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National Certification for Massage Therapy is offered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.  (NCBTMB).  The problem though is that this does not really mean that you can practice anywhere in the US with just taking one exam.  There is no “National Certification” in massage that will allow you to practice in any state.

Each state has different laws regarding the practice of massage and each has a different number of hours of education requirements.  The number of hours of training needed varies between 500-1000 hours of training and even within that requirement are variations in the number of hours of each specific area of training making it even more confusing.  For example: in WA state the required number of hours of training is 500 hours to take the test and become a licensed massage practitioner in WA. (From the WA State Board of Massage)

• 130 hours of anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology including palpation, range of motion, and physics of joint function. There must be a minimum of 40 hours of kinesiology.
• 50 hours of pathology, including indications and contraindications.
• 265 hours of theory and practice of massage, to include techniques, remedial movements, body mechanics of the practitioner, and the impact of techniques on pathologies. A maximum of 50 of these hours may include time spent in a student clinic. Hydrotherapy is to be included when consistent with the particular area of practice.
• 55 hours of clinical/business practices, minimally to include hygiene, record keeping, medical terminology, professional ethics, business management, human behavior, client interaction and state and local laws.
• Certification in American Red Cross first aid and American Heart Association Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
• Four contact hours of training in HIV-AIDS in the following six topics: Etiology and epidemiology; Transmission and infection control; Testing and counseling; Clinical manifestations and treatment; Legal and technical issues; and Psychosocial issues. Training can be obtained from local community hospitals and colleges.

The NCBTMB requirements are:

• A minimum of 500 hours of instruction as follows:
  125 hours of body systems (anatomy, physiology and kinesiology)
  200 hours of massage and bodywork assessment, theory and application, in-class and supervised
  40 hours of pathology
  10 hours of business and ethics (minimum of 6 hours in ethics)
  125 hours of additional instruction in an area or related field that theoretically completes the massage program of study
• Graduate of a NCBTMB Assigned School Code with a current valid transcript submitted to NCBTMB

So more hours of pathology and anatomy are required by the WA State Board of Massage than for the so called National Certification in Massage meaning that if you want to be licensed in WA State you will need more hours than what the NCBTMB requires.

In New Mexico, the basic number of hours required is 650 with a specific number of hours in each of the following (from the New Mexico Board of Massage):

(650) hour program in massage therapy training.  The massage therapy training must meet the following minimum curriculum requirements:

1. 165 hours minimum of anatomy and physiology, to include:
   1. physiology;
   2. anatomy;
   3. kinesiology; and
   4. forty (40) hours minimum of pathology.
2. 150 hours minimum of training in massage therapy as defined in 16.7.1.7 NMAC.
   1. The massage therapy training shall include contraindications of massage therapy.
   2. A minimum of 100 hours of hands on training must be completed before the student is allowed to begin a clinical practicum as defined in 16.7.1.7 NMAC.
3. 75 hours minimum of general instruction to include.
   1. business;
   2. hydrotherapy;
   3. thirty (30) hours minimum of professional ethics;
   4. four hours of first aid; and
   5. four hours of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
4. Electives may include:
   1. additional massage therapy;
   2. related hands-on modalities;
   3. additional anatomy and physiology;
   4. clinical practicum (not to exceed 150 hours);
   5. counseling;
   6. herbology;
   7. homeopathy;
   8. nutrition;
   9. breathing and stretching techniques;
   10. theory; and
   11. other courses with prior board approval.  See 16.7.4.14 NMAC for instructions.

So with such variations in the number of hours required by each state, to have a true “National Certification” would mean that each state would need to change the number of hours of training required.

Currently, if you want to practice massage in another state than the one that you were originally licensed in, you need to fulfill the requirements of that state.  Some states do have reciprocity already set up because they know the requirements of other states will meet their requirements.

There are also three different licensing tests being used by the states.  The NCBTMB offers two different tests and the Federation of Massage State Boards offers another. You will have to find out what your state excepts and fulfill those requirements for massage licensing.

Find out more about becoming a massage therapist.

Careers in Massage

National Certification in Massage Therapy

History of National Certification in Massage

There are many massage therapy licensing issues that are challenging a massage therapists right to practice and how they practice in the US right now.

Florida State’s Bill SB 1860 (PDF)is threatening to stop massage therapists from being able to bill Personal Injury Protection insurance for people who are injured in a motor vehicle collision.  The Consumer Advocates Report states that “Average charges by massage therapists saw the greatest increase, increasing from $2,887 in 2005 to $4,350 in 2010.” which is up much more than orthopedic physicians and acupuncturists.  I think the bill is showing a big problem in the massage profession which is overbilling for massage services for car accidents.  While I do believe we need to fight this bill, the next step would be to look into the problem that brought this bill up and see what can be done to find out if there are many massage therapists who are overbilling or is it needed in the care of injuries sustained in car accidents.

The Florida State Massage Therapy Association has a call to action and you can find out more by asking on their Facebook group page.

Tennessee is also faced with HB 2387 that is trying to move massage therapy from the health related boards to that of the commerce and insurance division–the division that regulates “trades.” The biggest thing would be that massage therapy would then be considered a “trade,” not a “profession,” and insurance companies don’t pay tradespeople. They pay professional health care workers. It would also be a step down for the profession of massage overall moving to that of a trade division.

There is a petition for the TN bill “Stop the deregulation of Massage in TN”

Each state needs to keep up to date with the laws and legislative actions that are constantly  happening.  The current economy is challenging the budgets of many states and they are always looking for a way to lower expenses and make more too.

The NCBTMB just announced their latest project – creating an advanced exam to certify massage therapists.   They are doing their job task analysis to determine what is needed but frankly I don’t have much confidence in their company or programs.  This is what they should have been doing all along.  Is it too late?  With the creation of the MBLeX exam which is fast becoming a favorite in each state for licensing requirements they should have started a long time ago rather than putting so much money into fighting the state boards.

I for one have never seen any value in being nationally certified or in maintaining certification.  Are people being asked to prove their credentials in other states?   I used to hear a few mentions of employers only hiring nationally certified massage therapists in small towns or places where massage is not as well known or accepted but that could easily be gotten around by showing that you were an competent massage therapist.

I for one don’t know how they will determine what makes for an advanced massage therapist with all of the different types of massage out there.  Who will need it?  Who will take the test when you can study different types of massage and practice them effectively without it and you can get actual certifications in different types of massage from each school/program.

I actually have started thinking about the idea that basic massage school needs to move into a 3-4 year program like Canada and Japan.  We also should be studying these other countries to see how it is working there.   I used to be in the camp of less education is better and that you could start practicing massage with 100 hours of training and still think that the right person could do that but because there are more massage jobs out there now than there ever has been in the last 20 years the low pay in those jobs is a problem.

They haven’t even done any market research to see if this is needed as far as I know – have they?

What is next for the massage profession?

Read Laura Allen’s blog post on this at www.massagemag.com

NCBTMB Press Release (pdf)

From their press release:

For additional information, contact NCBTMB Director of Exam Development Elizabeth Langston, CAE, at 630-652-0482 or elangston@ncbtmb.org.