Tennessee massage therapy education requirements increased from 500 hours to 650. ABMP would like to share an update to explain how that change came about and give some overdue credit to those who made it happen.
Tennessee
Dept of Health
Board of Massage Licensure
665 Mainstream Drive, 2nd Floor
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: 615-253-2111
Fax: 615-532-5164
Email: Massage.Health@tn.gov
> Website
Title: Licensed Massage Therapist
Requirement: 650 hours and passing the MBLEx or NCBTMB, background check
Renewal: 24 hours/2 years
Reflexology Registry
On April 16, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed into law House Bill 1610 and Senate Bill 1588, increasing the minimum massage curriculum hours that an applicant for massage licensure must complete at an approved school for massage, bodywork, or somatic therapy to be eligible for licensure under the Massage Licensure Act. Find out the new state minimum requirement.
Support House Bill 1610 and Senate Bill 1588 to protect student federal aid—write a letter to your elected officials sharing that federal financial aid is necessary to keep your school doors open or that it helped fund your student tuition costs.
Effective July 1, 2022, the Board of Massage Licensure will be able to grant a temporary license to a person in good standing who is either licensed, registered, or certified in another state without passing a competency exam by the Board.
On May 5, 2020, Governor Lee issued Executive Order No 33, allowing barbershops, hair salons, waxing and threading salons, nail salons, spas providing body treatments, and massage therapy establishments to reopen May 6, 2020.
ABMP, ASCP, AHP, and ANP have summarized below how COVID-19 has impacted Tennessee, from executive orders affecting business closures, to reopening protocols modifying practice procedures, to financial programs developed to aid the unemployed.
In April we wrote to you regarding a proposal to increase massage license fees and massage related legislation.
There are two important issues currently happening in Tennessee that impact the massage industry.
The Tennessee Board of Massage Licensure has enacted new rules that impact license renewals and establishments. The changes include:
House bill 2387, the bill currently before the state legislature that previously sought to move the classification of massage therapy from the Department of Health Related Boards and place it under the Department of Commerce and Insurance, has now been amended to remove all references to the massage therapy profession.