Click each of the questions below to be taken to the answer:
How do I qualify for Licensing by Examination?
Besides submitting an application and the fees, four requirements must be met:
- You must posses a high school diploma or its equivalent;
- You must be at least 18 years of age;
- You are of good moral character (See Below) and
- You have at least 500 hours of schooling and pass an examination. (See Below)
Regarding item 3: The Board, by rule, determined that the person must submit 2 letters attesting to the good moral character of the applicant in order to meet requirement #3. The form for this is included in the application file.
Regarding item 4:
At least 500 hours of schooling: According to statute certain curriculum guidelines must be met. Right now, the NCBTMB is the only group that we are aware of that meets or exceeds these guidelines. Unless and until another program is developed or discovered, the NCBTMB guidelines prevail. This does NOT mean that your school has to be NCBTMB approved, it only means that the school has to have the following minimum curriculum: (a) 200 hours of in-class and instructor-supervised massage and bodywork assessment, theory, and application instruction; (b) 125 hours of instruction on the body systems (anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology); (c) 40 hours of pathology; (d) ten hours of business and ethics instruction (a minimum of six hours in ethics); and (e) 125 hours of instruction in an area or related field that completes the massage program of study. If your school does not fall within these criteria, then you don’t meet the educational requirements. The Board has not discussed how to handle applications under this scenario, so it is not clear whether or not your application will be rejected outright, or whether you will be required to gain additional training. Your schooling can exceed these numbers. These are just the minimums.
Examination: Any of the following examinations are acceptable: MBLEx, NCETMB, the NCETM or a state examination that the board deems equivalent.
Applicable Statutes:
37-33-502. Qualifications for licensure. (1) To be eligible for licensure as a massage therapist as provided in 37-33-501, an applicant:
(a) shall submit an application on a form provided by the department;
(b) shall include with the application the application fee set by the board; (c) must posses a high school diploma or its equivalent;
(d) must be at least 18 years of age; and
(e) must be of good moral character.
(2) The applicant, in addition to the requirements established in subsection (1), is required to:
(a) successfully complete a massage therapy program of a minimum of 500 hours of study that meets or exceeds the curriculum guidelines established by any program or organization accredited by the national commission for certifying agencies or its equivalent or successor and receive a passing score on an examination prescribed by the board; or
Applicable Rules:
24.155.604 LICENSURE BY EXAMINATION (1) All applicants for licensure by examination shall:
(a) submit a completed application on a form prescribed by the department with:
(i) the appropriate fee;
(ii) a copy of a certified transcript or certificate of completion sent directly from the official custodian of the record, evidencing to the board's satisfaction that the applicant has a high school diploma or its equivalent;
(iii) proof that the applicant is 18 years of age or older;
(iv) two letters attesting to the good moral character of the applicant, submitted directly to the board office by individuals who are not the applicant's family members;
(v) proof of successful completion of a massage therapy educational program of a minimum of 500 hours of study that meets or exceeds the curriculum guidelines established by any program or organization accredited by the national commission for certifying agencies or its equivalent or successor; and
(vi) a passing score on either the MBLEx, NCETMB, or the NCETM examination or a state examination deemed by the board to be equivalent.
============Reference correct Rule Number================== NEW RULE II CURRICULUM (1) The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork is a program currently accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and its curriculum meet or exceed the requirements of 37-33-502, MCA. Those curriculum guidelines are as follows:
(a) 200 hours of in-class and instructor-supervised massage and bodywork assessment, theory, and application instruction;
(b) 125 hours of instruction on the body systems (anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology);
(c) 40 hours of pathology;
(d) ten hours of business and ethics instruction (a minimum of six hours in ethics); and
(e) 125 hours of instruction in an area or related field that completes the massage program of study.
(2) Other curriculum guideline submissions will be evaluated by the board for compliance with 37-33-502, MCA, on a case-by-case basis.
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When do I have to get my license?
There are two answers to this question. Please read both answers thoroughly to see where you fit:
- IF you turn 18 years old by July 1, 2010 AND have 100 hours of massage therapy practice in Montana by July 1, 2010, you may apply for a license no later than July 1, 2012 (even if you are not grandfathering in).
- If you do NOT meet either criteria above (you don’t turn 18 by July 1, 2010 OR you don’t have 100 Montana practice hours in), then you must apply by July 1, 2010 (and if today’s date is after July 1, 2010, you must apply now and you can’t practice until you possess a license).
If you qualify under provision 1 above and don’t have to license until 2012 please take into consideration the following:
- If you are organized and can remember to apply later, you can. If you are a procrastinator, or things tend to slip your mind, the BLMTB Board does not recommend waiting until the last minute to apply. We want to be sure that everyone who should be licensed gets licensed, and doesn’t miss the opportunity. The advantage of waiting to apply is that you will save $90 per year in fees for each year you hold off applying (up to $180 as you will have to apply by July 1, 2012) and by waiting, you will have to earn 12 fewer CE credits overall, saving you those fees too.
