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California State Guide

Massage Therapy in California

Explore California 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.

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Before you act

Details worth confirming

2 reviewed licensing details should be confirmed before applying or renewing in California. The licensing record preserves the detailed caution and official context.

  • ExaminationReview needed
  • Licensing updateBounded
Review California licensing details worth confirming →

California licensing

Licensing overview

Review needed

Voluntary statewide CAMTC certification with local practitioner and establishment regulation

Requirements vary by city and county. A person who is not CAMTC certified must comply with every applicable local massage rule; a CAMTC certificate does not replace general business, establishment, zoning, land-use, health-and-safety, or other locally applicable requirements. Verify each place of practice directly with the relevant city or county.

View the full California licensing record →
Regulatory model
Voluntary statewide CAMTC certification with local practitioner and establishment regulation
Verified

Compact statewide or local regulatory orientation; detailed legal treatment remains in the licensing record.

Regulator
California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC)
Verified

Current state or local authority identified in the licensing record.

Credential
Certified Massage Therapist (CMT)
Verified

Credential title from the canonical licensing record.

Minimum education
500 hours
Verified

Statewide entry-education orientation; pathway details remain in the licensing record.

Examination
No statewide examination requirement
Review needed

Reviewed official sources conflict or include superseded wording; confirm the current detail in the licensing record.

Renewal
CAMTC certification and recertification run for two years.
Verified

Renewal cadence only; deadlines, fees, and mechanics remain in the licensing record.

Continuing education
No statewide recurring CE requirement
Verified not applicable

The structured CE reporting period is explicitly not applicable statewide; local or employer requirements may differ.

Education

Massage education in California

Bounded

Legal education requirements, official starting points, and selected MassageData program records are distinct.

Legal entry requirement

500 hours

Statewide entry-education orientation; pathway details remain in the licensing record.

Official education starting points

Bounded
educationCAMTC Approved Massage School Programs

CAMTC's current program directory, including active approved entries and separately identified provisional, closed or expired, denied or revoked, purged, and unapproved school information. School, campus, and program entries must be normalized before any count is claimed.

educationCalifornia BPPE School Search

Official Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education search for approved, registered, and state-authorization-contract institutions. Use it to verify current institutional status separately from CAMTC massage-program approval.

Selected MassageData program records

Bounded
Davis

Massage Therapy Institute

Reported program length
500 hours
Format
Campus-based
Published tuition
Not established in reviewed materials

The school describes weekday and weekend class options and flexible entry through fundamentals, anatomy, or eligible electives; current sequence and completion timing must be confirmed directly.

This campus-specific record represents the school's 500-hour starting program. The school and CAMTC directory also identify a 650-hour Massage Therapist program. Confirm current schedules, total cost, transfer-hour treatment, admissions terms, CAMTC status, and BPPE status before enrolling.

Visit official program →
Sources and review

Verified July 13, 2026

Emeryville

National Holistic Institute

Reported program length
800 hours
Format
Campus-based
Published tuition
Not established in reviewed materials

This campus-specific record represents NHI's 800-hour core program. CAMTC's directory also lists a 1,250-hour advanced program for Emeryville. Confirm current cohort format, schedule, total cost, admissions terms, campus availability, CAMTC status, and BPPE status before enrolling.

Visit official program →
Sources and review

Verified July 13, 2026

Carson

Victory Career College

Reported program length
500 hours
Format
Campus-based
Published tuition
Not established in reviewed materials

This campus-specific record represents the 500-hour Massage Therapy program. The current CAMTC directory and school catalog also identify a 720-hour Massage Therapy Course. Confirm which program is enrolling, current schedule, total cost, admissions terms, CAMTC status, BPPE status, and any accreditation directly before enrolling.

Visit official program →
Sources and review

Verified July 13, 2026

These are selected records, not a complete school directory. School approval is not the same as massage licensure, accreditation, or a guarantee of outcomes.

Professional community

Professional organizations

Bounded

These are selected governed organizations, not a comprehensive state directory.

State chapter of a national professional association

American Massage Therapy Association — California Chapter

AMTA identifies California as one of its volunteer-led state chapters for member connection, education, networking, volunteering, and advocacy.

Massage therapists and massage-therapy students eligible for AMTA membership.

AMTA published a California-specific update describing its California chapter and national advocacy around possible future statewide licensure and the CAMTC sunset process.

AMTA states generally that chapter participation may include on-site continuing education; no current California event inventory or CAMTC acceptance claim is asserted here.

Member support

  • State chapter connection
  • National AMTA member resources
  • Education, networking, and volunteer opportunities
Visit the official organization →
Sources and review

Verified July 13, 2026

National professional association with California-specific government-relations coverage

Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP) — California relevance

ABMP is a national professional association that maintains California-specific legislative and regulatory updates for massage and bodywork professionals; this record does not represent ABMP as a California state chapter or regulator.

Massage and bodywork professionals and students eligible for ABMP membership.

