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Alaska State Guide

Alaska massage therapy guide

Explore Alaska massage licensing requirements, education starting points, professional organizations, insurance considerations, continuing education, workforce data, and official resources, with dated official sources and scheduled review.

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

View Alaska licensingExplore education

Claim-level cautions

Check these bounded details

These cautions apply only to the named fields. They do not invalidate the rest of the independently supported Alaska record.

entry.applicationProcess

Current filing instructions control

The current applications page offers online and paper filing, while an older FAQ retains mail-only wording. Follow the current Board instructions when applying.

renewal.continuingEducation

Board-meeting credit sources differ

The controlling regulation awards three credits for at least 75 percent attendance once per biennium. Board forms and FAQ contain lower, inconsistent values; the regulation controls this record.

entry.alternatePathways

Apprenticeship is not operational

Statute preserves a Board-approved apprenticeship pathway, but the Board states it cannot operate until implementing regulations are adopted.

Alaska licensing

State license required to practice massage therapy for compensation or represent oneself as a massage therapist

Alaska generally requires a massage therapist license for compensated massage practice and protected massage representations. The examination pathway requires age 18, 625 hours from an approved massage school or a Board-approved apprenticeship, an approved national examination, current CPR certification, recent bloodborne-pathogens and universal-precautions training, fingerprints, and state and national criminal-history review. The statute contains specific exemptions, and massage establishments may have a separate registration obligation.

A valid Alaska massage therapist license is required statewide for compensated massage practice or protected massage representations unless a statutory exemption applies. General local business, zoning, land-use, tax, or facility rules may apply separately, but no separate local professional credential was identified in the reviewed statewide sources.

View the full Alaska licensing record →
Regulator
Alaska Board of Massage Therapists, Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing
Credential
Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)
Education
625 hours
Renewal
Massage therapist licenses renew biennially. The next regular expiration after this record's July 2026 verification is September 30, 2027.

Education

Massage education in Alaska

Compare a non-ranked starting set of four current Alaska programs while checking the official ACPE directory and each school's latest materials. This is a selected starting set, not a complete directory.

Anchorage

Alaska Institute of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture & Massage Therapy

Program
750 hours
Format
Campus-based; confirm whether any current coursework uses an authorized distance format directly with the school
Published tuition
Not established in reviewed materials

The program page publishes full-time and part-time availability.

Visit official program →
Sources and review

Verified 2026-07-13

School approval is not the same as massage licensure, accreditation, or a guarantee of outcomes. Confirm current approval, cost, schedule, and admissions directly before enrolling.

Professional support

Professional organizations

Connect the verified Alaska AMTA chapter presence and ABMP's Alaska-specific regulatory role without treating either organization as a regulator.

State chapter of a national professional association

American Massage Therapy Association — Alaska Chapter

AMTA identifies Alaska among its volunteer-led state chapters and describes chapter participation as a route to local professional connection, education, volunteering, and advocacy.

AMTA credits the Alaska chapter and volunteers with advocacy opposing Executive Order 127 and reports that the proposal to dissolve the independent Massage Board was overturned in March 2024.

Member support

  • Alaska chapter connection
  • National AMTA member resources
  • Professional advocacy
  • Education and networking opportunities described for AMTA chapters
Visit the official organization →
National professional association with Alaska-specific regulatory coverage

Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals

ABMP supports massage and bodywork practitioners nationally and maintains an Alaska-specific regulatory update feed that documents state licensing developments and advocacy.

The Alaska feed records ABMP commentary supporting continuation of the Alaska Board of Massage Therapists and earlier participation in Alaska massage rulemaking.

Member support

  • Alaska regulatory update feed
  • National legislative advocacy
  • On-demand continuing education
  • Practice resources
  • Member insurance offerings
Visit the official organization →

Practice risk

Insurance considerations

The Alaska Board of Massage Therapists FAQ expressly states that the Board does not require massage therapists to carry liability insurance and strongly recommends coverage. This Board-specific finding does not determine employer, independent-contractor, facility, landlord, lender, event, vendor, payer, municipal, or other contractual requirements.

General information only—not legal, financial, or coverage advice.

