Delaware Massage License: Cost & Requirements (2026)

Last updated: August 24, 2026

Delaware raised its education requirement by a quarter in 2024, and which number applies to you depends on the month you started school. House Bill 386 took the minimum from 500 to 625 hours for students beginning on or after July 1, 2024 — and every one of those extra 125 hours went into electives. Beyond that, Delaware runs a two-tier system with a cheap upgrade path, licenses establishments per location for $50, and exempts more premises than most states do.

What Delaware Actually Requires

• Be at least 18.
• Supervised in-class study at a school that trains massage or bodywork therapists, or an approved program — 500 or 625 hours depending on your start date (see the table below).
• Pass the NCBTMB examination, with the official score report sent to the Board directly from the FSMTB or NCBTMB. A copy you send yourself is unofficial, and the Board will not issue a license until the official report arrives.
• A State of Delaware and FBI criminal background check through IdentoGO.
• A copy of your current CPR certification card, front and back — and online CPR courses are not accepted.
• License verification from every jurisdiction where you currently hold or have ever held a license, sent directly to the Board.
• An official transcript sent directly from the school, showing contact details for the school or program director, plus proof that the State approved the school for the period you attended and a copy of the school catalog.

Which curriculum applies to you

Component	Began before July 1, 2024	Began on or after July 1, 2024
Anatomy and physiology	100	100
Technique and theory of massage or bodywork therapy	300	300
Electives in the field of massage therapy	75	200
Ethics, law and contraindications	25	25
Total	500	625

The trigger is when you began, not when you finished. If you started a program in June 2024 and graduated in 2026, the 500-hour standard is the one that applies to you. Keep documentation of your start date with your transcript.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Licensed Massage Therapist application	$175	Nonrefundable, paid in DELPROS
Upgrade from active CMT to LMT	$55	Only if the CMT was obtained by original license
Massage establishment license	$50	Per location
Renewal	Notified at renewal	Late fee is 50% of the renewal fee
CE course approval	$45 — or free	$45 when a provider submits it; no fee when a Delaware licensee submits it
Inactive status change / roster request	$45 each	Verification of licensure $35
Massage school	Tuition varies widely	The dominant cost
Delaware LLC certificate of formation	$90	A certified copy is $50 more
Delaware LLC annual tax	$400	Due June 1; see the warning below

All Division fees are paid by card in DELPROS. Do not mail cash, checks or money orders — they are not accepted. And note the small saving available to you rather than your provider: if a continuing education course has not been approved yet, a Delaware licensee can submit it for approval at no charge, where a course provider pays $45.

Two Tiers, and the Upgrade Path Between Them

Delaware licenses massage at two levels: Certified Massage Technician (CMT) and Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT). If you hold an active CMT license, there is a dedicated upgrade application that costs $55 rather than the $175 an original applicant pays.

One condition decides whether that door is open to you: you may only upgrade if you obtained your CMT by original license. If your CMT came through reciprocity, you cannot upgrade — you apply as a therapist from the beginning. Worth knowing before you plan a route into Delaware via the technician tier.

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

Does Delaware license massage establishments?

Yes — and you need one for each location where you operate. The establishment license comes from the Board of Massage and Bodywork and costs $50.

You must submit an application when any of these happens:

• You own an existing unlicensed massage or bodywork business and this is your first establishment application;
• You are opening a new establishment;
• The ownership of an existing establishment changes — regardless of whether the name is changing;
• The name of an existing establishment changes — regardless of whether the owner is changing; or
• The location of an existing establishment changes.

Rebranding alone triggers a fresh application. Budget the $50 and the lead time before you order signage.

The exemptions are more generous than most states’, and the parenthetical matters. You do not need an establishment license if you practice in:

• A long-term care facility;
• A physician’s office;
• A physical therapy facility;
• A chiropractic office;
• An athletic training facility — and the statute adds, for these, whether or not they employ, contract with, or rent to massage therapists;
• An institution of higher education, where a school employee practices massage on its athletic teams; or
• Another business establishment licensed under Title 24 of Delaware law.

That “whether or not they rent to massage therapists” clause is doing real work: renting a treatment room inside a chiropractor’s office keeps you outside the establishment licensing regime entirely. In several other states the same arrangement pulls you in.

The establishment may still need other permissions — a business license from the Division of Revenue, and a permit from the town or city where it operates.

Does Delaware require a background check?

Yes: a State of Delaware and FBI criminal background check, obtained through IdentoGO using a Service Code published by the Division of Professional Regulation.

The trap is reuse. The Division states plainly that a criminal background check completed for any other purpose — employment, or licensure in another state — will not meet this requirement. If you have recently been fingerprinted for a job or for another state’s board, that does not carry over. Get the Service Code first, then book the appointment.

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

Reciprocity has one hard qualifier: two years of continuous practice. You apply by reciprocity if you are currently licensed in another jurisdiction, have practiced continuously in that jurisdiction for at least two years, and have passed the NCBTMB exam.

If you fall short of two years, you are not stuck — but the route is harder. Someone licensed elsewhere who has not practiced continuously there for two years applies by original license instead, which means satisfying Delaware’s education requirement in full, transcript and school-approval documentation included.

