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Maine massage licensing record

Maine requires an individual license to practice and use the massage therapist or massage practitioner title, subject to the chapter's defined exemptions.

Statewide requirements and local regulation are identified separately. This record is general information, not legal advice.

Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation

State licensing guide

Overview

State massage therapist license required

Last verified 2026-07-29 · next review 2026-10-29

Maine expressly permits municipalities to adopt and enforce more restrictive massage ordinances in addition to the state credential.

Regulatory authority

Maine Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation

Visit the official authority

Local business, facility, zoning, and professional rules may apply in addition to statewide requirements. Confirm current requirements with the responsible authority before acting.

Entry requirements

Education, examination, and application

Credential
Massage Therapist
Minimum education
500 hours
Approved education
Maine's unusual alternative qualification permits an applicant to qualify by completing at least 500 hours of Department-approved training or by passing an examination sponsored by NCBTMB, FSMTB, a successor, or another Department-approved organization.
Examination
An accepted NCBTMB or FSMTB examination is one independent qualification route; it is not required when the applicant instead establishes at least 500 hours of approved training.
MBLEx relationship
MBLEx may satisfy the FSMTB examination alternative. It is not the only qualification route and does not replace the application, age, diploma, fee, background check, or Maine license.
Application
Apply online with identity and qualification evidence, age and high-school completion attestations, the $40 license fee, and the $21 State Bureau of Identification criminal-history fee.
Application fees
The current Office page lists a $40 license fee and $21 criminal-history check fee for initial licensure; annual renewal is $40 and late renewal adds $50.
Background check or fingerprinting
Initial applicants pay the State Bureau of Identification fee for a criminal-history check. The reviewed current page does not instruct routine fingerprint submission for this credential.
Reciprocity or endorsement
Maine provides licensure by endorsement through the commissioner's title 10 process; applicants may choose endorsement or another qualification route authorized by chapter 127.
Additional requirements
Applicants must be at least 18 and hold a high-school diploma or equivalent. No statewide practitioner liability-insurance mandate was identified in chapter 127 or the current licensing page.

Renewal

Renewal and continuing education

Cycle
The license renews annually on the anniversary of initial licensure unless the commissioner assigns another date.
Deadline model
Renew by the credential's annual anniversary date shown in the Office record.
Fees
The current Office page lists $40 annual renewal and a $50 late fee.
Continuing education
Chapter 127 authorizes the Department to establish CE by rule, but the current massage licensing page and reviewed program rule do not impose a recurring massage therapist CE-hour requirement.
Required subjects
No recurring CE subject minimum was identified for massage therapist renewal under the reviewed current statute, rules page, and licensing instructions.
Documentation
Renew through the Office portal and retain the credential and application evidence; no recurring massage CE certificate submission is represented.
Carryover
Because no recurring massage CE hours were identified, no carryover or online-hour limit is represented.
Late renewal
Renewal is allowed up to 90 days after expiration with the renewal and late fees. More than 90 days generally triggers new-applicant requirements, although the commissioner may waive examination for an application received within two years.
Inactive license
No separate elective inactive massage therapist status was identified in chapter 127 or the current Office licensing page.

Practice information

Scope, titles, and local requirements

Scope of practice
Chapter 127 defines massage therapy and limits the license to qualified individuals.
Protected titles
A person may not claim to be a massage therapist or massage practitioner unless licensed or specifically exempt.
Restrictions
Practice remains subject to chapter 127, Office discipline authority, and any more restrictive municipal ordinance.
Municipal or local requirements
Section 14310 expressly permits municipal ordinances regulating massage, practitioners, or therapists; practitioners must comply with the state chapter and any more restrictive local provision.
Establishments and other regulated activities
No separate statewide massage-establishment license was identified in chapter 127; municipal and generally applicable business or premises requirements may apply.
Practitioner notes
Use the Office's license search and complaint resources and check the practice municipality for an additional massage ordinance.

Authoritative sources

Official record evidence

Change history

Public record revisions

Future verified changes will be listed from this Git-backed record.