Louisiana Massage License: Cost & Requirements (2026)

Last updated: August 24, 2026

Louisiana is the state where the city cannot add rules on top. In most states the municipal layer is where the real burden hides — a town permit, a local inspection, a conviction bar your investors have to clear. Louisiana went the other way: state law supersedes local regulation of massage therapists and establishments, leaving cities only zoning and occupational license taxes. What the state asks instead is specific: 500 in-class hours with a 90 percent attendance rule, an annual $125 renewal, mandatory establishment registration, and advertising rules that reach your signage and your website.

What Louisiana Actually Requires

• 500 in-class hours, broken down as 325 hours of massage therapy techniques and clinical practicum-related modalities, 125 hours of anatomy and physiology, and 50 discretionary hours including hydrotherapy, business practices, professional ethics, health and hygiene, and CPR and first aid.
• 90 percent attendance in every subject. To be eligible you must have graduated with passing grades and attended at least 90 percent of class hours in each subject matter, as reflected by attendance records taken at the beginning of each class meeting. The board can request those records.
• Pass a national examination or the MBLEx, with proof sent to the board directly from the examination agency.
• A fingerprint background check through IdentoGo, using the board’s unique service code, covering at least the five years preceding your application.
• An original certified transcript — from every school you attended if you split the hours — plus a 2″ × 2″ passport photo and a copy of a government-issued ID.
• $75 application fee, by cashier’s check or money order only. The board does not take personal checks for this.

Two paperwork traps worth heading off. If your transcript shows credit hours rather than in-class or clock hours, the school must supply the conversion — and if it is missing, the application is returned. And any coursework taken online must be documented: which classes, and the clock hours for each. If the transcript does not say, you need an official letter from the registrar. Louisiana also accepts original documentation only; copies are rejected.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Application fee	$75	Nonrefundable; cashier’s check or money order only
Original massage therapist license	$125	Paid after the application is approved
Annual license renewal	$125	Every year, not every two
Late renewal fee	$100	On top of the renewal fee
Establishment application	$75	Nonrefundable
Establishment registration	$100 / $80 / $60	Pro-rated by when you register: April–August $100, September–December $80, January–March $60
Establishment annual renewal	$100	Late fee is another $100
Duplicate license	$25	Directory fee $50; copies $0.25 per page
Massage school (500 hrs)	Tuition varies widely	The dominant cost
Louisiana LLC	$100 → $125	Articles of organization; rises October 1, 2026
Louisiana annual report	$30 → $35	Also rises October 1, 2026

The annual renewal is the number to plan around. At $125 every year, Louisiana costs more to maintain than most states charge for two years — Iowa is $60 biennially, New Hampshire $121 biennially. Budget it as a recurring line, and note that missing the date does not just add the $100 late fee: an expired license means all rights and privileges under it cease immediately.

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

Does Louisiana license massage establishments?

Yes, and the register-versus-pay distinction is the part to get right. Under R.S. 37:3558:

• Every location where one or more people are regularly engaged in massage therapy must register with the board as a massage establishment. A solo practice is not outside this.
• Locations where more than one person is regularly engaged must also pay the establishment license fee. That is the line at which the money starts.
• The obligation sits with the entity that controls the physical location — sole proprietor, lessee, owner, partnership, corporation, cooperative, association or other legal entity. If you lease a room inside someone else’s studio, work out who controls the space before you assume they have handled it.
• An establishment may employ or contract only licensed massage therapists.
• Each therapist working at an establishment must hold a Licensed Massage Therapist Identification Card (LMT-ID Card), which also authorizes off-site massage. It must be displayed in plain view at the establishment, and if you practice outside a licensed establishment you must carry it and present it on request.
• A massage establishment may not be used as a domicile, shelter or harbor, or as sleeping or napping quarters for anyone, unless the premises is zoned residential under a local ordinance.
• A sexually oriented business is ineligible to register and may not operate as a massage establishment.

What the application asks for: the $75 fee, a signed and notarized Verifying Affidavit dated within 30 days of the board receiving it, the IdentoGo background check, government ID for all owners and partners, documentation of your right to possess the premises — a lease, proof of ownership, or a letter of intent from the landlord — and supporting documents including Secretary of State entity filings and your IRS EIN letter. Handwritten documents are not accepted.

The premises standards are set by rule: all equipment kept safe and sanitary; towels and linens laundered before reuse; at least one toilet and one sink with running water, stocked with tissue, soap, hand-drying provision and a waste receptacle, kept clean, well-lit and ventilated; and shower facilities maintained if you have a whirlpool bath, sauna, steam cabinet or steam room.

And a draping rule that belongs in your session script: before beginning a massage, the therapist must explain the expected draping technique to the client and provide a clean drape. Throughout the session, reasonable efforts must be made to keep the gluteal cleft and genitalia covered for male clients, and the breasts, gluteal cleft and genitalia covered for female clients.

The board inspects both licensed and unlicensed establishments, and failure to cooperate is itself grounds for discipline. Name, location and ownership changes must be reported within 30 days.

The fines are published, and they escalate

Louisiana runs a published fines and penalty schedule rather than case-by-case discretion:

• Minor violations found in required office audits — missed filings, registrations or update notifications, such as adding or removing a therapist, a change of address or a business closure form — start at $100 per violation.
• Inspection violations of a statute, rule or regulation start at $300 and run to $750.
• Serious violations — including using the establishment as a domicile or sleeping quarters, or aiding, assisting, procuring or advising an unlicensed person to practice — are $1,000.
• Repeat violations, or failing to show corrective action, double the fine and may bring disciplinary action.

Two consequences under R.S. 37:3565 deserve to be read carefully before you sign a lease. First, a massage establishment’s license is automatically revoked if any owner, manager or supervisor violates the chapter, where the violation occurs in or in connection with the establishment’s operation. Second, and effective August 1, 2025: after such a revocation, no occupational license, permit, or massage establishment license may be issued — by a local governing authority or by the board — for a massage establishment at that same premises or address. The address itself is barred, whoever takes it next.

That is why the board’s own application asks whether a previous massage establishment operated at your address, who owned it, and whether there are outstanding fines, penalties or disciplinary actions attached to the business, the previous owner, or the business address. Ask those questions of a landlord before you commit.

Your signage and website are regulated

R.S. 37:3564 is stricter than most states’ advertising rules, and it reaches small practices:

• Only a licensed massage therapist, physical therapist, chiropractor, certified athletic trainer or licensed massage establishment may use “massage,” “body work,” or any derivative or variation — including specific modality names — on a sign or in any advertising.
• Every advertisement must carry the name and number on file with the board for the licensed therapist or establishment. That expressly includes building signs, your website, and other promotional materials.
• The board’s establishment instructions go further: all signage, advertising and your website must match the establishment name as registered, the establishment number must be printed on all advertising material, and generic signage reading simply “Massage” is not allowed.
• Pictorial and video advertising must show people representing therapists attired and posed so as not to appeal to the prurient interest, with clients appropriately draped.

Practically: pick the name once, register it, and use exactly that name everywhere. Changing your DBA later means a filing, not just a new sign.

Does Louisiana require a background check?

Yes, for both therapists and establishment applicants, through IdentoGo using the board’s unique service code, with a background authorization form permitting the board’s designee to receive the result electronically. The history must cover at least five years preceding the application, and the process should be started before or at the same time as the application.

A conviction is not automatically disqualifying. The board is required to weigh five factors: the nature and seriousness of the offense; the nature of the duties the license covers; how much time has passed; the circumstances, including aggravating or mitigating factors; and evidence of rehabilitation or treatment since.

But renewal has a hard bar. To renew, you must not have pled guilty to or been convicted of any sex-related crime, crime of violence, or crime related to the practice of massage therapy. There are also catch-up checks: therapists licensed before April 1, 2022, and establishments registered before August 1, 2025, who have never submitted a state and federal background check must do so before renewing.

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

Yes — the board publishes a dedicated reciprocity application alongside its new-applicant, provisional, lapsed, military and “Welcome Home” routes. The core requirements do not change: the background check covering five years, proof of examination sent directly from the testing agency, the education standard, the photo and identification, and the $75 application fee.

The application also asks a set of disclosure questions that are worth preparing for honestly, because they reach beyond your current license: whether you hold or have held a massage license in any other state, whether you have owned a massage business in any state, and whether any massage license or massage business license of yours has ever been suspended, revoked or disciplined anywhere.

The interstate compact is not an option here. As of August 2026 Louisiana has no Interstate Massage Compact legislation, and the compact is not yet issuing multistate licenses anywhere.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Check the school’s hours against the 325 / 125 / 50 split, and confirm the school tracks per-class attendance — you need 90 percent in every subject.
2. Start the IdentoGo background check before or alongside the application.
3. Pass the national examination or MBLEx and have the agency send proof directly.
4. Get the original transcript — with a credit-to-clock-hour conversion and an online-course letter if either applies.
5. Apply with the $75 cashier’s check or money order, the passport photo and your ID, then pay the $125 license fee once approved.
6. Register the establishment if anyone practices regularly at your location — and check the address history before you lease.
7. Form the entity — before October 1, 2026 if you want the $100 filing fee rather than $125.
8. Get the signage and website right the first time: registered name, license or establishment number on everything, nothing generic.

Staying Licensed

Louisiana licenses renew annually, on or before the expiration date, at $125. Renewal requires evidence of continuing education, and the board can prorate renewal fees during any transitional period caused by a change in expiration dates.

