Florida Massage Therapy Licensing Requirements

Municipality-specific requirements were not researched in this record. State practitioner and establishment licensing remain separate requirements.

• Official application
• Official renewal information
• Official statutes or rules

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

Credential

Licensed Massage Therapist

Credential requirement

A Florida license is generally required to practice massage therapy unless a statutory exemption applies. This record does not determine which municipality-specific requirements apply to a particular address.

Minimum education

500 hours

Approved education

Applicants must complete at least 500 hours in a Board-approved massage school program.

Examination

Florida accepts the MBLEx and qualifying Board-accepted retired NCBTMB examinations passed before retirement.

MBLEx relationship

MBLEx is the current examination path identified by the Board, with limited recognition of qualifying retired NCBTMB examinations.

Application

Submit the Board application, approved-school evidence, accepted examination result, 10-hour Florida law course evidence, electronic fingerprints, fees, and required disclosures.

Application fees

The current initial total is $155: $50 application, $100 initial license, and $5 unlicensed-activity fee.

Background check or fingerprinting

Electronic fingerprinting and criminal-history review are required.

Reciprocity or endorsement

Florida distinguishes ordinary endorsement from MOBILE endorsement. An applicant with an active out-of-state massage license based on at least 500 education hours will likely use ordinary endorsement; MOBILE endorsement applies separate license, scope, examination or certification, recent-practice, and disciplinary conditions.

Additional requirements

Applicants must be at least 18 or hold a high school diploma or equivalent, complete the required Florida law course, and satisfy identity and legal disclosures.

Cycle

Florida massage therapist licenses renew biennially.

Deadline model

The current Board page identifies August 31, 2027 as the active cycle expiration and publishes timely, late, and delinquent fee bands.

Fees

Current published active-license fees are $105 timely, $205 late, and $310 when notified delinquent. Fingerprint retention may add $43.25.

Continuing education

The first renewal is prorated: total required hours equal the number of months and partial months licensed and include the required medical-errors and human-trafficking courses. Subsequent biennial renewals require 24 hours under the Board's subject and delivery allocation. Current Rule 64B7-28.009, effective June 5, 2023, controls; the earlier temporary distance exception is not projected into the current cycle.

Required subjects

For the first renewal, the prorated total includes 2 medical-errors hours, 1 human-trafficking hour, and general hours based on months and partial months licensed over three months. Subsequent renewals require 12 classroom, in-person massage-technique hours including hands-on instruction or demonstration, 2 medical-errors hours, 1 human-trafficking hour, 2 Florida laws-and-rules hours, 2 ethics hours, and 5 general hours.

Documentation

Approved providers report completed courses through CE Broker, and the electronic transcript is used in renewal monitoring. Board staff does not routinely accept certificates in place of that transcript. Continuing-education providers retain completion records for at least 4 years; a separate licensee retention duration was not confirmed in the reviewed current sources.

Carryover

No carryover authorization was identified in the reviewed current Board guidance.

Late renewal

The Board publishes separate timely, late, and notified-delinquent fee totals for the current cycle.

Inactive license

Inactive and reactivation requirements are governed by the Board and general health-profession rules; this record does not reduce those paths to the active-renewal fee table.

Scope of practice

Chapter 480 defines massage therapy as manipulation of human soft tissues using specified body parts, with or without listed aids or preparations. A modality name does not displace the statutory definition.

Protected titles

Chapter 480 prohibits holding oneself out as a massage therapist or practicing massage therapy without a license unless an exemption applies.

Restrictions

Practicing or offering to practice beyond the scope permitted by law is grounds for discipline under Chapter 480.

Municipal or local requirements

Chapter 480 permits county or municipal regulation within statutory limits, but this record does not identify any requirement for a particular locality or address.

Establishments and other regulated activities

Covered massage establishments require a separate location license, designated manager, owner screening, inspection, and establishment insurance.

Practitioner notes

Confirm current Board pages and Chapter 480 before applying, renewing, invoking an exemption, or opening an establishment; research the intended locality separately.

• Florida Board of Massage Therapy — Licensed Massage Therapist · accessed 2026-08-02
• Florida Board of Massage Therapy — Licensed Massage Establishment · accessed 2026-07-25
• Florida Board of Massage Therapy — Statutes and Rules · accessed 2026-08-02
• Florida Administrative Code Rule 64B7-28.009 — Required Continuing Education for Massage Therapists · accessed 2026-08-02
• Florida Statutes Section 455.2178 — Continuing Education Providers · accessed 2026-08-02
• Florida Statutes Section 480.041 · accessed 2026-07-25
• Florida Statutes Chapter 480 — Massage Therapy Practice · accessed 2026-07-25
• Florida Board of Massage Therapy — Resources · accessed 2026-07-25
• Florida Board of Massage Therapy — 2024 Legislation Notice · accessed 2026-07-25

Future verified changes will be listed from this Git-backed record.