To complete a Florida massage license renewal, pay $105 and finish 24 hours of approved continuing education by August 31 of each odd-numbered year. The next deadline is August 31, 2027.1Florida Board of Massage Therapy. Licensed Massage Therapist Miss it and your license goes delinquent at midnight, you cannot legally practice, and the price of getting back on track roughly doubles.
When Your License Expires
Every Florida massage therapy license expires at midnight Eastern Time on August 31 of odd-numbered years, no matter when you were originally licensed.2Cornell Law Institute. