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Washington State Guide

Massage Therapy in Washington

Explore Washington 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 Washington licensingExplore education

Before you act

Details worth confirming

2 reviewed licensing details should be confirmed before applying or renewing in Washington. The licensing record preserves the detailed caution and official context.

  • Education requirementReview needed
  • Licensing updateBounded
Review Washington licensing details worth confirming →

Washington licensing

Licensing overview

Review needed

State license required to practice or represent oneself as a massage therapist

This record covers Washington's statewide practitioner credential. A city, code city, or county may require a license to operate a massage business, but state law limits the fee and bars additional therapist-licensing requirements not imposed on similar health care providers. Separate general business or tax obligations are not determined here.

View the full Washington licensing record →
Regulatory model
State license required to practice or represent oneself as a massage therapist
Verified

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

Regulator
Washington State Department of Health, Board of Massage
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
625 hours
Review needed

Reviewed official sources conflict or include superseded wording; confirm the current detail in the licensing record.

Examination
Board-approved national examination; Washington massage jurisprudence examination
Verified

Required examination categories from the canonical licensing record.

Renewal
Massage therapist licenses renew annually.
Verified

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

Continuing education
24 hours · Continuing education is reported over a two-year period even though the massage-therapist credential renews annually.
Verified

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

Education

Massage education in Washington

Review needed

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

Legal entry requirement

625 hours

Reviewed official sources conflict or include superseded wording; confirm the current detail in the licensing record.

Official education starting points

Bounded
educationWashington Approved Massage Schools

The Department of Health's current list of Board-approved massage schools and programs, including transfer and somatic-education sections.

Selected MassageData program records

Bounded
Seattle

Discoverypoint School of Massage

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

The published program spans four 11-week quarters over approximately 12 months, with daytime and evening cohorts and one required weekend per quarter.

This is one verified starting point, not a complete Washington directory. Confirm current cohort dates, total cost, admissions terms, and program approval directly before enrolling.

Visit official program →
Sources and review

Verified July 11, 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 — Washington Chapter

AMTA identifies Washington as one of its volunteer-led state chapters for member connection, education, networking, and advocacy.

Massage therapists and massage-therapy students eligible for AMTA membership.

AMTA published a current Washington-specific advocacy update on reimbursement legislation enacted in 2026.

AMTA states that chapter participation may include on-site continuing education; no current Washington event inventory is asserted here.

Member support

  • State chapter connection
  • National AMTA member resources
  • Education, networking, and volunteer opportunities
Visit the official organization →
Sources and review

Verified July 11, 2026

Practice and risk

Insurance considerations

Bounded

Legal requirement finding

The reviewed Washington massage licensing chapter and current massage rules do not state a general statewide professional-liability-insurance requirement for each individual massage therapist. This limited finding does not address employers, contracts, health-plan participation, facilities, landlords, events, local rules, or other business obligations.

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

Insurance sources

Professional risk context

Professional liability coverage addresses claims arising from professional services. Compare covered modalities, defense costs, exclusions, occurrence versus claims-made terms, consent-to-settle provisions, and prior-acts coverage.

General liability commonly addresses third-party injury or property-damage risks outside the professional service itself; confirm whether it is included or separate.

  • Washington treats massage as a licensed health care service and preserves limited local massage-business authority; insurance does not replace a credential or local compliance.
  • Verify insurers and producers through the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

Questions for an insurer

  • Which modalities and locations are covered or excluded?
  • Are defense costs inside or outside the limit?
  • Are employees, contractors, students, products, premises, mobile work, and prior acts covered?
  • What incident-reporting deadlines apply?

Continuing education

Legal orientation and official starting points

Bounded

Legal CE orientation

24 hours · Continuing education is reported over a two-year period even though the massage-therapist credential renews annually.

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 Washington. Legal renewal and continuing-education requirements remain in the licensing record.

See detailed Washington renewal and CE requirements →

Official CE starting points

Bounded
Washington Department of Health massage continuing-education guidanceOpen official resource ↗Washington Department of Health health-equity training resourcesOpen official resource ↗

Workforce data

Washington workforce outlook

Bounded

May 2025 federal OEWS data estimate 3,740 wage-and-salary massage therapist jobs in Washington. The median wage was $42.00 per hour or $87,360 annually. These are survey estimates, not license counts or a census of all practitioners.

Employment

Bounded
May 2025 OEWS estimate3,740

Estimated wage-and-salary jobs

Washington

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS estimate of wage-and-salary massage therapist jobs in Washington in May 2025.
Method
Reported by the BLS OEWS state series for SOC 31-9011 using the May 2025 survey methods and estimation process.
Limitation
OEWS excludes self-employed workers and is an estimate of jobs, not an active-license count or practitioner census.
Comparability
Suitable for comparison with the same federal OEWS occupation, measure, area level, and vintage; do not blend with differently covered Washington ESD series.
Observed or accessed
July 11, 2026
Uncertainty
7.9 percent: BLS reports a 7.9 percent relative standard error for the Washington employment estimate.

Compensation

Bounded
May 2025 OEWS estimate$42.00/hr

Median hourly wage

Washington

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS median hourly wage estimate for Washington massage therapist jobs in May 2025.
Method
Reported by the BLS OEWS state median-hourly-wage series for SOC 31-9011.
Limitation
The statewide median describes wage-and-salary jobs, not self-employed receipts, and does not represent every community or schedule.
Comparability
Suitable for comparison with the same federal OEWS median measure and vintage; no mean-wage uncertainty statistic is attached to this median.
Observed or accessed
July 11, 2026
May 2025 OEWS estimate$87,360

Median annual wage

Washington

Definition, limits, and sources
Definition
BLS OEWS median annualized wage estimate for Washington massage therapist jobs in May 2025.
Method
Reported by the BLS OEWS state median-annual-wage series using the survey's standard annualization method.
Limitation
Annualization does not imply that every practitioner works a full-time schedule and excludes self-employed business income.
Comparability
Suitable for comparison with the same federal OEWS annual median measure and vintage; no mean-wage uncertainty statistic is attached to this median.
Observed or accessed
July 11, 2026

Growth and openings

Not yet reviewed

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

Population universe: Federal OEWS measures wage-and-salary jobs by occupation. Annual wage estimates use the survey's standard annualization method and do not imply full-time schedules for every practitioner. Washington ESD also publishes a differently vintaged state series; the two are not blended.

OEWS excludes self-employed workers. Because self-employment is material in massage therapy, the estimate is not a count of all people practicing in Washington.

Workforce source set

Washington agencies and data

Official resources

Bounded

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

licensingWashington Board of Massage and Department of Health

Official licensing, renewal, fee, school, rulemaking, board, and practitioner guidance for Washington massage therapists.

Verified July 11, 2026educationWashington Approved Massage Schools

The Department of Health's current list of Board-approved massage schools and programs, including transfer and somatic-education sections.

Verified July 11, 2026workforceWashington Employment and Wage Data

Official state and federal tools for occupational employment, wage, and projection data; source years and coverage differ by series.

Verified July 11, 2026businessWashington Business Licensing and Small-Business Resources

Official starting points for Washington business licensing, registration, tax, and small-business guidance; massage licensure does not replace business or local requirements.

Verified July 11, 2026

Sources and updates

Reviewed July 11, 2026

Review needed

This guide projects 45 distinct official or first-party source links from the governed records. Earliest scheduled review: August 11, 2026.

A scheduled review date has passed for: State Guide, Official resources, Education 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 →