Entry requirements
Education, examination, and application
- Credential
- Licensed Massage Therapist
- Minimum education
- 600 hours
- Approved education
- The standard formal-education path requires a qualifying 600-hour curriculum documented through DOPL's education-verification process. An approved apprenticeship requires 1,000 hours and the required logs. Current therapist applicants must also complete the applicable national and Utah law-and-rule examinations.
- Examination
- Current applicants pass MBLEx and the Utah Massage Therapy Law and Rule Examination. Legacy NCETMB, NCETM, or NESL results may substitute for MBLEx only when passed before February 1, 2015 under DOPL guidance.
- MBLEx relationship
- MBLEx is the controlling current national examination path; predecessor exams matter only under the bounded legacy date rule. The separate Utah Massage Therapy Law and Rule Examination is also required.
- Application
- Apply through DOPL with fee, identity and disclosure information, fingerprint-based background review, official DOPL education verification or apprenticeship evidence, and the required national and Utah law-and-rule examination results.
- Application fees
- The current DOPL fee schedule lists a $60 base massage therapist application fee plus the required $12 FP-01 FBI and $20 BCI-01 fingerprint-file-search components. The current paper application displays the resulting $92 combined amount. For online transactions under $100, DOPL separately discloses a standard electronic-payment fee of up to $3; confirm the amount presented when filing.
- Background check or fingerprinting
- Applicants submit fingerprints for DOPL's criminal-history review.
- Reciprocity or endorsement
- DOPL may license by endorsement when the applicant holds an equivalent license in good standing and satisfies the current experience and background requirements.
- Additional requirements
- DOPL requires its education-verification form rather than relying on a transcript alone. Utah does not accept a state-only licensing examination as a substitute for the national-exam requirement, and the separate Utah Massage Therapy Law and Rule Examination is required.
Renewal
Renewal and continuing education
- Cycle
- Massage therapist licenses renew on a two-year cycle and expire May 31 of odd-numbered years.
- Deadline model
- Renew through DOPL by May 31 of the applicable odd-numbered year.
- Fees
- The current DOPL renewal guide lists a $52 massage therapist renewal fee.
- Continuing education
- The current DOPL renewal guide lists no continuing-education requirement for Massage Therapist renewal.
- Required subjects
- No renewal CE subject requirement is listed in the current DOPL renewal guide.
- Documentation
- No CE documentation is identified for ordinary renewal in the current guide; licensees remain responsible for the renewal attestations and any case-specific documentation.
- Carryover
- Carryover is not applicable because the current renewal guide lists no CE requirement.
- Late renewal
- An expiration under two years follows DOPL's late-renewal process; after two years the applicant reapplies under current requirements and completes a new background review.
- Inactive license
- No general inactive-license pathway was established in the reviewed Massage Therapy FAQ and renewal guide.
Practice information
Scope, titles, and local requirements
- Scope of practice
- Utah Code Title 58, Chapter 47b and Rule R156-47b define and regulate massage therapy practice.
- Protected titles
- Utah regulates Licensed Massage Therapist and related statutory credentials and prohibits unlicensed practice except where an exemption applies.
- Restrictions
- Licensees must follow the statutory and rule-based scope, conduct, supervision, establishment, and practice requirements.
- Municipal or local requirements
- The state exclusively licenses individuals. Local governments may regulate establishments and practice through requirements at least as stringent as state law, but may not impose an additional background check.
- Practitioner notes
- Distinguish the $60 base application fee from the paper application's $92 combined processing amount and confirm current rule and payment details before filing.
Change history
Public record revisions
Future verified changes will be listed from this Git-backed record.