Nebraska massage licensing record

State licensure does not displace generally applicable local zoning, occupancy, fire, or business requirements.

• Official application
• Official renewal information
• Official statutes or rules

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

Credential

Licensed Massage Therapist

Minimum education

1000 hours

Approved education

An approved massage school provides at least 1,000 hours over at least nine months, including 100 hours each in physiology, anatomy, massage, pathology, hydrotherapy, hygiene and practical demonstration, and health-service management, plus 300 related clinical-practice hours.

Examination

Applicants pass MBLEx and complete Nebraska's free open-book jurisprudence examination on therapist and establishment law.

MBLEx relationship

MBLEx is the current national licensure examination in the DHHS application path.

Application

Submit the DHHS application, fee, official education evidence, MBLEx evidence, jurisprudence examination, disclosures, and any required credential verifications.

Application fees

The current application and Title 172 fee schedule list $110 for the initial license and $25 for a temporary license; a reduced $27.50 initial fee applies when issued within 180 days of expiration, subject to waiver rules.

Background check or fingerprinting

The application requires conviction and discipline disclosures. A routine fingerprint-based check for every massage applicant was not identified in the massage-specific application and current profession page.

Reciprocity or endorsement

Nebraska provides credential review and statutory reciprocity paths, including a military-spouse temporary pathway. Equivalency and current good standing remain case specific.

Additional requirements

A practitioner must hold the individual license and generally work in a licensed establishment. The reviewed therapist sources do not impose a general individual liability-insurance mandate.

Cycle

Massage therapist licenses expire November 1 of each odd-numbered year.

Deadline model

Submit renewal by November 1 of the odd-numbered expiration year; practice after expiration requires reinstatement.

Fees

The biennial renewal fee is $110. The current reinstatement application lists $145 in every even-year month and in January through April and November through December of odd years; it lists $62.50 in May through October of odd years.

Continuing education

Licensees complete 16 hours per renewal period, including at least 8 hands-on hours; no more than 50 percent may be obtained through online or electronic media.

Required subjects

At least 8 hours must be hands-on massage technique; current rules also define acceptable professional subject matter.

Documentation

Licensees retain and provide completion evidence under the current renewal and audit process; DHHS does not preapprove individual CE programs.

Carryover

Reinstatement hours may also count for the renewal at the end of that renewal period; no broader carryover rule was identified.

Late renewal

An expired license must be reinstated before practice; unauthorized practice may produce a daily administrative penalty.

Inactive license

Inactive status may be requested at renewal or in writing; reinstatement requires the current application, fees, and CE.

Scope of practice

Nebraska defines massage therapy as physical, mechanical, or electrical manipulation of soft tissue for specified therapeutic purposes; reflexology is included.

Protected titles

A person may not practice massage therapy without the Nebraska credential.

Restrictions

Practice must remain within the statutory scope and occur in a qualifying licensed establishment unless a specific exception applies.

Municipal or local requirements

No broad preemption of generally applicable local business, zoning, fire, or occupancy rules was identified.

Establishments and other regulated activities

Massage establishments and qualifying school operations are separately licensed. Mobile establishments have additional statutory requirements, including vehicle liability insurance.

Practitioner notes

Use DHHS verification and investigations resources for license status and complaints.

• Nebraska DHHS — Massage Therapy · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Massage Therapy Practice Act, Sections 38-1701 through 38-1725 · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Revised Statute 38-1703 — Approved Massage Therapy School · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Revised Statute 38-1709 — License Required · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Revised Statute 38-1711 — Temporary License · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Administrative Code Title 172 Chapter 81 — Licensure of Massage Therapists · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Massage Therapy License and Temporary License Application · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Administrative Code Title 172 Chapter 2 — Credential Fees · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Massage Therapist Renewal Notice · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Massage Therapy Reinstatement Application · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska Massage Therapy Establishment Application · accessed 2026-07-28
• Nebraska DHHS — Massage Therapy FAQs · accessed 2026-07-28

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