Vermont is one of five states in the United States that currently does not have state licensing or other state regulation of massage therapists. In June 2015, ABMP and the Vermont Chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association submitted a Sunrise Application to the Vermont Office of Professional Regulation (OPR). Vermont law requires that prior to a review by the state legislature of any bill to regulate a profession or occupation, the OPR must prepare for the legislature a written assessment of the particular regulatory proposal. The process initiated in June 2015 thus was an assessment by the OPR as to whether, in its opinion, the massage profession should be regulated by the state.
After a comprehensive process that included outreach to the massage profession and two public hearings, the OPR issued its assessment on January 5, 2016, determining that “no reason is found at this time to recommend regulation of massage therapists as a necessary means of facilitating access to massage as a professional service or otherwise protecting the public.” Read the full OPR decision setting forth the pertinent background and the OPR’s rationale here. As a result of the OPR’s determination, Vermont’s current system, which allows the practice of massage therapy without any state license, remains in place.