Insurance sources

Questions for an insurer

  • Which massage and bodywork modalities are covered or excluded?
  • Are defense costs inside or outside the liability limit?
  • Does coverage follow the practitioner across every Alaska location, mobile visit, event, and temporary site?
  • Are employees, independent contractors, students, products, premises, prior acts, cyber/privacy events, and business property covered?
  • What incident-reporting deadlines, record duties, consent requirements, and Alaska-specific endorsements apply?

AMTA describes massage liability insurance as a professional-member benefit. This is an identified association-linked option, not a ranking or endorsement; review current eligibility, terms, limits, and exclusions.

License renewal

Continuing education

Alaska's massage rule defines eligible provider categories rather than publishing one general Board-approved CE provider directory. Renewal requires 16 credits per biennium, including two ethics credits, plus current CPR. Use the canonical Alaska licensing record and current rule for exact hour, timing, first-renewal, CPR, meeting-credit, documentation, and audit conditions.

Licensees attest to CE and CPR compliance at renewal, retain adequate and detailed CE records for four years from the date earned, and submit verification if selected for audit. The centralized audit rule sets a 30-day response deadline unless the department grants an extension. Current renewal materials require instructor-signed CE certificates.

See detailed Alaska renewal and CE requirements →

Official CE starting points

Board applications, renewal, reinstatement, and CE formsOpen official resource ↗Board meetings and agendasOpen official resource ↗

Employment and wages

Alaska workforce outlook

The federal May 2025 OEWS estimate for Alaska reports 570 wage-and-salary massage therapist jobs, a $64.87 median hourly wage, and a $134,930 median annual wage. The employment estimate has a 13.8 percent relative standard error. A separate Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development projection begins at 448 jobs in 2022 and projects 494 in 2032, a gain of 46 jobs or 10.27 percent, with 68 average annual openings. The datasets have different reference periods and methods and are not blended.

May 2025570

BLS OEWS Alaska employment estimate, SOC 31-9011

May 2025$64.87/hr

BLS OEWS median hourly wage, SOC 31-9011

2022-2032 occupational projection10.3%

Alaska projected employment percent change, 2022-2032

BLS OEWS May 2025 and Alaska DOLWD 2022-2032 occupational projections are separate official datasets. The OEWS series provide a May 2025 employment estimate and wage distribution; the Alaska projection table provides a 2022 base, 2032 projection, and average annual exits, transfers, separations, and openings. Reference periods, purposes, and methods differ, so values are displayed independently and are not averaged, spliced, or used as a single trend line.

BLS OEWS excludes self-employed workers, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, and some other categories described in its methodology. Massage therapy has meaningful independent-practice activity, so the 570-job estimate and wage medians do not describe the full practitioner economy or individual business income. Do not assume the Alaska projections table has identical coverage without checking its current methodology.

Workforce sources and regional projections

Alaska agencies and data

Official resources

Go directly to the Board, ACPE, license search, workforce, and business sources that maintain Alaska information.

licensingAlaska Board of Massage Therapists

Official Board home for Alaska massage therapist licensing, notices, contacts, meetings, applications, laws, and practice resources.

licensingAlaska Massage Therapist Applications and Forms

Current examination, credentials, establishment, renewal, reinstatement, fingerprint, and related Board forms and filing links.

licensingAlaska Massage Therapist Statutes and Regulations

Official Board index and compiled text for AS 08.61 and 12 AAC 79 governing Alaska massage therapist licensing and establishments.

educationAlaska Massage Therapist Apprenticeship Status

Official Board status page for the statutory massage apprenticeship pathway and its current implementation limitation.

licensingAlaska Massage Code of Ethics and Standards

Board-adopted code of ethics, standards of practice, and massage establishment standards of operation.

licensingAlaska Professional License Search

Official state search for professional license and registration records, including massage therapist credentials.

educationAlaska Postsecondary Institution Directory

Official ACPE directory of Alaska postsecondary institutions, status codes, aid participation, and authorization-through dates.

workforceAlaska Occupational Projections

Official Alaska DOLWD occupational projections table with base employment, projected employment, growth, exits, transfers, separations, and openings.

businessAlaska New Business License Online

Official state starting point for applying for an Alaska business license, separate from professional licensure and massage establishment registration.

Sources and updates

Reviewed July 13, 2026

Information was reviewed against the linked official and first-party sources. Next scheduled review: August 13, 2026.

Official authority and source list

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

Method and sources →Corrections and updates →