Entry requirements
Education, examination, and application
- Credential
- Licensed Massage Therapist
- Minimum education
- 625 hours
- Approved education
- The current Board rule requires at least 625 supervised clock hours through an approved massage therapy program or a Board-approved apprenticeship. The rule retains subject minimums of 300 hours in massage theory and practice, 100 in anatomy and physiology, 50 in business, ethics, hygiene, and Missouri law, and 50 in ancillary therapies, with remaining hours allocated among approved subjects. Section 324.265 still states 500 hours; follow the Board's current application instructions and confirm which pathway applies.
- Examination
- The current rule recognizes MBLEx and specified legacy national examinations, plus another examination the board determines equivalent.
- MBLEx relationship
- MBLEx is accepted but is not the only examination named in the current rule.
- Application
- Submit the board application, fee, education and examination evidence, disclosures, and fingerprint-based state and federal criminal-history records.
- Application fees
- The board rule and current application list a $125 application fee. Fingerprint-vendor charges are separate and vendor-set.
- Background check or fingerprinting
- Applicants submit fingerprints for Missouri and FBI criminal-history review; the fingerprint-vendor fee is separate.
- Reciprocity or endorsement
- An applicant licensed in another jurisdiction may qualify when that jurisdiction's requirements are substantially the same; otherwise the applicant must satisfy Missouri's current requirements.
- Additional requirements
- Current application instructions require professional liability insurance. Distance, correspondence, or electronic education counts only when board approved.
Renewal
Renewal and continuing education
- Cycle
- Missouri massage therapist licenses operate on a two-year renewal period.
- Deadline model
- Renew through the board process by the license expiration date; late renewal and reinstatement windows apply after expiration.
- Fees
- The current rule lists a $100 renewal fee, $50 fee for renewal 1–30 days late, $100 reinstatement fee for 31 days through two years, and a separate $50 late-CE fee.
- Continuing education
- A licensee completes 12 hours of board-recognized continuing education during each two-year license period.
- Required subjects
- No universal topic-specific CE allocation was identified in the reviewed current rule; course and provider eligibility remain subject to board standards.
- Documentation
- Licensees retain CE documentation for four years and provide it when requested.
- Carryover
- No carryover authorization was identified in the reviewed current rule.
- Late renewal
- A CE deficiency may be cured within 30 days subject to the late-CE fee; reinstatement remains available for up to two years after expiration under the rule.
- Inactive license
- No general inactive-license pathway was established in the reviewed current therapist rule.
Practice information
Scope, titles, and local requirements
- Scope of practice
- Missouri statutes and board rules define and regulate massage therapy practice.
- Protected titles
- The regulated credential is Licensed Massage Therapist, and unlicensed practice is prohibited except where a statutory exemption applies.
- Restrictions
- Licensees must follow professional conduct, sanitation, recordkeeping, and insurance standards in the board rules.
- Municipal or local requirements
- State law preempts local licensing and regulation of massage therapists and massage businesses but preserves zoning, local health, occupational-license taxes, and generally applicable regulation.
- Establishments and other regulated activities
- Massage businesses are separately licensed and subject to general-liability, inspection, and operating requirements.
- Practitioner notes
- Confirm the current board rule, fee schedule, insurance evidence, and the unresolved 500-versus-625-hour conflict before applying.
Change history
Public record revisions
Future verified changes will be listed from this Git-backed record.