How to Get an Indiana Massage Therapy Certificate

Last updated: August 24, 2026

Indiana is the outlier on timing and the second state in the country to make your insurance policy a licensing matter. The credential is a license from the Professional Licensing Agency — it was a certificate until the rules were rewritten and Title 847 Article 1 became “Massage Therapist Licensure” — it takes 625 hours of supervised classroom and hands-on instruction — and then it renews only every four years at $150. The requirement most people miss: licensed massage therapists must hold professional liability insurance in order to practice in Indiana.

What Indiana Actually Requires

• 625 hours of supervised classroom and hands-on instruction in massage therapy, evidenced by an official transcript showing you met every graduation requirement for those hours. Guidance quoting 500 hours is reading the archived rule text.
• Licensure through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, established under IC 25-1-5-3, with the State Board of Massage Therapy’s rules in Title 847.
• Professional liability insurance — required in order to practice massage therapy in Indiana.
• The MBLEx from the FSMTB ($265) is the standard national examination; confirm current examination requirements with the PLA before registering.
• A national criminal history background check under IC 25-1-1.1-4, at your own cost, mandatory for every initial applicant since July 1, 2011. It must be done after the application is filed — see below.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Application for licensure	$100	Nonrefundable, paid by credit or debit card at MyLicense.IN.gov
Renewal fee	$150	Per license holder, every four years — due by May 15 of the renewal year (2025, 2029)
MBLEx exam	$265	Paid to FSMTB
Massage school (625 hrs)	Tuition varies widely	Supervised classroom and hands-on instruction
Professional liability insurance	Required to practice	Not optional in Indiana
Continuing education	Varies	24 hours across the four-year cycle
Indiana LLC	$95	Articles of organization, filed at INBiz
Criminal background check	Paid by you to IDEMIA	Massage Therapist service code 24YB4V; the PLA does not administer it and cannot expedite it
Local massage establishment permit	Varies by county or city	No statewide establishment license. Some Indiana counties and cities permit the premises separately — and state law leaves them zoning and occupational license fees

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

Does Indiana license massage establishments?

The state does not — but your county or city may, and Indiana law deliberately leaves them room to. This is the part most Indiana massage guidance skips, and it is the part that can stop you opening.

Indiana Code chapter 25-21.8-9, “Preemption of Ordinances, Resolutions, and Rules,” does two things that pull in opposite directions:

• IC 25-21.8-9-1 — the massage therapy article “supersedes any ordinances, resolutions, and rules relating to the licensing, certification, or registration of massage therapists that are adopted by a municipality or county.” So no Indiana city can make you hold a separate practitioner license on top of your state one.
• IC 25-21.8-9-2 — but the article “does not affect local ordinances, resolutions, and rules… that relate to: (1) zoning requirements; or (2) occupational license fees.”

That second section is the opening, and local governments use it. St. Joseph County requires, through its Health Department, that no person allow massage therapy to be performed on property they own without first obtaining a current massage establishment permit, with an annual fee set by the Board of Commissioners. The City of Greenwood runs its own application for a permit to maintain, operate or conduct a massage establishment. Neither is preempted, because neither licenses you — they license the premises.

The tell that this layer is real comes from the PLA itself. Its application instructions ask you to have other states verify any professional license directly, then add: “We do not need verification of county or city permits.” The agency is acknowledging those permits exist while telling you it is not the one that checks them. Before you sign a lease, call the county health department and the city clerk for the address you are considering.

Does Indiana require a background check?

Yes, and the order of operations will cost you money if you get it wrong. Under IC 25-1-1.1-4, an initial applicant must submit to a national criminal history background check at their own expense; it has been mandatory for all massage applicants since July 1, 2011. Results are processed by the Indiana State Police and the FBI and transmitted electronically to the PLA as the official requesting agency.

You must file the application first. The PLA emails you the official date your application was received along with your IDEMIA service code — 24YB4V for Massage Therapist. Fingerprints must be submitted on or after that received date for the check to be valid and timely. In the PLA’s own words, a background check “conducted prior to the application received date… will not be considered,” and you will have to complete and pay for a new one. The PLA does not administer the check and cannot expedite it.

Two smaller points worth having: background checks are not required for renewal or reinstatement, and if the FBI record is wrong you may challenge or correct it under the procedure at 28 CFR 16.34.

How long do you have, and can you transfer an out-of-state license?

Indiana does not publish a processing time, but it publishes something more dangerous to ignore: a pending, incomplete application is closed one year after the date of application, and you must reapply from scratch — including the nonrefundable $100 fee. Do not file early to “get in the queue” and then take eighteen months to finish your hours.

Coming from another state: the PLA requires verification of any registration, license, certificate or permit you hold or have ever held to practice any regulated health profession in another state or territory, and the verification must be sent directly from the state of issuance — not by you. You still need the 625 hours and a passing score on an approved examination (MBLEx, NCETM, NCBTMB, or the NBCA National Certification Examination), and exam results must also come straight from the testing body; results forwarded by the applicant are not accepted.

