board, and unless said application is completely and properly filled out in the manner prescribed by the Board, attested to under the pains and penalties of perjury, and accompanied by such other information that the Board may require. (c) Incomplete applications will be held open for 180 calendar days. Licensure. With the exception of those provisions in 269 CMR 3.01(3), in order to be licensed as a Massage Therapist, applicants must meet the requirements for licensure set by M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 227 through 235, to wit: (a) Possess a high school diploma or its equivalent. An equivalent shall include a General Equivalency Diploma (“GED”), or a transcript from a regionally-accredited institution of higher education, or, in the discretion of the Board, similar documents from foreign jurisdictions; (b) Be 18 years of age or older; (c) Provide the Board with two letters of professional reference, of which: One letter shall be from an employer in the massage therapy or medical field, massage therapy educator, Massage Therapist, or health care provider with whom the applicant has had a professional relationship who should address the applicant’s competency and integrity; and 2. One letter shall be from any, unrelated individual who should attest to the applicant’s business or professional integrity; (d) Be of good moral character as set forth in 269 CMR 3.04; (e) Have successfully completed a Board-approved course of study, including a minimum of 650 classroom hours or an equivalent number of credit hours of supervised instruction at a Licensed Massage School, including 300 supervised classroom hours in Massage Theory and Technique, 150 hours of which meet the definition of “massage” in M.G.L. c. 112, §§ 227 and 228(a), and including 100 hours of unpaid and supervised clinical or externship experience. The Board-approved school program shall also include federal, Massachusetts and local laws and regulations pertaining to massage therapy practice; The Board may accept a course of study at an out-of-state school provided the following criteria are met: the school is approved by the corresponding entity to Massachusetts regulating massage schools in that other state or is licensed by an agency in that other state recognized by the United States Department of Education; and 2. the applicant completes a course in Massachusetts laws and regulations pertaining to massage therapy practice or passes a Massachusetts jurisprudence examination as required by the Board. (f) Have not been convicted, in any jurisdiction, of a sexually-related crime or a crime involving moral turpitude for a period of ten years immediately prior to the date of application; (g) Provide proof of coverage by an individual professional liability insurance policy of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and at least $1,000,000 aggregate; (Mass. Register #1560, 11/7/2025) 3.01: continued (h) Pay the non-refundable fee as established by the Secretary of Administration and Finance pursuant to M.G.L. c. 7, § 3B; and (i) For applications submitted after January 1, 2027, the applicant must receive a passing score on an examination approved by the Board. (3) Reciprocal Licensure. The Board, upon receipt of the required, non-refundable fee and a completed, Board-approved application, pursuant to M.G.L. c. 112, § 230, may issue a reciprocal license without examination to any person who holds a license as a Massage Therapist, or the equivalent thereof, as determined by the Board, issued by another state or jurisdiction, provided that: (a) The requirements and standards for that license are reasonably equivalent to or exceed the standards of the Commonwealth, as determined by the Board; (b) The applicant meets the requirements of 269 CMR 3.01(2)(a) through (i). (c) When considering reasonable equivalency for reciprocal licensure, the Board may consider the applicant’s documented hours of Massage experience as defined in 269 CMR 2.01: Definitions gained after licensure in other state or jurisdiction, or passage of a board- approved examination in lieu of missing education or experience; and (d) The Board shall not grant reciprocal licensure to any person whose license to practice massage therapy is revoked or suspended by any other jurisdiction.