ABMP publishes California-specific government-relations updates and has participated in discussions about California's certification and possible licensure models.

ABMP offers national member education resources; this record does not assert that an ABMP course is required or automatically accepted by a California authority.

Member support

  • California legislative-update archive
  • National professional education and practice resources
  • Membership-linked insurance options
Visit the official organization →
Sources and review

Verified July 13, 2026

Practice and risk

Insurance considerations

Bounded

Legal requirement finding

No statewide yes-or-no conclusion is made about whether every California massage practitioner must carry liability insurance. California's mixed state-and-local model, generally applicable business rules, contracts, employers, facilities, events, and local ordinances may produce different obligations. Verify the law and agreements that apply to the specific person, business, and location.

The reviewed sources do not support a universal legal conclusion. General information only—not legal, financial, or coverage advice.

Insurance sources

Professional risk context

Professional liability coverage addresses claims arising from professional services. Compare covered services and modalities, defense costs, exclusions, occurrence versus claims-made terms, consent-to-settle provisions, prior-acts coverage, and territorial limits.

General liability commonly addresses third-party injury or property-damage risks outside the professional service itself; confirm whether it is included with professional coverage or must be purchased separately.

  • CAMTC certifies individuals but does not regulate massage establishments; insurance does not replace CAMTC, local practitioner, business, establishment, zoning, or other compliance.
  • The California Department of Insurance commercial guide is general educational material, not a determination that a specific massage practitioner must buy a particular policy.

Questions for an insurer

  • Which massage and bodywork modalities, locations, and business entities are covered or excluded?
  • Are defense costs inside or outside the policy limit?
  • Are employees, contractors, students, products, premises, mobile work, and prior acts covered?
  • What incident-reporting deadlines and documentation duties apply?
  • Is the insurer and producer authorized to transact the relevant coverage in California?

Continuing education

Legal orientation and official starting points

Bounded

Legal CE orientation

No statewide recurring CE requirement

Verified not applicable

The structured CE reporting period is explicitly not applicable statewide; local or employer requirements may differ.

Use official starting points to explore continuing-education resources in California. Legal renewal and continuing-education requirements remain in the licensing record.

See detailed California renewal and CE requirements →

Official CE starting points

Bounded
CAMTC certification and recertification requirementsOpen official resource ↗

Workforce data

California workforce outlook

Bounded

May 2025 federal OEWS data estimate 14,600 wage-and-salary massage therapist jobs in California, with a median wage of $22.10 per hour or $45,970 annually. California EDD separately projects its broader massage-therapist employment series from 24,400 in 2024 to 29,500 in 2034, a 20.9 percent increase. The two levels are not directly comparable because their coverage and methods differ, including treatment of self-employment.

Employment

Bounded
May 2025 OEWS estimate14,600

BLS estimated wage-and-salary jobs

California

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS estimate of wage-and-salary massage therapist jobs in California in May 2025.
Method
Reported by the BLS OEWS California state employment series for SOC 31-9011 using the May 2025 survey methods and estimation process.
Limitation
OEWS excludes self-employed workers and is an estimate of jobs, not a CAMTC certificate count or practitioner census.
Comparability
Suitable for comparison with the same federal OEWS occupation, measure, area level, and vintage; it is not comparable to California EDD's broader projection-series level.
Observed or accessed
July 13, 2026
Uncertainty
10.5 percent: BLS reports a 10.5 percent relative standard error for the California employment estimate.

Compensation

Bounded
May 2025 OEWS estimate$22.10/hr

BLS median hourly wage

California

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS median hourly wage estimate for California massage therapist jobs in May 2025.
Method
Reported by the BLS OEWS California median-hourly-wage series for SOC 31-9011.
Limitation
The statewide median describes wage-and-salary jobs, not self-employed receipts, and does not represent every California locality or schedule.
Comparability
Suitable for comparison with the same federal OEWS median measure and vintage; no mean-wage uncertainty statistic is attached to this median.
Observed or accessed
July 13, 2026
May 2025 OEWS estimate$45,970

BLS median annual wage

California

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS median annualized wage estimate for California massage therapist jobs in May 2025.
Method
Reported by the BLS OEWS California median-annual-wage series using the survey's standard annualization method.
Limitation
Annualization does not imply that every practitioner works a full-time schedule and excludes self-employed business income.
Comparability
Suitable for comparison with the same federal OEWS annual median measure and vintage; no mean-wage uncertainty statistic is attached to this median.
Observed or accessed
July 13, 2026

Growth and openings

Bounded
California EDD projection 2024–20345,100

EDD projected employment increase, 2024–2034

California

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
Reported numeric increase in California EDD's massage therapist employment projection from 2024 through 2034.
Method
Reported in the California EDD statewide occupational projection workbook under the state's projection methodology.
Limitation
The EDD series includes broader employment coverage than BLS OEWS and is a modeled projection, not a realized future count.
Comparability
Comparable with the EDD base, endpoint, percent-change, and openings measures in the same series; not comparable to the BLS OEWS employment level.
Observed or accessed
July 13, 2026
California EDD projection 2024–203420.9%

