Entry requirements
Education, examination, and application
- Credential
- Licensed Massage Therapist
- Minimum education
- 800 hours
- Approved education
- For an applicant pursuing a first Rhode Island massage therapist license on or after January 1, 2026, chapter 5-95 requires at least 800 hours of supervised in-class, hands-on, and clinical education from a qualifying program.
- Examination
- Applicants pass MBLEx or another national examination approved by the Department.
- MBLEx relationship
- MBLEx is the current named national examination and does not replace 800 hours, CPR and first aid, background screening, application, or the Rhode Island license.
- Application
- Submit the Department application, $65 fee, official 800-hour education evidence, examination score, current CPR and first-aid evidence, and the national criminal background check supported by fingerprints.
- Application fees
- The current application and Department fee rule list $65 for application; the fee rule also lists $65 for renewal.
- Background check or fingerprinting
- Initial applicants submit to a national criminal background check supported by fingerprints.
- Reciprocity or endorsement
- Chapter 5-95 permits licensure by endorsement for an out-of-state applicant whose education and practice evidence satisfy the statutory equivalency calculation and whose credentials are verified.
- Additional requirements
- Applicants maintain current CPR and first-aid certification. No statewide practitioner professional-liability insurance mandate was identified in chapter 5-95, the current Department page, or the active rule.
Renewal
Renewal and continuing education
- Cycle
- Current chapter 5-95 establishes a two-year licensing cycle. The Department page identifies the July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027 renewal period.
- Deadline model
- Renew on the Department's assigned biennial schedule. Current law and the Department use the July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027 cycle, while the active 2024 rule and September 2025 application retain older annual June 30 wording; confirm the assigned date in the Department portal.
- Fees
- The current Department fee rule lists a $65 renewal fee.
- Continuing education
- Chapter 5-95 and the Department require 24 hours during the two-year renewal period; the Department notes the increase from six hours for the July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2027 cycle.
- Required subjects
- The statute permits Department-approved sponsors and online education; no recurring ethics, law, or hands-on subminimum is stated in the current chapter.
- Documentation
- Licensees retain and supply CE evidence through the Department renewal process; the Department may waive the requirement for documented hardship.
- Carryover
- The current statute does not authorize carryover and expressly allows online education without stating a separate online-hour maximum.
- Late renewal
- The newer statute, older active rule, and current application materials do not present a fully reconciled public late-renewal and reinstatement workflow; confirm with the Department before relying on a lapsed credential pathway.
- Inactive license
- No separate elective inactive massage therapist status was identified in chapter 5-95 or the current Department page.
Practice information
Scope, titles, and local requirements
- Scope of practice
- Chapter 5-95 defines massage therapy and establishes the licensed scope, exclusions, and exemptions.
- Protected titles
- A current Department license is required to practice massage therapy and use the licensed title.
- Restrictions
- Licensees follow chapter 5-95, current Department requirements, and professional-conduct, sanitation, consent, and records obligations.
- Municipal or local requirements
- Cities and towns may regulate the location and operation of massage businesses but may not add background-based qualifications beyond the state chapter.
- Establishments and other regulated activities
- No separate statewide massage-establishment license was identified in chapter 5-95; municipal business-location regulation remains expressly available.
- Practitioner notes
- Use the Department's license verification and complaint resources and treat the 2026 statute and current DPH page as stronger than the unreconciled 2024 rule.
Change history
Public record revisions
Future verified changes will be listed from this Git-backed record.