Continuing education is a minimum of 12 hours, from an approved program taught by a provider registered with the board, and verified by the provider rather than self-certified. First-year licensees are excepted. Since the April 1, 2022 cycle, excess credits may be applied to the following year — but only after you have satisfied the current year’s requirement.

Missing the date is expensive in two stages:

• Expired, out under 24 consecutive months: reinstate by paying the renewal fee and the $100 late fee, submitting a renewal application, showing your continuing education — and passing the examination again.
• Out more than 24 consecutive months: the license is lapsed. You submit a new application meeting all current requirements, including 24 hours of continuing education, and pay the application fee, the original license fee and any other new-application fees.

Inactive status is the cheaper alternative if you are stepping away: up to five years, on a one-time per-application fee capped at 60 percent of the annual renewal fee, with a board affidavit. No license is issued while you are inactive, and returning to active status requires the affidavit, the current renewal fee and evidence of continuing education.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours does Louisiana require for a massage license?

500 in-class hours, split by rule: 325 hours on massage therapy techniques and clinical practicum-related modalities, 125 hours of anatomy and physiology, and 50 discretionary hours covering things like hydrotherapy, business practices, professional ethics, health and hygiene, and CPR and first aid. There is a second requirement people miss: you must have attended at least 90 percent of class hours in each subject matter, evidenced by attendance records taken at the start of every class, and the board can ask to see them.

Do you need a license to open a massage business in Louisiana?

Yes, and the rule is precise about who pays. Every location where one or more people are regularly engaged in massage therapy must register with the board as a massage establishment. Locations where more than one person is regularly engaged must also pay the establishment fee. The duty falls on whichever entity controls the physical location, whether that is a sole proprietor, lessee, owner, partnership, corporation or other legal entity. The application fee is $75 and the registration itself is pro-rated by the month you register.

Does Louisiana let cities add their own massage rules?

Largely no, and this makes Louisiana unusual. R.S. 37:3567 provides that the state chapter supersedes any regulation adopted by a political subdivision relating to the licensing or regulation of massage therapists or massage establishments. Local zoning requirements and occupational license taxes still apply, but local and municipal officials are expressly prohibited from imposing additional rules or ordinances on zoning, educational requirements, or fees for licensure. In most other states the city layer is where the real requirements hide; in Louisiana the state has taken that ground.

Does Louisiana require a background check for a massage license?

Yes. Both therapist and establishment applicants complete a fingerprint background check through IdentoGo using the board’s unique service code, plus a background authorization form letting the board’s designee receive the result. The history must cover at least the five years preceding the application. Convictions are not an automatic bar: the board must weigh the seriousness of the offense, its relationship to the duties of the license, how much time has passed, the circumstances, and evidence of rehabilitation. But to renew, you must not have pled guilty to or been convicted of a sex-related crime, a crime of violence, or a crime related to the practice of massage therapy.

How often do you renew a Louisiana massage license?

Every year, which is more frequent than most states. The renewal fee is $125 and the late fee is another $100. You need 12 hours of continuing education, except in your first year of licensure, and excess credits carry forward one year once you have met the current requirement. If a license expires and you have been out for less than 24 consecutive months, reinstatement requires the fee, the late fee, the continuing education, and passing the examination again. Past 24 months the license is treated as lapsed and you apply as a new applicant.

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

Sources

Source	What It Covers
Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy	The licensing authority, application forms and current board guidance
LBMT — Laws and Rules, including the statutes effective August 1, 2026	R.S. 37:3551 et seq.: establishment registration at 3558, the LMT-ID card and 30-day change reporting at 3559, annual renewal, background catch-up and the renewal conviction bar at 3561, the fee schedule at 3562, advertising at 3564, and the automatic revocation and permanently barred address at 3565
LAC Title 46, Part XLIV — Massage Therapists	Renewal and the 12-hour continuing education requirement, inactive status, the safety, sanitary and draping requirements at §2501, inspections of licensed and unlicensed establishments at §2701, and change-of-status notifications at §2901
LBMT — Massage Establishment Application (effective January 27, 2026)	The $75 application fee, the pro-rated registration fee, the notarized affidavit dated within 30 days, the IdentoGo background requirement, the right-to-possess documentation, the signage and establishment-number rules, and the fines and penalty summary
LBMT — Professional Applications	The 500-hour split, the 90 percent attendance requirement, credit-to-clock-hour conversion, online course documentation, the national examination, and the reciprocity, provisional, lapsed and military routes
Louisiana Secretary of State — Forms and Fee Schedule	The current $100 LLC articles of organization fee, $30 annual report and $25 name reservation
Louisiana Secretary of State — Fee Schedule Effective 10/1/26	Act 921 of the 2026 Regular Session: LLC articles of organization rising to $125 and annual reports to $35 on October 1, 2026