EDD projected employment percent change, 2024–2034

California

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
Reported percentage change in California EDD's massage therapist employment projection over 2024–2034.
Method
Reported in the California EDD statewide occupational projection workbook under the state's projection methodology.
Limitation
Projected percentage change is not realized growth and does not describe earnings or openings available to an individual.
Comparability
Comparable with EDD percentage-change measures using the same projection interval and method; not a bridge between EDD and BLS employment levels.
Observed or accessed
July 13, 2026
Total openings over 2024–203438,120

EDD total openings over the full 2024–2034 period

California

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
Reported total California massage therapist openings accumulated over the full 2024–2034 projection period, including exits and transfers.
Method
Reported ten-year openings total in the California EDD statewide occupational projection workbook.
Limitation
The value is a full ten-year total, not annual openings and not a unique-person count.
Comparability
Compare only with total-openings measures using the same interval, turnover concepts, and employment coverage.
Observed or accessed
July 13, 2026

Population universe: Federal OEWS measures wage-and-salary jobs for SOC 31-9011 and excludes self-employed workers. California EDD's 2024–2034 projection series includes estimated self-employed, private-household, farm, and nonfarm employment under the state's projection methodology. The BLS and EDD levels are preserved as separate reported series and must not be blended or treated as a trend between 2024 and 2025.

BLS OEWS excludes self-employed workers, which is a material limitation for massage therapy. California EDD's broader projection coverage includes estimated self-employment, but that does not make the EDD level a practitioner census or directly comparable to BLS OEWS.

Regional or substate detail

Substate observations cover only the named reviewed regions and series.

RegionBase employmentProjected employmentChange
California statewide EDD projection series24,400 (2024)29,500 (2034)20.9%

California statewide EDD projection series definitions and limits

EDD projection base employment

Reported as the base-year value in the California EDD 2024–2034 occupational projection workbook.

The EDD base includes broader employment coverage than BLS OEWS and is not directly comparable to the federal estimate.

Comparable with the 2034 endpoint and change measures in the same EDD series; not comparable to the BLS OEWS employment level.

EDD projected employment percent change, 2024–2034

Reported in the California EDD statewide occupational projection workbook under the state's projection methodology.

Projected percentage change is not realized growth and does not describe earnings or openings available to an individual.

Comparable with EDD percentage-change measures using the same projection interval and method; not a bridge between EDD and BLS employment levels.

EDD projected employment

Reported as the endpoint in the California EDD 2024–2034 occupational projection workbook.

A modeled endpoint is not a realized future count and uses broader coverage than BLS OEWS.

Comparable with the 2024 base and change measures in the same EDD series; not comparable to the BLS OEWS employment level.

Workforce source set

California agencies and data

Official resources

Bounded

A selected official starting set, not a complete source ledger.

licensingCalifornia Massage Therapy Council Certification and Lookup

Official CAMTC starting points for current certification requirements and public certificate-status lookup. CAMTC certifies individuals under the Massage Therapy Act but does not regulate massage establishments.

Verified July 13, 2026licensingCalifornia Massage Therapy Act and Local-Authority Statutes

Official California statutory text for the Massage Therapy Act and related provisions governing CAMTC certification and local authority. Use current code text rather than association summaries for legal conclusions.

Verified July 13, 2026educationCAMTC Approved Massage School Programs

CAMTC's current program directory, including active approved entries and separately identified provisional, closed or expired, denied or revoked, purged, and unapproved school information. School, campus, and program entries must be normalized before any count is claimed.

Verified July 13, 2026educationCalifornia BPPE School Search

Official Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education search for approved, registered, and state-authorization-contract institutions. Use it to verify current institutional status separately from CAMTC massage-program approval.

Verified July 13, 2026workforceCalifornia Massage Workforce Data

Official California EDD projection and federal BLS OEWS entry points for occupational employment and wage evidence. Source periods, coverage, self-employment treatment, and methodology differ by series.

Verified July 13, 2026businessCalifornia Business Permit and Regulatory Assistance

Official GO-Biz starting point for permit and regulatory assistance. CAMTC certification does not replace generally applicable state, city, county, establishment, zoning, tax, employer, or business requirements.

Verified July 13, 2026licensingCAMTC Meetings and California Change Watch

Official CAMTC meeting agendas, board packets, minutes, audio, and video for monitoring certification and school-policy developments, paired with enacted AB 1504 and the current statutory sunset date.

Verified July 13, 2026

Sources and updates

Reviewed July 13, 2026

Review needed

This guide projects 40 distinct official or first-party source links from the governed records. Earliest scheduled review: August 13, 2026.

A scheduled review date has passed for: State Guide, Official resources, Education resources. Confirm time-sensitive details before acting.

Review licensing evidence and official sources →

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 →