- Waiting to license could severely impact the numbers of those licensing and ultimately impact fees. If fewer than 500 license that first year or two, the Massage Therapy Board may be forced to raise fees in order to cover their costs. So the fees that are in place now may actually have to be raised, This means that there is a strong possibility that if everyone waits to be licensed, that by the time everyone is required to be licensed, the fees may be higher than they are now. Since it can take up to 6 months to change the rules, it would take some time for the fees to be lowered to reflect the costs being spread over the licensees. So, to keep the fees down for everyone (and if more than 500 apply, increase the possibility that the fees could go even lower) you may want to consider licensing now.
Applicable Statutes:
37-33-501. (1) As of July 1, 2010, a person who is not eligible for a license under 37-33-503 [note: the grandfather clause] may not practice or purport to practice massage therapy without first obtaining a license under the provisions of 37-33-502 [note: the non-grandfather methods to license].
37-33-503. Initial licensure -- grandfather clause (2) (b) A person may not apply for licensure under this section after July 1, 2012.
These two statutes together create a bit of a gray area.
However, here is an excerpt from the March 3, 2010 Board Meeting Minutes:
“Susan Carlson asked if a person qualifies for a license by the grandfathering process on July 1, 2010 but does not have a license, does that impact the ability to practice. Board Counsel responded that if you are qualified under the grandfathering provision on or before 7/1/2010, under the law, you can continue to practice without a license until 7/1/2012.”
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What do I have to do to get my license?
There are several simple steps:
- Go to the state website and download the application. www.massagetherapists.mt.gov
- Fill the application out completely and thoroughly.
- Add the additional documentation as needed. See the Application FAQs for more.
- Pay the fees.
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What if my massage school no longer exists?
The application process requires that a transcript be sent directly from the school to the Board office. If your transcript still exists and there is a custodian of the record, then you will request the information be sent from them directly. However, if there is no official person or entity from which to request the information, that could present a problem. The Board has not addressed this issue at this time. If you can, we recommend that you grandfather in.
Click here to see the Grandfather FAQs.
Applicable Rule:
24.155.604 LICENSURE BY EXAMINATION (1) All applicants for licensure by examination shall:
(a) submit a completed application on a form prescribed by the department with:
(i) the appropriate fee;
(v) proof of successful completion of a massage therapy educational program of a minimum of 500 hours of study that meets or exceeds the curriculum guidelines established by any program or organization accredited by the national commission for certifying agencies or its equivalent or successor; and
Statement from the Examination Application:
LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
BY EXAMINATION
Must provide proof of successful completion of a massage therapy educational program of a minimum of 500 hours of study that meets or exceeds the curriculum guidelines established by any program or organization accredited by the national commission for certifying agencies or its equivalent or successor. An official transcript with curriculum information must be sent directly to the board office from the school.
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Are there any special requirements for me to renew my license?
You are required to:
- Fill out a form and pay the license fee.
- Complete 12 CE hours every 2 consecutive years.
(Click here to go to the CE FAQS)
Every even numbered year, beginning in 2012, you will have to attest (sign a paper verifying) that you have completed 12 hours of continuing education when you send in your renewal. This number is prorated if you’ve been licensed less than 2 years. You do not have to submit proof of the CEs with your renewal. But, a few “lucky” participants will be audited each CE cycle and will have to submit proof of CEs. The rules require that everyone keep their CE documentation for 3 years after you’ve submitted them to the state with your renewal that requires continuing education reporting. This means that you could need to keep them up to 5 years as you only report CEs every other year. The BLMTB Board recommends that everyone keep their CE certificates/paperwork longer.
Applicable Statutes:
37-33-405. Powers and duties of board -- rulemaking authority. The board shall:
(3) adopt rules establishing reasonable requirements for continuing education, which must require 12 hours of continuing education to be completed in each 2-year period;
Applicable Rules:
==== Reference Rule NO. on CEs as they are adopted ======
NEW RULE I CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
(4) A licensed massage therapist must earn at least 12 continuing education credits every two consecutive years by the licensee renewal date on even numbered years beginning in 2012.
(a) No continuing education is required for licensees licensed less than one full year on their first continuing education reporting date. Licensees licensed at least one year but less than two full years on the first continuing education reporting date shall submit six hours of continuing education.
(b) All licensed massage therapists must submit an attestation to the board on each even year's license renewal that they have obtained the required continuing education.
(c) The board will randomly audit between two percent and five percent of the licensees attesting to continuing education. Certificates of completion or program documentation for continuing education credits reported must be submitted upon request of the board.
(2) A continuing education activity must meet the following criteria:
(d) It is the responsibility of the licensee to establish and maintain detailed records of continuing education compliance for a period of three years, following submission of a continuing education report.
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