Both routes require the criminal background check, the official NCBTMB score report sent directly, the CPR card, and license verification from every jurisdiction that has ever licensed you.

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

Everything goes through DELPROS — and the clock starts when you begin

Delaware no longer accepts paper applications. All applications and service requests run through DELPROS, the Division’s online system, and you need an account before you can start.

Two practical points. DELPROS lets you save an incomplete application and come back to it — but you have six months from starting to submit it, and if you miss that window you must restart the entire application from the beginning. And some documents cannot be uploaded by you at all: transcripts, employment verifications and license verifications are third-party documents that must be mailed to the Board directly by the school, supervisor or other state.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Work out which hour requirement applies — 500 or 625 — from the date you began your education.
2. Collect the school documentation early: official transcript with the director’s contact details, proof of State approval covering your attendance dates, and the school catalog.
3. Take CPR in person. Online courses are not accepted.
4. Pass the NCBTMB exam and request that the score be sent directly to the Board.
5. Get the IdentoGO Service Code from the Division before booking your fingerprinting — an existing check from elsewhere will not do.
6. Create your DELPROS account and apply, remembering the six-month completion window.
7. Check whether you need an establishment license at all — the exemptions may cover you — and apply per location if you do.
8. Form the entity and diary June 1 for the annual tax.

Staying Licensed

Delaware notifies you of the renewal amount at the time of renewal rather than publishing a fixed figure, and every renewal — including renewal of an inactive license — requires a fee.

The late penalty is proportional, not flat: submit a renewal application after the expiration date and you pay a late fee of 50 percent of the renewal fee on top of the renewal fee itself.

Continuing education is audited, and the Board publishes its audit information alongside the CE requirements. Two things make it easier to manage than in some states: courses can be submitted for approval, and when a Delaware licensee submits a course for approval there is no fee — only providers pay the $45. If you find a good course that is not yet on the approved list, you can put it forward yourself for nothing.

Changing status is a service request, not a new application. Moving a license to inactive status is a $45 Service Request in DELPROS, as is a roster request; a verification of licensure is $35.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours does Delaware require for a massage license?

It depends on when you started school. House Bill 386, passed on June 26, 2024, raised the minimum from 500 to 625 supervised in-class hours for anyone who began their massage therapy education on or after July 1, 2024. If you began before that date, 500 hours still applies. The whole increase went into electives: both curricula require 100 hours of anatomy and physiology, 300 hours of technique and theory, and 25 hours of ethics, law and contraindications, but the elective requirement went from 75 hours to 200.

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

Yes — an establishment license from the Board of Massage and Bodywork, and you need one for each location. It costs $50. You must also re-apply when the ownership of an existing establishment changes regardless of whether the name changes, when the name changes regardless of whether the owner changes, or when the location changes. The exemptions are unusually generous, though: no establishment license is needed to practice in a physician’s office, physical therapy facility, chiropractic office, athletic training facility or long-term care facility — whether or not they employ, contract with, or rent to massage therapists.

Does Delaware require a background check for a massage license?

Yes, a State of Delaware and FBI criminal background check, arranged through IdentoGO using a Service Code from the Division of Professional Regulation. One detail catches people out: a background check you completed for any other purpose — a job, or licensure in another state — will not satisfy this requirement. It has to be run under the Division’s own service code.

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

Through reciprocity, if you are currently licensed in another jurisdiction, have practiced continuously in that jurisdiction for at least two years, and have passed the NCBTMB exam. If you hold a license elsewhere but have not practiced there continuously for two years, you apply as an original license applicant instead, which means meeting Delaware’s education requirement in full. Either way, license verification must be sent directly to the Board from every jurisdiction where you currently hold or have ever held a license.

What is a Certified Massage Technician in Delaware?

Delaware licenses at two levels. A Certified Massage Technician is the lower tier, and there is a defined upgrade path to Licensed Massage Therapist that costs $55 rather than the $175 a new applicant pays. One restriction matters: you can only upgrade if you obtained your CMT by original license. If your CMT came through reciprocity, the upgrade route is closed and you apply as a therapist from scratch.

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

Sources

Source	What It Covers
Delaware Board of Massage and Bodywork	The licensing authority, rules and regulations, forms and the DELPROS portal
DPR — Massage Therapist Licensure	House Bill 386 and the 500 versus 625 hour split with both curricula, the original license, reciprocity and upgrade routes, the IdentoGO background check rule, the in-person CPR requirement, and the DELPROS six-month application window
DPR — Massage Establishments	The per-location license requirement, the four events that trigger a new application, and the full list of exempt facilities under 24 Del. C. §5302(4)
DPR — Board of Massage and Bodywork Fee Schedule	The $175 therapist application, $55 CMT upgrade and $50 establishment fees, the 50 percent late fee, and the free CE course approval for Delaware licensees
Delaware Division of Corporations — LLC/LP/GP Franchise Tax Instructions	The $400 annual tax due June 1, the absence of any annual report requirement, the $200 penalty plus 1.5% monthly interest, and the no-proration rule
Delaware Division of Corporations — Certificate of Formation packet	The $90 filing fee and the $50 certified copy fee — and the $300 annual tax figure that the live tax instructions page supersedes