- Credential
- Licensed Massage Therapist
- Credential requirement
- Delaware requires a licensed massage therapist credential for the regulated scope and separately licenses massage establishments.
- Minimum education
- 625 hours
- Approved education
- An applicant who began a massage program on or after July 1, 2024 needs 625 hours of study, which may include hybrid education as the Board's rules permit: 100 hours of anatomy and physiology, 300 of massage or bodywork technique and theory, 200 of electives and 25 of ethics, law and contraindications (24 Del. C. § 5308(a)(2)b). An applicant who began before July 1, 2024 needs 500 hours of supervised in-class study, with 75 elective hours. The school or program must be approved by the Delaware Department of Education, or the equivalent body in the state where it holds classes.
- Examination
- Rule 5.0 requires the MBLEx for licensure; the statute requires a passing score on a nationally administered massage and bodywork examination. The Board's application page still describes applying after passing the NCBTMB exam and accepts official score reports from FSMTB or NCBTMB. Apply with the MBLEx, which the rule requires.
- MBLEx relationship
- MBLEx is the current rule-based examination requirement and does not replace education, CPR, background screening, application, or the Delaware license.
- Application
- Apply in DELPROS and submit within six months of starting the application. The school sends an official transcript; the applicant supplies the school's state certificate of approval covering the period of attendance and the school catalog; FSMTB sends the official score report; the applicant uploads a current CPR card (online CPR courses are not accepted); each jurisdiction where a license has been held sends a verification; and the applicant completes the State and FBI criminal background check.
- Application fees
- The Board's fee schedule lists a $175 licensed massage therapist application fee and $55 to upgrade an active certified massage technician credential. The renewal amount is shown in DELPROS at renewal; a late renewal adds 50 percent of the renewal fee. Processing fees are non-refundable.
- Background check or fingerprinting
- Licensed massage therapist applicants complete state and federal criminal-history screening through the Division's approved fingerprinting process.
- Reciprocity or endorsement
- Section 5310 grants a license by reciprocity to an applicant with a current license in good standing in another state, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory who has passed a nationally administered massage or bodywork examination, has practised continually for the two years immediately before applying, holds current CPR certification and is at least 18. Applicants who do not meet the two-year practice requirement apply for an original license.
- Additional requirements
- Applicants must have passed a state-certified CPR course and hold current CPR certification; individuals with lower-limb amputee status are exempt (§ 5308(a)(4)). No practitioner insurance requirement appears in Chapter 53, the Board rule or the application requirements.