How to Get a South Carolina Massage License

Last updated: October 2, 2026

South Carolina raised its hour requirement in 2024 but did not make the change retroactive — and it still wants a paper check. Since May 26, 2024 applicants need 650 hours of massage school; graduates who finished before that date may still apply on a 500-hour transcript. The application costs $210, payable by check or money order only, and continuing education runs at a steady six hours a year.

What South Carolina Actually Requires

• 650 hours of massage therapy school education as of May 26, 2024.
• A grandfather clause: graduates who completed school before May 26, 2024 may apply for licensure with a 500-hour transcript.
• The MBLEx from the FSMTB ($265) — proof of a passing score is required.
• $210.00 application fee, by check or money order made payable to LLR – Massage Therapy Panel.
• A state criminal history check by SLED and a national check by the FBI, both supported by fingerprints. Required for initial licensing, licensing by endorsement, reinstatement from lapse, and whenever else the Board asks. You pay for both.
• An establishment license as well as your practitioner license if clients come to a space you control — including a rented room or a home office. See below.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Application fee	$210	Check or money order only, payable to LLR – Massage Therapy Panel
MBLEx exam	$265	Paid to FSMTB
Massage school	Tuition varies widely	650 hours since May 2024; 500-hour transcripts still accepted for earlier graduates
Continuing education	Varies	6 hours annually, 12 per renewal cycle
South Carolina LLC	$125	Articles of organization, Business Entities Online
Sole practitioner establishment — initial	Up to $75	What a solo therapist with their own room needs; biennial renewal up to $50, reinstatement up to $150
Massage therapy establishment — initial	Up to $150 per location	For a premises where therapists work as employees or contractors; biennial renewal up to $100 per location, reinstatement up to $250
SLED and FBI background checks	Paid by the applicant	Both are required, and both are on you

Before You Open a Practice: Premises, Background Checks and Out-of-State Licenses

Does South Carolina license massage establishments?

Yes — and this is the state where the solo therapist does not get let off. Since 2022 Act No. 151 (S.227), effective May 13, 2023, South Carolina licenses the premises as well as the practitioner. Because the regime is recent, a great deal of South Carolina massage guidance written before 2023 does not mention it at all.

There are two establishment licenses, and which one you need turns on whether anyone else works there:

• Massage therapy establishment — statutorily, “an entity with a physical site or premise, licensed as required by this chapter, in which licensed massage therapists are employees or contractors practicing massage therapy on clients.”
• Sole practitioner establishment — “a licensed massage therapist… who is not an employee or contractor of the sole practitioner establishment, and who provides massage therapy to clients at a specific location including, but not limited to, a rental space, home office space, or outcall or onsite space.”

Read that second definition carefully, because it is the one most South Carolina therapists fall under and the one most likely to be missed. Renting a room in a wellness center, or seeing clients in a home office, means you need a sole practitioner establishment license in your own name — on top of your MAS practitioner license. It is the cheaper of the two, at up to $75 initially and up to $50 to renew biennially, but it is not optional.

The mobile and outcall rules are unusually clear, so use them. Straight from the Board:

• Providing services somewhere that is not your place of business — a client’s home or office — does not require an establishment license.
• “Will I need an Establishment license if all my massage business is mobile?” — No.
• But if you have a space “such as a bus, van, trolley or the like” that you take to a client and within which the client receives services, you must hold an establishment or sole practitioner establishment license. The vehicle is the premises.

Two operating rules that come with the establishment license. Display: you must display your original license with a two inch by two inch current photo in a prominent and conspicuous place viewable by the general public in the establishment; when working outside it, carry your original licensing card so it is available at all times. Advertising: you do not have to put the establishment license number on your signs and adverts, but you must include your practitioner license number in any advertisement for licensed services.

Does South Carolina require a background check?

Yes — two separate checks, both fingerprint-supported. The Board requires a state criminal history records check by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and a national criminal records check by the FBI. The statute is explicit that the costs of both are paid by the applicant.

They are not a one-time hurdle either. Checks are required for initial licensing, licensing by endorsement, reinstatement from lapsed licensure, and as otherwise requested by the Board — so letting a license lapse means paying for and waiting on the checks a second time, on top of the reinstatement fee.

Can you transfer an out-of-state massage license to South Carolina?

Yes, by endorsement — but note what endorsement does and does not buy you here. Applicants licensed in another state must meet the same requirements as everyone else, and in addition must have a verification sent directly to the Panel’s office by the issuing state. Endorsement applicants are expressly included in the background check requirement.

Practical points from the Board’s own application materials: the fee is paid by check or money order made payable to LLR — Massage Therapy Panel, application fees are non-refundable, and a returned-check fee of up to $30 may be assessed. You will also need the Verification of Lawful Presence form, a clear copy of a valid driver’s license, state ID, passport or military ID, a copy of your Social Security card, and legal name-change documents if your names differ. Reinstatement from lapse costs $210.