And the requirement that catches out-of-state therapists most often: a notarized copy of your professional liability insurance must go in with the application, or your insurer can email the certificate directly to pla14@pla.in.gov. In Indiana the policy is not a landlord’s preference — it is a condition of holding the license.

A Four-Year Cycle, and Insurance You Cannot Practice Without

Two things make Indiana different, and both change your budgeting.

First, the cycle. Most states renew every two years; a few every three. Indiana renews every four, at $150 per license holder. That is cheap per year — but it also means the deadline is far enough away to forget, and the continuing education requirement (24 hours across the cycle) is easy to leave until it is impossible to finish.

Second, and more important: licensed massage therapists are required to hold professional liability insurance in order to practice massage therapy in Indiana. This is not a landlord’s request or a prudent precaution — it is attached to your ability to work. Whatever else you defer while getting started, this is not it.

Worth knowing on the transition: a change effective July 13, 2022 set an 18-hour requirement ahead of the May 2025 renewal, moving to 24 hours per four-year cycle thereafter. If your cycle straddles that change, confirm which figure applies to you.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Complete 625 hours of supervised classroom and hands-on instruction, and have the school send an official transcript.
2. Pass the required examination — confirm the current requirement with the Professional Licensing Agency.
3. Apply for licensure through the PLA — $100, nonrefundable. Wait for the confirmation email before you get fingerprinted.
4. Bind professional liability insurance before you practice — Indiana requires it to work, not merely to protect you.
5. Diary the four-year renewal and spread the 24 CE hours across the cycle rather than the final month.
6. Opening a studio? Register the entity at INBiz and check your city and county requirements.

Staying Licensed

Indiana licenses renew on a four-year cycle at $150 per license holder, with 24 hours of continuing education across that cycle. A change effective July 13, 2022 required 18 hours before the May 2025 renewal, with 24 hours per four-year cycle after that. Professional liability coverage must remain in force throughout — it is a condition of practicing in Indiana.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Indiana require massage therapists to carry insurance?

Yes. Licensed massage therapists are required to hold professional liability insurance in order to practice massage therapy in the state of Indiana. It is a condition of practicing, not a business preference.

How often do Indiana massage licenses renew?

Every four years — an unusually long cycle. The renewal fee is $150 per license holder each four-year period, due by May 15 of the renewal year.

How many hours does Indiana require for a massage license?

625 hours of supervised classroom and hands-on instruction. The PLA requires an official transcript showing completion of all graduation requirements for those 625 hours. Older guidance quoting 500 hours reflects the archived Article 1 text and is not the figure your application is measured against.

How much continuing education does Indiana require?

24 hours of continuing education within the four-year renewal cycle. A transitional requirement of 18 hours applied before the May 2025 renewal, after a change effective July 13, 2022.

Does Indiana require a background check for a massage license?

Yes. Under IC 25-1-1.1-4 every initial applicant must complete a national criminal history background check at their own cost, processed by the Indiana State Police and the FBI. It has been mandatory since July 1, 2011. You must submit the application first and wait for the PLA email giving your application received date and IDEMIA service code 24YB4V; fingerprints taken before that date are not considered and you must pay for a new check. Background checks are not required for renewal or reinstatement.

Do you need a separate license to open a massage business in Indiana?

Not from the state, but often from your county or city. IC 25-21.8-9-1 preempts local licensing of massage therapists, but IC 25-21.8-9-2 expressly preserves local zoning requirements and occupational license fees. St. Joseph County requires a massage establishment permit from its Health Department before massage may be performed on a property, and the City of Greenwood issues its own massage establishment permit. Check the county health department and the city clerk for your address before signing a lease.

How many hours of training does Indiana require for a massage license?

625 hours of supervised classroom and hands-on instruction, evidenced by an official transcript showing you met all graduation requirements. The archived 847 IAC Article 1 text still shows a 500-hour minimum, which is why older guidance repeats it, but 625 is the figure the current PLA application is measured against.

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

Sources

Source	What It Covers
Indiana PLA — Massage Therapy Licensing Information	The 625-hour transcript requirement, the $100 application fee, the renewal cycle and fee, continuing education, and the professional liability insurance requirement
Indiana PLA — Massage Therapy Home	The board, forms and renewal
Title 847 — State Board of Massage Therapy, Massage Therapist Certification	The archived Article 1 text, which still shows the older 500-hour minimum — useful for definitions, but not the hour figure your application is measured against
FSMTB — MBLEx	MBLEx registration and $265 exam fee
Indiana PLA — Criminal Background Checks	IC 25-1-1.1-4, the application-first sequencing rule, IDEMIA service code 24YB4V, and the renewal exemption
Indiana General Assembly — IC 25-21.8-9, Preemption of Ordinances, Resolutions, and Rules	Preemption of local therapist licensing, and the express carve-outs for zoning requirements and occupational license fees
St. Joseph County Code Chapter 113 — Massage Establishments / Massage Therapy	A working example of a county massage establishment permit and its annual fee
Indiana PLA — LSA #21-507 Massage Therapy Rule	The rulemaking that moved 847 IAC 1-2-7 and 1-3-5 from certificate to licensure, final rule published July 13, 2022

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