How to Get a Virginia Massage License

Last updated: August 24, 2026

Virginia licenses massage therapists through the Board of Nursing, and gives you a free pass on your first renewal. The requirements are moderate — a 500-hour program, the MBLEx with results sent directly from the FSMTB, a $140 online application and a criminal background check. The detail worth knowing is at the other end: your first biennial renewal is exempt from the continuing competency requirement entirely.

What Virginia Actually Requires

• A massage therapy educational program of at least 500 hours of training, successfully completed.
• The MBLEx from the FSMTB ($265) — official results must be sent directly to the Board of Nursing by the FSMTB, not forwarded by you.
• A fingerprint-based criminal background check under Va. Code § 54.1-3005.1 — prints go through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the FBI, and you pay for both the fingerprinting and the record search.
• $140.00 application fee by credit or debit card for online applicants.

What It Costs

Item	Cost	Notes
Application fee	$140	Credit or debit card, online applicants, Board of Nursing
MBLEx exam	$265	Paid to FSMTB; results go directly to the Board
Fingerprinting + criminal history search	Paid by the applicant	Va. Code § 54.1-3005.1 — state and federal results go straight to the Board
Local BPOL license tax	Varies by locality — uncapped if classified as a “massage parlor”	Business services are capped at 36¢ per $100 of gross receipts; the parlor class has no ceiling. See below
Massage school (500 hrs)	Tuition varies widely	The dominant cost
Continuing competency	Varies	24 hours per biennium — but not for your first renewal
Virginia LLC	$100	Articles of organization, Virginia SCC

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

Does Virginia license massage establishments?

The state does not — the Board of Nursing licenses therapists, not premises. There is no Virginia massage establishment or facility license. But Virginia has a local-tax trap that is genuinely unusual, and for a busy practice it can cost more than every licensing fee on this page combined.

Localities levy the BPOL tax — the business, professional and occupational license. Under Va. Code § 58.1-3706(A) the rate a locality may charge is capped by class: 36 cents per $100 of gross receipts for “repair, personal and business services, and all other businesses and occupations not specifically listed.” Those rate limitations, however, expressly do not apply to a short list of classes — and clause (v) is “massage parlors.”

That carve-out is deliberate. As the Tax Commissioner put it, the legislature created a separate “massage parlor” classification that is not subject to the rate thresholds and has no rate ceiling, and the intent was “to allow localities to regulate illicit sexual activity by imposing exorbitant license taxes on massage parlor operations.” A tax on parlors that far exceeds the rate on a beauty shop has been held constitutional.

So which class does a legitimate therapeutic practice fall into? The Department of Taxation is direct about it: “Whether a business should be classified as either is a matter of fact to be determined by the locality on a case by case basis. However, the department would encourage localities to classify businesses which clearly provide therapeutic, as opposed to sexual massages as a business service.” The final determination rests with your locality, not with Richmond.

The stakes are not theoretical. In the advisory opinion that set out this guidance, a salon’s beauty services were licensed as repair, personal and business services at a $30 application fee plus $0.25 per $100 of gross receipts, while its massage service was separately licensed as a massage parlor and charged a flat $1,500.

Three factors decide it, and all three are inside your control. The Department lists what helps a local official classify a business as therapeutic:

• whether the massage rooms are equipped for therapeutic massage;
• the certification of the people providing the massage; and
• how the business holds itself out to the public through its promotional materials.

Read that as a checklist before you open: fit the room out as a treatment room, employ only Virginia-licensed therapists and be ready to show the licenses, and keep your marketing unambiguously clinical. Then ask the commissioner of the revenue for your city or county how they will classify you — in writing, before you sign a lease.

Two pieces of relief worth knowing. First, a locality may impose no license tax at all under § 58.1-3706(A) where gross receipts fall below $100,000 in a locality with a population over 50,000, or $50,000 in a locality of 25,000 to 50,000 — though a flat fee under § 58.1-3703 may still apply. A starting solo practice is often under that line. Second, whatever the classification, each licensed massage therapist must conspicuously post their current Virginia license in a public area at their practice location.

Does Virginia require a background check?

Yes, and it is fingerprint-based — the page above says “a criminal background check,” but here is what that actually means. Under Va. Code § 54.1-3005.1, the Board must require every applicant for licensure as a licensed massage therapist — alongside practical nurses and registered nurses — to submit fingerprints and personal descriptive information, forwarded through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the FBI to obtain criminal history record information.

You pay for both parts: the statute states that the cost of fingerprinting and of the criminal history record search is paid by the applicant. The Exchange sends the state and federal results directly to the Board, so there is nothing for you to forward.

If you are denied licensure because of something on your record and you dispute the information itself, the statute provides a route to challenge it — worth knowing before you assume a denial is final.

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

Yes — Virginia licenses by endorsement, and applications are now taken online only. You are eligible if you have been licensed as a massage therapist in another United States jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially equivalent to those in 18VAC90-50-40, and you are in good standing — or, if your license has lapsed, eligible for reinstatement.

What endorsement asks for:

• The § 54.1-3005.1 criminal background check — endorsement does not skip the fingerprints.
• Official verification from each state or jurisdiction in which you have ever been licensed, certified or registered as a massage therapist. Note “ever”: a credential you let go years ago in another state still has to be verified.
• Official examination results sent directly to the Board by the examining body — the MBLEx or the National Certification Examination. Results you forward yourself are not accepted.
• The $140 application fee by credit or debit card, the same as an initial applicant pays.

