Click each of the questions below to be taken to the answer:
How do I qualify for Grandfathering?
Besides submitting an application and the fees, three requirements must be met:
- That you turn 18 years of age before July 1, 2010
- that you have engaged in the practice of massage therapy for at least 100 hours in Montana before July 1, 2010 and
- you are of good moral character.
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.
Applicable Statutes:
37-33-503. Initial licensure -- grandfather clause.
(1) As of July 1,2010, the board shall issue a massage therapy license to an applicant who applies or has applied for a license by paying the application fee and by providing a signed affidavit to the board that the applicant has engaged in the practice of massage therapy for at least 100 hours in Montana prior to applying for a massage therapy license under this section and that the applicant meets the requirements of 37-33-502(l)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), and (l)(e). [This section clarifies that a person must have the 100 hours in Montana, must be 18 and must be of good moral character.]
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]. [In short, this section says that if you are not eligible to grandfather by July 1, 2010, then you may not practice without a license, which means you must apply for a license using another method. This implies that you have to qualify to grandfather by July 1, 2010.]
Applicable Rules:
24.155.601 LICENSURE BY GRANDFATHER CLAUSE 1) All applicants for licensure by grandfathering shall:
(a) submit a completed application on a form prescribed by the department with:
(i) the appropriate fee;
(ii) proof that the applicant is 18 years of age or older;
(iii) 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; and
(iv) a signed and notarized affidavit stating the applicant has practiced massage therapy in the state of Montana for at least 100 hours on or before July 1, 2010.
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What does “engaged in the practice of massage therapy for at least 100 hours” mean?
It means that you have performed 100 hours of sessions on clients. For students it means, at this time, if the hours are within training time then they don’t count. If the hours are logged sessions (with a client on your own) or in a clinic, then those hours will count toward grandfathering. The intent of the Board seems to be that if the hours are part of your instructional or training time (learning how to give a massage), then those hours won’t count.
Remember, the law also states that these hours must have occurred within the borders of Montana.
See the next question for further information concerning students.
Applicable Statutes:
This question concerns the following statute.
37-33-503. Initial licensure -- grandfather clause.
(1) As of July 1,2010, the board shall issue a massage therapy license to an applicant who applies or has applied for a license by paying the application fee and by providing a signed affidavit to the board that the applicant has engaged in the practice of massage therapy for at least 100 hours in Montana prior to applying for a massage therapy license under this section and...
There are no statutes or rules that explain this decision. However this issue was discussed at the 4/27/2010 Board meeting and the above decision was made.
Excerpt from the April 27, 2010 Board Meeting Minutes:
“DISCUSSION OF “ENGAGED IN THE PRACTICE OF MASSAGE THERAPY FOR 100 HOURS” PER 37-33-503, MCA:
Questions have come into the Board office as to whether a student who does massage during training can count those hours to qualify to apply for licensure by grandfathering. The members discussed that the hours would have to be log hours or clinic hours that involved hands-on massage. Classroom training hours giving a massage with an instructor present are not legitimate hours to be counted to meet the language of the statute.
Motion: Deb Kimmet moved that in response to the query about what hours for a student could constitute “engaged in practice of massage therapy”, the Board has determined that the 100 hours may include logged hours and clinic hours but not classroom training hours. Stacy Baird seconded. Motion Carried. This agenda item will be discussed again at a future meeting to determine whether the Board wishes to propose a rule addressing this subject.”
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If a massage therapy student graduates just before July 1, 2010, does this person apply by education or can they apply by grandfather application and count their clinic hours?
This question and following answer was in the FAQs agenda item of the June 22, 2010 Board Book. If the information changes, the BLMTB Board will update if this information changes: “If an individual qualifies for multiple methods of licensure, it is up to them to evaluate which works best for them. The Board has determined that, for a student, the 100 hours may include logged hours and clinic hours but not classroom training hours.”
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How do I document my 100 hours of practice time?
If I grandfather in, how do I prove that I have 100 hours of practice? There is no requirement that you document your hours. However, we recommend that you do in case there ever is a time when you might have to verify your practice hours. Read on:
The following is the BLMTB Board’s position on this issue:
Right now, all you have to do is sign a statement in front of a notary that you swear that you have completed your hours prior to July 1, 2010 or at the time you apply (whichever is earlier), so there is no actual “proving.” However, that doesn’t mean that you won’t ever have to prove it. The Board cannot just ask you to furnish the info arbitrarily. There has to be some reason to ask. So, if anyone ever files a complaint against you, it would be within the Board’s right to ask you to verify that you have the hours. What documentation would be required for this? The Board isn’t saying, as legally they can’t. This puts us all in a catch-22. If you don’t know what records to keep, then how can you verify the hours? If your method isn’t deemed adequate, then the Board could have grounds for sanction.
Since we don’t know what documentation is ok, we’re only making suggestions here. There is no guarantee that this will meet with the Board’s approval. We also recommend that you use several methods to increase your odds that at least one of them is acceptable. We suggest that you have a client sign a verification of treatment statement, listing dates of the sessions and length of the session. If you have a handful of long-term clients willing to sign a statement that may be put into the public domain, that may be enough to get your hours in. If you are nationally certified, they require that you have so many hours in to renew. You could show when you became nationally certified and what years you renewed. Keep a log of session dates and length of session. Keep your appointment calendar. Whatever documentation you choose to use, make sure that you put it in a permanent file and always keep it, so if there ever is an issue with it, you won’t be scrambling to come up with evidence that you had adequate hours before July 1, 2010. When making these decisions about documentation, keep in mind confidentiality issues and tailor your records accordingly (i.e. use codes, only first names, etc.)
