HomeCalifornia Massage Requirements
On Saturday, September 27, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 731 into law. When fully implemented, the new law makes available regulatory relief for the nearly 40,000 individuals practicing massage therapy in California.
Language in the bill states that no certifications may be issued prior to September 1, 2009.
Neither does this bill mandate anything for individual massage practitioners. It is a voluntary certification bill. Those who qualify, elect to seek, and secure a certification from the yet to be formed California Massage Therapy Organization will gain the right to practice anywhere in the state without having to secure massage therapy licenses from individual cities or counties. Potentially, the cost of a state–level certification will be meaningfully less than what many individuals are paying now for local permits.
SB 731 appears to solve a huge problem with the practice of massage within California. This law looks at bona fide massage therapists as professionals. Those electing to become certified will be able to have their qualifications vetted by a knowledgeable massage organization.
Over time the new law raises educational requirements to enter the profession (250 hours increased to 500 hours by Dec. 31, 2015), but up front it provides avenues for experienced practitioners to qualify for certification with fewer formal education hours. Massage practitioners must demonstrate at least 3 years and a minimum of 1000 hours of qualified massage experience providing tax returns to verify all hours worked were for compensation.
Upon implementation of the new bill, massage practitioners will have to have completed a minimum 250 hour certificate program from one single State approved school. If a school does not implement a program to bridge the gap of hours, those graduates will have to go to another school and start over so that they can have 250 hours of instruction at a single approved school.
Twin Lakes College of the Healing Arts is positioned to comply with all new curriculum requirements. Our 550 massage therapist certificate program fulfills all requirements for many professional organizations and state requirements including NCBTMB & MBLEx.
Please contact the school office to find out what you may need to do to comply with upcoming SB 731 implementation.