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Nearly every state licenses massage therapists, typically through a state board, with an education-hour minimum and an exam — and establishment licensing, insurance and renewal rules that differ by state. Each guide below covers what that state’s board requires, from school hours to the exam, the fees, and what it takes to open your own practice, with the source for every figure.
Pick your state
Massage License Requirements by State — guides for 25 states so far
Guides are live for 25 states; the remaining states are being built in the same format and will appear here as they publish.
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
What every state guide covers
- Whether the state requires a general business license — and what your city or county requires instead (see the 51-state table).
- Entity registration with the Secretary of State, and the filing fee.
- The massage therapy practice’s own licenses and permits — which agency issues them, in what order, and what they cost.
- Insurance the state actually mandates, separated from what is merely advisable.
- Sources — every fee and rule is linked to the agency page or statute it came from.
Related
- Business license requirements by state — which states require a general license and what the rest require instead.
- Workers’ comp requirements by state — the employee threshold that triggers coverage in each state.
Step one in every state above: the entity
The license, the permits and the insurance all attach to a registered business. ZenBusiness files your LLC for $0 plus the state fee, in any state.
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