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- Do I need to get a license to practice massage therapy in Montana?
Yes! Everyone (even if you qualify to grandfather or have a license in another state) must eventually have a Montana license to practice massage therapy in Montana.
Click each of the questions below to be taken to the answer:
- Should I grandfather?
Yes! Even if you don’t think you should grandfather in, or don’t want to grandfather in, please read this section. You may find the information of value.
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When do I need to apply?
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 to grandfather. 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 3rd 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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How can I qualify for a license?
There are 3 ways to license:
- By grandfathering (click to go to Grandfather FAQs)
- By examination: this includes education and testing (click to go to Examination FAQs)
- By endorsement: using an equivalent license from another state (click to go to Endorsement FAQs)
See the FAQs for each method for more information
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Should I grandfather?
Please read through this section even if you don’t think you want to grandfather in or plan to. There is no special designation on your license, so there is no advantage to applying for a license one way or another. All licensees will be treated the same once they are licensed. However, you may take into consideration the following:
- If your massage school is no longer in existence, you may have to grandfather. The application process for applying by the "Examination" method requires that your school must send your transcript directly to the board. If there is no custodian of record (your school closed and there is no place to request the transcript from), then you can’t meet this requirement. The Board has not discussed this scenario, and so we are not sure how the Board will handle this situation. The BLMTB Board recommends that you grandfather if you can to avoid having to deal with the Board.
- If your massage school does not follow the accepted curriculum guidelines you may have to grandfather. The NCBTMB is the only organization accredited by the NCCA, and according to the statutes, schools must be a minimum 500 hours and meet or exceed the curriculum guidelines of such a program. 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 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. To avoid this situation, the BLMTB Board recommends that you grandfather if you can. FYI, if your school exceeds the hours in each of the categories, that is ok and is acceptable. These guidelines are the minimums.
Applicable Statutes:
37-33-502. Qualifications for licensure. (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.
Applicable Rules:
New rules concerning curriculum guidelines are lengthy and are already summarized above.
Grandfathering will save you money: The grandfather application fee is $10 less.
Grandfathering is a simpler process: much less paperwork (and hassle) is required. All applicants must send in the following paperwork: paperwork clarifying some of the answers checked “yes” on questions 13-28, proof of age (copy of your driver’s license), and 2 moral character letters (sent directly from your references). Also, if you have been licensed in another state, you have to contact that state and have them send verification directly to the Board.
If you grandfather, the only additional paperwork you have to submit with your application is a notarized statement attesting to your hours of practice.
If you apply by either of the other two methods you must contact your high school to have them send in a transcript (or any other entity that can verify a high school diploma or equivalent).
In addition, if you apply via education and testing (the examination method) you must contact your massage school to have them send a transcript directly to the Board, and contact the testing agency to have them send verification directly to the Board that you passed their test. The Board will then have to verify that your schooling meets the curriculum guidelines (see other FAQs for more on this). If the Board can’t verify this training or it does not meet the curriculum guidelines, this could further delay your application or cause it to be denied or deemed incomplete.
If you are applying via endorsement (equivalent license from another state), you have to contact the state in which you are licensed and have them send Montana verification of your license. Plus you have to submit to the Montana Board copies of the current statutes and rules from the jurisdiction in which you hold that license.
Even if you qualify to license by other methods, you can still grandfather if you meet the criteria. If you’re worried that the Board won’t get a complete picture of your training, don’t worry: the application is such that you can include information about your massage school education and licensing in other states. In fact, if you don’t include this information, you could get into trouble as you did not completely and truthfully fill out the application (your signature on the app is to verify that you did) You could even request that the testing agency send your test scores to the board to be added to your file. You just won’t have to request paperwork from all the other entities (except verification of a license in good standing from another state). Your application will not be considered less valid or less professional if you license by grandfathering versus another method.
If you think you are exempt you may still want to grandfather. There are two situations where you may want to go ahead and get the massage therapy license:
- If you are not sure you qualify for an exemption: It is imperative that you read the FAQs about exemptions to ensure that you qualify for an exemption (click here to go to the Exemption FAQs). Just because you perform a modality covered by the exemption (ie. asian bodywork, reflexology, etc.) does NOT mean that you will automatically be exempt. If you do not meet the requirements for an exemption, then you must get a massage therapy license, as you are performing massage therapy in the eyes of the law. If you need a license, the best way for you to get one is to grandfather. The BLMTB Board does not recommend that you take a chance and remain unlicensed. Yes, chances are your exemption may not ever be questioned. However, if someone decides to do a “sweep” and make a complaint because they believe that you are not properly exempted, or if someone lodges a complaint against you for any other reason, you can bet that the Board will first check to make sure that you are properly exempted. If you are not, the Board could require you to get a license (require you to go to a 500 hour program and take an exam) or shut you down until you are properly exempted. It would be a shame that you passed up the opportunity to grandfather (with its minimal requirements) when it was available to you.
- If you want to advertise in the yellow pages. Under the new law, only those people who have a massage therapy license can imply that they are performing massage therapy. So, unless you advertise under another heading or until a separate category is developed for bodywork or your modality, anyone not holding a massage therapy license cannot advertise in the yellow pages under any category that contains the word “massage.” This is true even if you are NCBTMB certified (an NCBTMB certified rolfer asked the Board directly and they said no). If you have been previously advertising under a “massage” category, you will no longer be able to do so – you will be in violation of the law, as doing so implies that you are performing massage therapy. The BLMTB Board recommends that if you want to advertise in the yellow pages under a “massage” category, then apply for a license via grandfathering. Be reminded that you are responsible for knowing and following the law. You cannot blame the phone company for failing to discontinue your ad, or for failing to tell you what the law is.
Applicable Statute
37-33-404. Exemptions
(b) The exemptions in subsection (5)(a) apply only if:
(ii) the person's services are not designated as or implied to be massage therapy.
Excerpt from February 22, 2010 Board Meeting Minutes:
“Members indicated that a listing under Therapeutic Massage in the Yellow Pages would require individuals listed there to be licensed massage therapists.”
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Temporary License: Is there a temporary license available for massage school graduates or others to practice under while applying for their state license? ?
No, not at this time. The Board has not addressed this issue as yet.
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