The item that most often sets the timeline is the verification from every past jurisdiction, since those boards move at their own pace and you cannot chase the Board of Nursing on their behalf. Request them the day you file, not once Virginia asks.

Your First Renewal Is Free of Continuing Education

Under 18VAC90-50-75, a Virginia massage therapist is exempt from the continuing competency requirements for the first biennial renewal following initial licensure. New licensees renew once without buying a single CE hour.

After that first cycle the requirement is 24 hours per biennium, including at least one hour in professional ethics, and it is split by type: at least 12 of the 24 must be activities or courses from approved providers — seminars, workshops, home study, continuing education courses — while no more than 12 may come from consultation, independent reading or research, preparing a presentation, or CPR.

That split is the part to plan. Independent reading is cheap and flexible but capped at half your requirement; the other half has to be bought from approved providers.

The other Virginia distinctive is administrative: the Board of Nursing is the regulator, not a massage board, so forms, renewal portals and rule citations all live under Nursing at 18VAC90-50.

How to Get Licensed, In Order

1. Complete a 500-hour massage therapy educational program.
2. Pass the MBLEx and have the FSMTB send results directly to the Virginia Board of Nursing.
3. Complete the criminal background check.
4. Apply online with the $140 fee by credit or debit card.
5. Renew your first biennium with no CE required — then plan 24 hours, at least 12 from approved providers, for every cycle after.
6. Opening a practice? Register the entity, check local requirements, and bind liability insurance before the first client.

Staying Licensed

Virginia renews biennially. The first renewal after initial licensure is exempt from continuing competency. Every renewal after that requires 24 hours of continuing education or learning activities with at least one hour in professional ethics. At least 12 of the 24 must come from approved providers — seminars, workshops, home study courses, continuing education courses — and no more than 12 may be consultation, independent reading or research, preparation for a presentation, or CPR.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who licenses massage therapists in Virginia?

The Virginia Board of Nursing, within the Department of Health Professions. Virginia does not have a standalone massage board — massage therapist licensure sits with Nursing, and the rules are in 18VAC90-50.

How much does a Virginia massage license cost?

$140.00 by credit or debit card for online applicants, paid to the Board of Nursing. Add $265 for the MBLEx and massage school tuition for the 500-hour program.

How many hours does Virginia require for a massage license?

Successful completion of a massage therapy educational program requiring a minimum of 500 hours of training.

Is the first Virginia renewal exempt from continuing education?

Yes. A massage therapist is exempt from the continuing competency requirements for the first biennial renewal following initial licensure in Virginia. After that, renewal requires 24 hours per biennium including at least one hour in professional ethics.

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

Not a state establishment license — the Board of Nursing licenses therapists, not premises. The issue in Virginia is the local BPOL tax classification. Va. Code Section 58.1-3706(A) caps local license tax rates by class, at 36 cents per $100 of gross receipts for business services, but those caps expressly do not apply to massage parlors, a class with no rate ceiling. Your locality decides the classification case by case, and the Department of Taxation encourages localities to treat clearly therapeutic businesses as a business service. Ask your commissioner of the revenue in writing before signing a lease.

Does Virginia require a background check for a massage license?

Yes, a fingerprint-based one. Under Va. Code Section 54.1-3005.1 the Board requires every licensed massage therapist applicant to submit fingerprints and personal descriptive information, forwarded through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the FBI. The applicant pays for both the fingerprinting and the criminal history record search, and the results go directly to the Board. There is a process to dispute information if you are denied because of your record.

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

Yes, by endorsement, applied for online only. You must have been licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction whose requirements are substantially equivalent to 18VAC90-50-40 and be in good standing, or eligible for reinstatement if lapsed. You still complete the fingerprint background check, pay the $140 fee, provide official verification from every jurisdiction in which you have ever been licensed, and have your MBLEx or National Certification Examination results sent directly to the Board by the examining body.

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

Sources

Source	What It Covers
Virginia Board of Nursing — Massage Therapist	Application route, 500-hour program, MBLEx results sent directly by FSMTB, $140 online fee, background check
Code of Virginia § 54.1-3029 — Qualifications for a licensed massage therapist	Statutory qualifications
18VAC90-50-75 — Continuing competency requirements	24 hours per biennium, one hour ethics, the 12/12 split, and the first-renewal exemption
18VAC90-50 — Regulations Governing the Licensure of Massage Therapists	The full rule set including fees
FSMTB — MBLEx	MBLEx registration and $265 exam fee
Va. Code § 54.1-3005.1 — Criminal history background checks	The fingerprint requirement for massage therapist applicants, routing through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the FBI, and who pays
Va. Code § 58.1-3706 — Limitation on rate of license taxes	The 36-cents-per-$100 business services cap, the gross receipts thresholds, and the exclusion of massage parlors from the rate limitations
Virginia Tax — Ruling of the Tax Commissioner 97-347 (BPOL)	Business service versus massage parlor classification, the factors localities should weigh, and the $1,500 flat tax the classification produced in practice
Virginia Board of Nursing — Massage Therapist Licensure	Licensure by endorsement, the online-only application, the $140 fee, and the verification and examination routing requirements

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