California Massage Therapy Continuing Education & Renewal Requirements
CE hours: No CAMTC CE required. CAMTC certification and recertification run for two years.
Statewide requirements and local rules are identified separately. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Overview
CE and renewal at a glance
Licensing information reviewed 2026-08-02
- CE hours
- No CAMTC CE required
- License renewal
- CAMTC certification and recertification run for two years.
- CE reporting period
- CAMTC has no continuing-education reporting period because recertification does not require CE hours.
Sourced finding. CE is not required to renew the credential described here. Local authorizations and other credentials may differ.
Responsible authority
California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC)
- AuthorityVisit the official authority
- RenewalOfficial renewal information
- StatutesOfficial statutes or rules
The authority’s current rules govern your renewal. Confirm requirements with it before you rely on a course or a date.
CE hours
- CE requirement and exceptions
CAMTC does not require continuing education for recertification. A city, county, employer, insurer, association, or another credential may impose separate education expectations that are outside CAMTC recertification.
- Hour total
0
Renewal timing and fees
- Renewal cycle
CAMTC certification and recertification run for two years.
- Renewal deadline
A complete recertification application must be received before the expiration date shown on the certificate to avoid expiration and late fees. CAMTC permits applications beginning three months before expiration and advises submitting a complete application at least 60 days early when possible.
- Renewal fees
The current two-year recertification fee is $300 for certificates expiring on or after April 1, 2023. Graduated late fees are additional.
Reporting period, first renewal and carryover
- CE reporting period
CAMTC has no continuing-education reporting period because recertification does not require CE hours.
- Carryover
CE carryover is not applicable to CAMTC recertification because CAMTC does not require CE hours.
- First renewal / proration
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
Required topics
- Required categories
CAMTC has no required continuing-education subjects for recertification because it does not impose a CE-hour requirement.
- State-specific topics
No statewide CAMTC recertification subjects, delivery-format quotas, provider categories, audit percentages, retention period, or carryover rules apply because CAMTC requires zero CE hours. This finding does not answer separate local, employment, or voluntary credential expectations.
- CPR / first aid
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
Online and course format
- Online and course format
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
- Practical / hands-on
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
Proof of CE, audits and record keeping
- Renewal documentation
Recertification applicants must file the current application, pay the applicable fee, update personal and work-location information, answer background and disciplinary questions, provide explanations and supporting documents when required, and respond to CAMTC requests. No CE completion record is required for CAMTC recertification.
- Reporting and proof of CE
CAMTC recertification does not require CE completion records because it has no CE-hour requirement. Certificate holders still must submit the current recertification application, update required information and disclosures, and provide supporting documentation requested by CAMTC.
- Certificate requirements
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
- Record retention
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
- Audits
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
- Renewal attestation
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
Approved providers and courses
- How CE is approved
CAMTC does not require continuing education for CMT or legacy CMP recertification, so there is no mandatory statewide CAMTC CE-provider approval model for recertification. Use California's renewal requirements for full renewal details.
- Provider & course recognition
Not applicable to the credential and scope described here.
- Official CE resourceConfirm details
CAMTC certification and recertification requirements
Open official resource →Use the authority's current provider and course acceptance rules.
- Professional organizations' role in CENot confirmed
The official sources for this item are missing or incomplete, so no answer is shown.
Late renewal, reinstatement and inactive status
- Late renewal / reinstatement
Current late fees are $25 for an application received 1 to 10 days after expiration, $55 for 11 to 29 days after expiration, and $95 for 30 or more days after expiration. CAMTC may require a person whose certificate was not maintained in good standing to apply as a new applicant.
- Inactive status / reactivationConfirm details
No inactive CAMTC certificate status was identified in the reviewed current materials. If a certificate expires, the recertification application remains available for eighteen months from the expiration date, and a graduated late fee applies on top of the recertification fee: $25 from one to ten days late, $55 from eleven to twenty-nine days, and $95 at thirty days or more. That window governs when a recertification application may still be filed. It is not authorization to practise as a CAMTC-certified therapist, or to hold oneself out as certified, while the certificate is expired. Where a certificate was not maintained in good standing, or after the eighteen-month window has passed, CAMTC may require the person to apply as a new applicant and meet the requirements in force at that time.
Who these requirements apply to
- Credential and statewide scope
CAMTC certification is voluntary statewide, but a city or county may require CAMTC certification or a local authorization for an uncertified practitioner and may separately regulate massage businesses and establishments.
- Local requirements
Cities and counties retain substantial authority over uncertified practitioners and massage businesses, establishments, zoning, land use, health and safety, and generally applicable business requirements. CAMTC-certified individuals receive statutory protections from certain local practitioner permits, tests, education, and background requirements, but certification does not eliminate business or establishment regulation. Local rules must be checked for every city or county of practice.
Changes in the law
- Enacted changes / implementation
The current Massage Therapy Act is scheduled to repeal January 1, 2030 unless later legislation extends or replaces it.
- Rulemaking / implementation: Sunset review and a possible tiered certification modelConfirm details
CAMTC board materials discuss recommending a three-tier certification model to the Legislature through the sunset report. Checked on 2026-09-19: this is a proposal in board materials, not enacted law, and nothing in the current statute or CAMTC requirements changes because of it. The Massage Therapy Act's January 1, 2030 repeal date is what makes the sunset review consequential.
Proposed provisions are not current requirements.
Authoritative sources
Sources for California
Each answer shows the date it was reviewed and numbers the official sources behind it. An access date records when a source was last opened; it does not change a review date.
- California Massage Therapy Council — Requirements to Certifyaccessed
- California Massage Therapy Council — Frequently Asked Questionsaccessed
- California Massage Therapy Council — 2026 Application for Recertificationaccessed
- California Business and Professions Code Chapter 10.5 — Massage Therapy Actaccessed
- California Business and Professions Code section 460accessed
- California Government Code section 51034 — Local massage-business regulationaccessed
- California Massage Therapy Council — Fee Scheduleaccessed
- California Massage Therapy Council — Requirements to Certifyaccessed
- California Massage Therapy Council — Frequently Asked Questionsaccessed
- California Massage Therapy Council — 2026 Application for Recertificationaccessed
- California AB 1504 (2025), Chapter 197 — California Massage Therapy Councilaccessed
- California Massage Therapy Council — Meetings and Board Materialsaccessed