Minimum education
625 hours
Statewide entry-education orientation; pathway details remain in the licensing record.
6 sections published
West Virginia State Guide
Massage Therapy in West Virginia
Explore West Virginia massage licensing requirements, insurance considerations, continuing education, workforce data, and official resources, with links to official sources.
Statewide requirements and local rules are identified separately. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
- Regulator
- West Virginia Massage Therapy Licensure Board
- Verified
- Credential
- Licensed Massage Therapist
- Verified
WV · main-state atlas plateWest Virginia
Locator · same geometry as the atlas
State credentials do not replace applicable state, municipal, or local business licenses, zoning, health, or safety rules.
Renewal
A practitioner license expires two years from the end of the month in which it was issued.
The reviewed finding is bounded; confirm the current detail in the state's CE and renewal requirements.
Continuing education
24 hours
Twenty-four CE units are completed within the preceding two-year licensing period.
Compact legal CE orientation only; subjects, documentation, and renewal mechanics are in the state's CE and renewal requirements.
Details worth confirming
2 reviewed licensing details should be confirmed before applying or renewing in West Virginia. Each is summarised from the licensing record, which keeps the full caution and its official context.
Review needed
West Virginia's statute and application rule use different exam wording
West Virginia Code and the Board recognize MBLEx, while the active rule's application clause expressly names only a pre-February 2015 legacy exam. Confirm the current score-submission path with the Board before applying.
Detail worth confirming · Examination
Bounded
Confirm West Virginia's assigned renewal deadline
The license rule ties expiration to the issue month, while the fee rule also refers to June 30 of the renewal year. Follow the expiration date shown by the Board and confirm the filing deadline before renewal.
Detail worth confirming · Renewal
Entry
Review needed
Examination — MBLEx or Board-approved examination
Reviewed official sources conflict or include superseded wording; confirm the current detail in the licensing record.
Renewal and continuing education
Verified
Required subjects — The active rule does not set recurring ethics, law, or CPR subminimums; providers may be approved through NCBTMB, FSMTB, AMTA, ABMP, or the Board.
From the licensing record
Verified
Carryover — The active rule does not authorize carryover or state a separate online-hour limit; only CE completed in the preceding two-year period is represented as renewal evidence.
From the licensing record
Verified
Documentation — Licensees maintain detailed CE records and the Board may audit credentials every two years.
From the licensing record
Coming from another state
Verified
Endorsement or reciprocity — The Board may issue a reciprocal license to an otherwise-qualified out-of-state licensee who supplies current credential, disciplinary, recent CE, and applicable certification evidence.
From the licensing record
Scope, title and advertising
Verified
Scope of practice — Article 30-37 defines regulated massage therapy and the active rule establishes professional and sanitation standards.
From the licensing record
Verified
Protected titles — A current state license is required to practice massage therapy, and the certificate must be displayed at the work site.
From the licensing record
Local rules
Verified
Local requirements — Practitioners and establishments must also display or maintain applicable state, municipal, and local business licenses and comply with local ordinances.
From the licensing record
02 · Education
Massage education in West Virginia
Bounded
Legal education requirements, official starting points, and selected MassageData program records are distinct.
See the West Virginia school records and official lists →No individual program record cleared this review. That is not evidence that West Virginia has no massage programs.
Legal entry requirement
625 hours
VerifiedStatewide entry-education orientation; pathway details remain in the licensing record.
Review the detailed licensing pathway →Official starting point
West Virginia massage-education approval authority
West Virginia Code assigns qualifying program approval to the Council for Community and Technical College Education, Department of Education, Board, or equivalent public authority. No current public massage-program roster was located in this pass.
Open official resource ↗Before enrolling
School approval is not the same as massage licensure, accreditation, or a guarantee of outcomes.
03 · Insurance
Insurance considerations
Bounded
No statewide practitioner professional-liability insurance mandate was identified in article 30-37 or active 194 CSR 1 and 194 CSR 4.
Limits of this finding
The reviewed sources do not support a universal legal conclusion. General information only—not legal, financial, or coverage advice.
Professional risk context
Separate the legal finding from prudent professional risk management; verify covered modalities, exclusions, defense costs, limits, and policy dates.
Premises, property, employment, cyber, vehicle, and other business exposures are distinct from professional liability and require policy-specific review.