The June 22, 2010 Board Book FAQ Agenda item included the following: “What documentation should I keep available if I am audited by the board to prove I have hours enough to have applied by grandfathering? - At this time, the Board has not determined any specific method of documentation.”
BLMTB Note: We will keep you posted on this issue, as this issue will be addressed at a future board meeting. However, this information is confusing, as it sounds like the Board can develop this information at any time. At a previous Board/Rule meeting, the Board was told that they could not determine such a method independently.
The Minutes of the December 7, 2009 Board Meeting confirm this:
“Ms. Kelly-Clark went over the final rule proposal that had recommended that applicants applying by the grandfather clause be given some idea of the records they might need to keep on hand in case the 100 hours by which they were licensed was ever questioned. The Rules Committee had determined that the Board does not have authority to do this; the Department Compliance Unit would ask for whatever information they deemed necessary should a complaint ever be filed against an individual. Ms. Kimmet said that despite the lack of authority, she would still like some information on record keeping made available to applicants in the event of a complaint.
Ms. Kelly-Clark said that the Compliance Unit might be able to give an idea of what documents might be asked for, but there were no guarantees. Ms. Collett said that whatever information might be requested would come before the board’s screening panel and those members would still have input as to what documents were needed. The final decision still rests with the board through the compliance process and recommendations by department counsel.”
Applicable Statutes:
37-33-503. Initial licensure -- grandfather clause.
(1) As of July 1,2010, the board shall issue a massage therapy license to an applicant who applies or has applied for a license by paying the application fee and by providing a signed affidavit to the board that the applicant has engaged in the practice of massage therapy for at least 100 hours in Montana prior to applying for a massage therapy license under this section and that the applicant meets the requirements of 37-33-502(l)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), and (l)(e).
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I live in another state, can I grandfather in Montana?
There is no residency requirement to grandfather. However, you must perform your 100 hours of practice time (see below for requirements) within the state of Montana. Even if you have a lot of experience in your home state, it does not matter. Those hours have to occur within the boundaries of Montana in order for them to meet the requirements of the statute. Remember you must be 18 years old and meet the hour requirements by July 1, 2010.
Applicable Statutes:
37-33-503. Initial licensure -- grandfather clause. (1) As of July 1,2010, the board shall issue a massage therapy license to an applicant who applies or has applied for a license by paying the application fee and by providing a signed affidavit to the board that the applicant has engaged in the practice of massage therapy for at least 100 hours in Montana prior to applying for a massage therapy license under this section and that the applicant meets the requirements of 37-33-502(l)(a), (1)(b), (1)(d), and (l)(e).
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When do I have to get my license?
The statutes clearly state that “A person may not apply for licensure under this section after July 1, 2012.” Therefore, practitioners who grandfather must have their application turned into the Board office no later than July 1, 2012. The BLMTB Board recommends that you do not procrastinate or wait until the last minute to apply. We do not want to have anyone lose the opportunity to grandfather due to some last minute issue. Please get your application in early.
Here is something else to consider if you decide to wait until 2012 to apply:
- 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:
37-33-503. Initial licensure -- grandfather clause. (2) (b) A person may not apply for licensure under this section after July 1, 2012.
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 information.
- Pay the fees.
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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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Will I have to take a test or go to a 500 hour program to renew my license?
Absolutely Not! This was a rumor that was perpetuated when the bill passed and is not true. People either misread or misunderstood the law. Here is what it says:
37-33-503. Initial licensure -- grandfather clause. (2) (a) A license issued under this section is valid for the same initial period as a license issued under 37-33-502 and is subject to the same renewal requirements and renewal fees as a license issued under 37-33-502.
Section 37-33-502 are the provisions that people who are not grandfathering must use to qualify for a license. What this says is that grandfather licensees are to be treated no differently than any other licensee when it comes to renewing their license. No additional requirements for renewals can be added on just because someone grandfathered in.
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Can the Board audit me to prove I have enough hours to have applied by grandfathering?
The Board does not have the power to randomly audit these hours. The Board only has the power to audit whether or not you’ve met the continuing education requirements, NOT your 100 hours of practice time. However, if a complaint is filed against you, then that does give the Board the power to ensure that you were truthful on your application, which could include an audit to prove that you were truthful when you signed the affidavit claiming to possess those 100 hours of practice.
This information was confirmed via the following statement that was in the FAQs agenda item in the June 22, 2010 Board book. It will be discussed at a future meeting to appear on the state website. We will keep you posted as to whether or not this information changes: “The only audit contemplated by the Board at this time is a continuing education audit in 2012. The license numbers for a CE audit are pulled randomly by a computer program and have nothing to do with the method of licensure.”
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If I apply for a massage license by grandfathering does this make me more likely to be audited by the Board?
No, our understanding as explained by the Department during a Rules Committee meeting is that licensees are randomly chosen for audit. And remember, this audit is for the purpose of verifying your 12 hours of continuing education only.
This information was confirmed via the following statement that was in the FAQs agenda item in the June 22, 2010 Board book. It will be discussed at a future meeting to appear on the state website. We will keep you posted as to whether or not this information changes: “The only audit contemplated by the Board at this time is a continuing education audit in 2012. The license numbers for a CE audit are pulled randomly by a computer program and have nothing to do with the method of licensure.”
Excerpt from January 25, 2010 Rules Committee Meeting Minutes:
"The audit process for continuing education (CE) used by all boards was briefly described."
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