One trap worth naming: provisional licenses cannot be reinstated. Once a provisional license expires you must meet the full licensure requirements, which include completion of 650 hours from a massage therapy school and passage of the MBLEx. If you are working under a provisional license, treat its expiry date as immovable.

The 2024 Hour Increase Has a Grandfather Clause

Several states raised their massage education minimum in 2024. South Carolina is the one that wrote in an explicit carve-out. As of May 26, 2024 new applicants need 650 hours — but massage graduates who completed school prior to May 26, 2024 may apply for licensure with 500-hour transcripts.

That matters if you finished a 500-hour program a few years ago and never got around to licensing, or if you are relocating with older credentials. In several neighboring states those hours would now be short. In South Carolina, the graduation date is what counts — so dig out the transcript and check the date before assuming you need to go back to school.

Two practical notes on the mechanics. The $210 application fee is payable by check or money order only, made out to LLR – Massage Therapy Panel, so budget the extra days for post. And continuing education is annual rather than lumped: six hours each year, twelve across a cycle that runs from July 1 of an even year to June 30 of the next even year.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Check your graduation date. Before May 26, 2024 means a 500-hour transcript is still acceptable; after it, you need 650 hours.
2. Pass the MBLEx ($265 through FSMTB) and obtain proof of the passing score.
3. Write a check or money order for $210 payable to LLR – Massage Therapy Panel — no card.
4. Submit the application to the South Carolina Board of Massage Therapy.
5. Plan six CE hours a year, not twelve every second year.
6. Opening a studio? Register the entity, check city and county requirements, and bind liability insurance before the first client.

Staying Licensed

South Carolina licensees need six hours annually of Board-approved continuing education, twelve hours per renewal cycle, on a cycle running from July 1 of even years to June 30 of even years. Because the requirement is annual rather than biennial, letting a year slide leaves you short even if the cycle total looks reachable.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours does South Carolina require for a massage license?

650 hours of massage therapy school education as of May 26, 2024. Graduates who completed school before that date may still apply for licensure using a 500-hour transcript — the change is not retroactive.

How much does a South Carolina massage license cost?

$210.00 for the application, paid by check or money order made payable to LLR – Massage Therapy Panel. The board does not take a card for this. Add $265 for the MBLEx and massage school tuition.

How much continuing education does South Carolina require?

Six hours annually of Board-approved continuing education, making twelve hours per renewal cycle. The cycle runs from July 1 of even years to June 30 of even years.

What exam does South Carolina require?

Proof of having passed the MBLEx, the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards examination.

Do you need an establishment license to open a massage business in South Carolina?

Yes, and solo therapists are not exempt. South Carolina licenses two kinds of premises: a massage therapy establishment, where therapists work as employees or contractors, and a sole practitioner establishment, for a licensed therapist working alone at a specific location including a rental space or home office space. The sole practitioner establishment license costs up to $75 initially and up to $50 to renew every two years; the massage therapy establishment license costs up to $150 per location. The regime took effect on May 13, 2023.

Do you need a South Carolina establishment license for mobile or outcall massage?

Generally no. If you provide services somewhere that is not your place of business, such as a client’s home or office, no establishment license is required, and the Board answers “no” to whether a wholly mobile massage business needs one. The exception is a space you take to the client, such as a bus, van or trolley, within which the client receives services: that requires an establishment or sole practitioner establishment license.

Does South Carolina require a background check for a massage license?

Yes. The Board requires a state criminal history records check by SLED and a national criminal records check by the FBI, both supported by fingerprints, with the costs paid by the applicant. The checks are required for initial licensing, licensing by endorsement, reinstatement from lapsed licensure, and whenever else the Board requests them.

Forming the company, taxes, insurance, and hiring are covered in our full guide to starting a business in South Carolina.

Sources

Source	What It Covers
SC Board of Massage Therapy — Licensure	650 hours since May 26 2024, the 500-hour grandfather clause, MBLEx proof, $210 by check or money order
SC Board of Massage Therapy — Continuing Education Requirements	6 hours annually, 12 per cycle, July-to-June even-year cycle
SC Board of Massage Therapy — Fees	Current fee schedule
SC Board of Massage Therapy — Examination for Licensure	MBLEx requirement
FSMTB — MBLEx	MBLEx registration and $265 exam fee
South Carolina Code of Laws Title 40, Chapter 30 — Massage Therapy Practice Act	The definitions of massage therapy establishment and sole practitioner establishment, the SLED and FBI check requirement, and the statutory fee maxima
South Carolina Board of Massage Therapy — FAQs	Establishment licensing for mobile and outcall work, the display and advertising rules, and the bar on reinstating a provisional license
South Carolina Board of Massage Therapy — Licensure	Endorsement applicants and the direct verification requirement, reinstatement fee and payment rules

Comparing states? See our massage license guides for every state we cover.