Those who have been in the massage therapy profession for a while are likely familiar with the occasional deregulation attempt from their legislature. Every few years, a state decides it wants to streamline bureaucracy and cut costs. Licensing boards are often first on the chopping block. Since these boards exist to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, any attempt to reduce their footprint could lead to unfortunate consequences for the citizens and massage therapists. When a state takes on a big push for occupational licensing reform, ABMP works to ensure the massage therapy profession is not slashed at the state level in the process. 

The proposals we see most often during occupational licensing reform are for the consolidation of multiple boards into one mishmash puzzle of a board, a switch from mandatory licensure to voluntary certification, or for complete elimination of a board and the licensing requirements along with it. All three can spell disaster for a state. Let’s dig into why statewide licensure is so important for protecting massage therapists, the public, and the massage therapy profession.

Not Only for Massage therapists

Statewide board regulations protect you, the licensed massage therapist, as well as the rest of the public. They determine how schools should be run, the qualifications of your teachers, and what content should be part of the curriculum to ensure you are skilled, educated, and ready to responsibly practice after you graduate and pass your exam. They save you from potentially wasting thousands of dollars on a sham school that is little more than a diploma mill and protects clients from therapists who don’t know what they’re doing. By establishing inspection procedures and a process for shuttering establishments and penalizing criminals acting outside the law, a strong licensing board can protect you from bad business owners who may engage in exploitative business practices. 

Unlike states with boards and mandatory licensure, states with voluntary certification or no licensing requirements leave the door open for unlicensed, uneducated practitioners to set up shop next door to your legitimate business. Without mandatory licensure, even with voluntary certification, these potentially uneducated practitioners can scoop up clients, encroach on your scope of practice, and engage in practices that severely damage the public’s perception and trust of the massage profession. 

Unfounded Dispute

A common argument from those advocating for eliminating or consolidating licensing boards is that it will break down barriers and help the profession thrive. However, all evidence points to the contrary. Statewide licensure sets standards of education and practice that increases trust from the public. Clients need to know that their therapist is educated, vetted, and accountable to a regulatory authority—mandatory licensure and a strong state board provide those assurances. The standards set by licensing boards also allow for license portability, permitting MTs to work across state lines and expand their practice. Licensing boards and regulations also protect the massage therapy scope of practice. With regulations in place, other professionals can’t start charging for massage and taking business away from LMTs. 

Boards set sanitation standards and best practices for LMTs and massage establishments. They provide an avenue for people to submit complaints. They oversee schools to make sure LMTs are getting the best education possible. They continually update regulations to keep up with professional developments. 

Keep Boards Within the Profession

Without a statewide board made of massage therapists for massage therapists, these necessary protections can’t be enforced. Combining boards with other professions that don’t understand massage therapy, making licensure optional, or eliminating licensure altogether leave the massage therapy profession and the public in a precarious position. As some states consider sweeping regulatory reform measures, ABMP urges them to remember all these vital protections that only a strong board and mandatory statewide licensure can provide to residents and visitors to their state.