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United States Licensing Atlas

Vermont Massage Therapist Registration Requirements

Vermont requires an individual Office registration to offer massage or bodywork for consideration, but the current registration chapter does not impose education, examination, or experience prerequisites.

Statewide requirements and local regulation are identified separately. This record is general information, not legal advice.

Vermont Office of Professional Regulation
VT · licensing record1 MI ≈ 2.7 PX
Albers equal-area · 72.5°W · SP 43.1/44.6°N · footprint 266 px · FIT-limitedFull Vermont plate on the state guide →

Overview

Mandatory state registration without competence prerequisites

Last verified 2026-10-06

Registration does not displace generally applicable local business, zoning, premises, health, or safety requirements.

Before you act

Details worth confirming

Requirements can change, and some official materials differ on narrow details. Use the current official instructions when applying or renewing.

Vermont's establishment registration begins December 1, 2026

Act 119 requires registration of nonexempt massage establishments beginning December 1, 2026. That future requirement was not yet in force on this guide's July 29 review date; defined solo-practitioner and other locations remain exempt.

Regulatory authority

Vermont Office of Professional Regulation

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

Entry requirements

Education, examination, and application

Credential
Massage Therapist, Bodyworker, or Touch Professional Registration
Credential requirement
Vermont requires an individual Office registration to offer massage or bodywork for consideration, but the current registration chapter does not impose education, examination, or experience prerequisites.
Minimum education
0 hours
Approved education
Current chapter 105 requires registration but does not impose a minimum education-hour or curriculum prerequisite. Students in a professional massage or bodywork education program and apprentices acting within their programs are exempt from registration.
Examination
Current chapter 105 does not require MBLEx or another competence examination for individual registration.
MBLEx relationship
MBLEx is not required for the current Vermont registration. A registrant's voluntary credential must not be represented as a state competence standard.
Application
Apply through the Office online portal, answer the required compliance and disclosure questions (taxes, child support, criminal convictions, pending charges and discipline), and pay the statutory application fee; no documentation of education or examinations is required.
Application fees
Current 3 V.S.A. §125 sets a $90 application fee for a massage therapist, bodyworker, or touch professional and the default $275 biennial renewal fee.
Background check or fingerprinting
Current chapter 105 and the Office credential-specific authority do not require a routine criminal-history report or fingerprint submission for massage registration.
Reciprocity or endorsement
Section 5422 authorizes registration by endorsement when an individual holds a license, registration, certification, or other authorization to practice massage therapy or bodywork from a U.S. or Canadian jurisdiction.
Additional requirements
Registrants must make the required client disclosures and comply with professional-conduct law. No statewide practitioner professional-liability insurance mandate was identified.

Renewal

Renewal and continuing education

Cycle
Individual registrations renew every two years.
Continuing education
No recurring CE hours identified
Renewal fee
The current fee statute applies the default $275 biennial renewal fee to the individual registration; Act 119's reduced establishment fee does not change the individual renewal amount.
Required topics
No recurring CE subject minimum was identified for this registration.

Sourced finding. The reviewed authority does not identify recurring CE hours for the ordinary renewal described here. Reinstatement, another credential or local requirements may differ.

Practice information

Scope, titles, and local requirements

Scope of practice
Chapter 105 defines massage and bodywork as structured touch offered for consideration and establishes the registration boundary.
Protected titles
An individual may not offer the regulated practice or use the massage therapist, bodyworker, touch professional, or related titles without registration, subject to statutory exemptions.
Restrictions
Registrants comply with disclosure, acknowledgement, display, consent, privacy, and professional-conduct requirements.
Municipal or local requirements
The state registration coexists with generally applicable local business, zoning, premises, health, and safety requirements.
Establishments and other regulated activities
Act 119 of 2026 requires massage establishments to register with the Office from December 1, 2026. Registration is not required where massage is provided solely by persons exempt from registration or by a single registrant. An establishment with only two practitioners pays reduced fees ($50 application, $75 biennial renewal); others pay the default $100 and $275. As of October 6, 2026 that requirement is not yet in effect, and the Office's massage pages do not yet describe the establishment application.
Practitioner notes
Use the Office public lookup and complaint resources. Registration is a mandatory conduct and accountability credential, not a state finding of massage education or examination competence.

Authoritative sources

Official record evidence

Change history

Public record revisions

No revision to this record has been published yet. Its current review dates are in the overview above, and its official sources are listed below.