- West Virginia's massage statute and rules do not set a practitioner liability-insurance requirement.
- Employers, landlords and event organizers may set their own insurance requirements.
- West Virginia Code Article 30-37 — Massage Therapists Accessed October 11, 2026
- 194 CSR 1 — General Provisions, effective May 15, 2025 Accessed October 11, 2026
- 194 CSR 4 — Schedule of Fees, effective May 1, 2024 Accessed October 11, 2026
Questions for an insurer
- Does the policy satisfy any state or local requirement that applies to this practice?
- Which modalities, locations, entities, and workers are covered?
- Are defense costs inside or outside the stated limits?
04 · Continuing education
Legal orientation and official starting points
Bounded
Legal CE orientation
24 hours
Twenty-four CE units are completed within the preceding two-year licensing period.
VerifiedCompact legal CE orientation only; subjects, documentation, and renewal mechanics are in the state's CE and renewal requirements.
Use official starting points to explore continuing-education resources in West Virginia. Legal renewal and continuing-education requirements are on West Virginia's CE and renewal page.
See detailed West Virginia renewal and CE requirements →Compare West Virginia CE and renewal with other states →Official CE starting points
Bounded05 · Workforce
West Virginia workforce outlook
Bounded
BLS May 2025 OEWS estimates 250 wage-and-salary massage therapist jobs in West Virginia; this is not a license count or practitioner census.
Employment
Bounded250
Estimated wage-and-salary jobs
Definition, limits, and sources
- Definition
- BLS OEWS estimate of massage therapist jobs in West Virginia in May 2025.
- Method
- BLS OEWS state estimate for SOC 31-9011, Massage Therapists, retrieved from the official BLS public data API.
- Limitation
- OEWS estimates wage-and-salary jobs, excludes self-employed workers, and is not a license count or practitioner census.
- Comparability
- Compare only with the same occupation, measure, geography level, and May 2025 OEWS vintage.
- Observed or accessed
- October 6, 2026
- Uncertainty
- 13.3 percent: BLS-published relative standard error for this state employment estimate.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Public Data API — May 2025 OEWS State Series Accessed October 6, 2026
- BLS OEWS May 2025 Methodology Accessed July 29, 2026
Compensation
Bounded$22.40/hr
Median hourly wage
Definition, limits, and sources
- Definition
- BLS OEWS median hourly wage for massage therapist jobs in West Virginia in May 2025.
- Method
- BLS OEWS state estimate for SOC 31-9011, Massage Therapists, retrieved from the official BLS public data API.
- Limitation
- OEWS estimates wage-and-salary jobs, excludes self-employed workers, and is not a license count or practitioner census.
- Comparability
- Compare only with the same occupation, measure, geography level, and May 2025 OEWS vintage.
- Observed or accessed
- October 6, 2026
- Uncertainty
- 4.6 percent: BLS publishes this relative standard error for the state mean wage; it publishes none for the median.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Public Data API — May 2025 OEWS State Series Accessed October 6, 2026
- BLS OEWS May 2025 Methodology Accessed July 29, 2026
$46,600
Median annual wage
Definition, limits, and sources
- Definition
- BLS OEWS median annual wage for massage therapist jobs in West Virginia in May 2025.
- Method
- BLS OEWS state estimate for SOC 31-9011, Massage Therapists, retrieved from the official BLS public data API.
- Limitation
- OEWS estimates wage-and-salary jobs, excludes self-employed workers, and is not a license count or practitioner census.
- Comparability
- Compare only with the same occupation, measure, geography level, and May 2025 OEWS vintage.
- Observed or accessed
- October 6, 2026
- Uncertainty
- 4.6 percent: BLS publishes this relative standard error for the state mean wage; it publishes none for the median.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Public Data API — May 2025 OEWS State Series Accessed October 6, 2026
- BLS OEWS May 2025 Methodology Accessed July 29, 2026
Growth and openings
Bounded430
Projection base employment
Definition, limits, and sources
- Definition
- Reported 2024 base employment in the state long-term projection.
- Method
- State-submitted long-term occupation projection distributed through the Projections Managing Partnership system sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
- Limitation
- Projection employment coverage differs from OEWS. Published endpoints are rounded, so the reported numeric and percentage changes must not be recomputed from rounded endpoint values.
- Comparability
- Compare only within the same state's 2024–2034 projection series and measure; do not equate projection employment with OEWS employment.
- Observed or accessed
- October 5, 2026
- Projections Central — 2024–2034 Long-Term Occupational Projections Accessed October 5, 2026
490
Projected employment
Definition, limits, and sources
- Definition
- Reported 2034 employment in the state long-term projection.
- Method
- State-submitted long-term occupation projection distributed through the Projections Managing Partnership system sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
- Limitation
- Projection employment coverage differs from OEWS. Published endpoints are rounded, so the reported numeric and percentage changes must not be recomputed from rounded endpoint values.
- Comparability
- Compare only within the same state's 2024–2034 projection series and measure; do not equate projection employment with OEWS employment.
- Observed or accessed
- October 5, 2026
- Projections Central — 2024–2034 Long-Term Occupational Projections Accessed October 5, 2026
60
Projected numeric change
Definition, limits, and sources
- Definition
- State-reported numeric employment change across the 2024–2034 projection period.
- Method
- State-submitted long-term occupation projection distributed through the Projections Managing Partnership system sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
- Limitation
- Projection employment coverage differs from OEWS. Published endpoints are rounded, so the reported numeric and percentage changes must not be recomputed from rounded endpoint values.
- Comparability
- Compare only within the same state's 2024–2034 projection series and measure; do not equate projection employment with OEWS employment.
- Observed or accessed
- October 5, 2026
- Projections Central — 2024–2034 Long-Term Occupational Projections Accessed October 5, 2026
15.0%
Projected percentage change
Definition, limits, and sources
- Definition
- State-reported percentage employment change across the 2024–2034 projection period.
- Method
- State-submitted long-term occupation projection distributed through the Projections Managing Partnership system sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
- Limitation
- Projection employment coverage differs from OEWS. Published endpoints are rounded, so the reported numeric and percentage changes must not be recomputed from rounded endpoint values.
- Comparability
- Compare only within the same state's 2024–2034 projection series and measure; do not equate projection employment with OEWS employment.
- Observed or accessed
- October 5, 2026
- Projections Central — 2024–2034 Long-Term Occupational Projections Accessed October 5, 2026
60
Projected annual openings
Definition, limits, and sources
- Definition
- State-reported average annual openings, including growth, exits, and occupational transfers.
- Method
- State-submitted long-term occupation projection distributed through the Projections Managing Partnership system sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
- Limitation
- Projection employment coverage differs from OEWS. Published endpoints are rounded, so the reported numeric and percentage changes must not be recomputed from rounded endpoint values.
- Comparability
- Compare only within the same state's 2024–2034 projection series and measure; do not equate projection employment with OEWS employment.
- Observed or accessed
- October 5, 2026
- Projections Central — 2024–2034 Long-Term Occupational Projections Accessed October 5, 2026
Population universe
OEWS measures wage-and-salary jobs. Projections Central distributes state long-term occupational projections; its base and projected employment universe is not assumed to match OEWS.
Self-employment
BLS OEWS excludes self-employed workers, which is material in massage therapy.
Workforce source set
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Public Data API — May 2025 OEWS State Series Accessed October 6, 2026
- BLS OEWS May 2025 Methodology Accessed July 29, 2026
- Projections Central — 2024–2034 Long-Term Occupational Projections Accessed October 5, 2026
06 · Resources
Official resources
BoundedEvery route leaves MassageData.
A selected official starting set, not a complete source ledger.
07 · Method
How this guide is made
Every field on this page carries a knowledge state, and every state is written as a word before it is drawn as a colour.
- Verified
- We checked the cited source on the stated date and the requirement exists as published. The date is the claim: it says when we looked, not that the rule is permanent.
- Bounded
- We know part of the answer and can say exactly where our knowledge stops. The boundary is stated in words and the fuller source is linked. A bounded finding is the edge of what we know, never an error.
- Review needed
- Published sources disagree, or a source carries superseded wording. Both readings are cited with their retrieval dates and neither is shown as fact until the current rule is confirmed. Review needed never means hidden; it means honestly uncertain.
What this guide does not determine
Local business, zoning, facility, and professional rules may apply in addition to statewide requirements. Confirm current requirements with the responsible authority before acting.
Sources and reviewReview needed
This guide projects 11 distinct official or first-party source links from the governed records. Reviewed October 11, 2026.