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MDMassageData

Tennessee State Guide

Massage Therapy in Tennessee

Explore Tennessee 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 Tennessee licensingExplore education

Tennessee licensing

Licensing overview

Verified

State massage therapist license required

Local business, zoning, and tax requirements were not researched and may apply independently.

View the full Tennessee licensing record →
Regulatory model
State massage therapist license required
Verified

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

Regulator
Tennessee Massage Licensure Board
Verified

Current state or local authority identified in the licensing record.

Credential
Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)
Verified

Credential title from the canonical licensing record.

Minimum education
650 hours
Verified

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

Examination
Board-accepted national examination
Verified

Required examination categories from the canonical licensing record.

Renewal
Licenses renew every two years.
Verified

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

Continuing education
24 hours · The 24-hour requirement applies to the two-year renewal cycle, with current Board proration policy for specified initial licenses.
Verified

Compact legal CE orientation only; subjects, documentation, and renewal mechanics remain in the licensing record.

Education

Massage education in Tennessee

Bounded

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

Legal entry requirement

650 hours

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

Selected MassageData program records

Bounded
Chattanooga

Chattanooga State Community College

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

The school describes a two-semester program, and a current TCAT Fall schedule was available on the access date.

Confirm current admissions, schedule, supplies, total cost, licensing disclosures, and start dates directly with Chattanooga State before enrolling.

Visit official program →
Sources and review

Verified July 25, 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 — Tennessee Chapter

The official AMTA page identifies the Tennessee chapter as a professional-association connection for the state's massage community.

Massage therapists and massage-therapy students interested in AMTA membership.

Member support

  • State chapter connection
Visit the official organization →
Sources and review

Verified July 25, 2026

Practice and risk

Insurance considerations

Bounded

Legal requirement finding

The reviewed Tennessee application and current Board rules did not identify a general statewide professional-liability insurance minimum for every massage therapist. This does not resolve employers, establishments, leases, schools, events, contracts, or local requirements.

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

Insurance sources

Professional risk context

Compare covered modalities, exclusions, defense costs, policy form, prior-acts treatment, occurrence territory, and reporting duties.

General liability addresses premises and other third-party risks that may be distinct from professional services.

  • A narrow state-law finding is not a recommendation to practice uninsured.
  • Confirm employer, contract, establishment, landlord, event, and local requirements independently.

Questions for an insurer

  • Which modalities, populations, and locations are covered?
  • Are defense costs inside or outside policy limits?
  • What incident-reporting deadlines and exclusions apply?

Continuing education

Legal orientation and official starting points

Bounded

Legal CE orientation

24 hours · The 24-hour requirement applies to the two-year renewal cycle, with current Board proration policy for specified initial licenses.

Verified

Compact legal CE orientation only; subjects, documentation, and renewal mechanics remain in the licensing record.

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

See detailed Tennessee renewal and CE requirements →

Official CE starting points

Bounded
Tennessee official CE authorityOpen official resource ↗

Workforce data

Tennessee workforce outlook

Bounded

BLS May 2023 OEWS estimated 1,190 wage-and-salary massage therapist jobs in Tennessee, with a median hourly wage of $23.79. These are estimates, not license or practitioner counts.

Employment

Bounded
May 2023 OEWS estimate1,190

Estimated wage-and-salary jobs

Tennessee

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS estimate of massage therapist jobs in Tennessee in May 2023.
Method
Reported by BLS in the May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics state table for SOC 31-9011.
Limitation
OEWS excludes self-employed workers and estimates wage-and-salary jobs rather than active licenses or all practitioners.
Comparability
Comparable only with the same OEWS occupation, measure, geography level, and May 2023 vintage.
Observed or accessed
July 25, 2026
Uncertainty
15.6 percent: BLS-reported relative standard error for this estimate.

Compensation

Bounded
May 2023 OEWS estimate$23.79/hr

Median hourly wage

Tennessee

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS median hourly wage for massage therapists in Tennessee in May 2023.
Method
Reported by BLS in the May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics state table for SOC 31-9011.
Limitation
The estimate covers wage-and-salary employment represented in OEWS, excludes self-employed workers, and is not a guaranteed individual wage.
Comparability
Comparable only with the same OEWS occupation, measure, geography level, and May 2023 vintage.
Observed or accessed
July 25, 2026
May 2023 OEWS estimate$23.27/hr

Mean hourly wage

Tennessee

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS mean hourly wage for massage therapists in Tennessee in May 2023.
Method
Reported by BLS in the May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics state table for SOC 31-9011.
Limitation
The estimate covers wage-and-salary employment represented in OEWS, excludes self-employed workers, and is not a guaranteed individual wage.
Comparability
Comparable only with the same OEWS occupation, measure, geography level, and May 2023 vintage.
Observed or accessed
July 25, 2026
Uncertainty
3.8 percent: BLS-reported relative standard error for this estimate.
May 2023 OEWS estimate$48,390

Annual mean wage

Tennessee

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS annual mean wage for massage therapists in Tennessee in May 2023.
Method
Reported by BLS in the May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics state table for SOC 31-9011.
Limitation
The estimate covers wage-and-salary employment represented in OEWS, excludes self-employed workers, and is not a guaranteed individual wage.
Comparability
Comparable only with the same OEWS occupation, measure, geography level, and May 2023 vintage.
Observed or accessed
July 25, 2026
Uncertainty
3.8 percent: BLS-reported relative standard error for this estimate.

Growth and openings

Not yet reviewed

Growth and openings data has not yet been reviewed for public projection.

Population universe: OEWS measures wage-and-salary jobs by occupation through an employer survey.

OEWS excludes self-employed workers, which is material in massage therapy; national self-employment context must not be presented as a state-specific percentage.

Workforce source set

Tennessee agencies and data

Official resources

Bounded

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

licensingTennessee Massage Licensure Board

Official Tennessee entry point for massage therapist and establishment licensing, rules, policies, applications, and Board notices.

Verified July 25, 2026

Sources and updates

Reviewed July 25, 2026

Review needed

This guide projects 12 distinct official or first-party source links from the governed records. Earliest scheduled review: August 25, 2026.

A scheduled review date has passed for: State Guide, Licensing, Continuing education, Official 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 →