Legislative Update

Legislative Update

April 2012

The Board meeting to discuss the comments and testimony given at the public hearing. The changes that were made primarily affect curriculum development for schools. The new proposed rules should be published soon for public review.

The two main items of interest for Massage Therapists are:

* Applications will most likely be available in the Fall. They will be paper applications that will need to be submitted by mail.

* the grandfathering clause was extended due to the timie it is taking to complete the process. The grandfather clause is printed below in the March 2011 post if anyone wants to read it. The bottom line for Lakewood graduates is that anyone that graduates before the rules are adopted will not have to test. This will be true for anyone that graduated from a school that provides at least 500 supervised, in-class hours. 

March 2012

The public hearing was held on March, 5, 2012. Several people were there to testify. For the most part, there were no Massage therapists that had any issues with the rules as they were proposed. The bulk of the testimony with requests to change the proposed rules came from schools. The staff representative to the board took thorough notes and the board will discuss the issues that were raised at the next regualr board meeting.

January 2102

The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affiars will hold a public hearing on Monday March 5, 2012. The purpose for the hearing is to hear public comments on the licensure for massage therapists. For more information on the hearing please go to http://michigan.gov/documents/lara/lara_mt_pubhearingnotice3-12_373864_7.pdf 

March 2011

The Massage Board and the licensing process are moving on to the next step. The initial set of rules for the massage licensure law has been written and it will soon be time for a public hearing.

The Massage Board has approved three exams that Massage Therapists can take to meet the licensure requirement. The three approved exams are the Massage and Bodywork Licensure Exam (MBLEx), and the two exams offered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork; the National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB) and the National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage (NCETM).

Information about the MBLEx can be found at http://www.fsmtb.org/

Information about either the NCETMB or the NCETM can be found at www.ncbtmb.org

The National certification Board web site has a practice exam you can take up to three times for $20.00.

If you are a Massage Therapist who graduated from massage school after January 9, 2009, you will have to take one of these exams to get licensed. My best advice is to take it as soon as you can after you graduate.

If you are a Massage Therapist who graduated before January 9, 2009, you may be able to qualify for licensure under the grandfather clause. To be eligible for licensure through the grandfather clause, you must meet one of the following criteria:

1. Provide evidence that you have been an active member, as a massage therapist, of a professional massage therapy association (such as ABMP or AMTA) for at least one year; or
2. Establish by affidavit that you have practiced massage therapy for an average of at least 10 hours per week for five or more years; or
3. Establish by affidavit that you have practiced massage therapy for at least 3 years and provide evidence from the school you attended that you also completed at least 300 hours of formal training; or
4. You have passed one of the an exams approved by the board; or
5. You have completed at least 500 hours of classroom instruction in massage.

To view the entire law, go to:

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billenrolled/House/pdf/2008-HNB-5651.pdf

The state is working on an online application process. We’re hoping applications will be available sometime this summer. Stay tuned for more information. If you want to be included in the schools e-mail so you will receive the latest information and notification of when applications become available, call the school at 810-987-3959 or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .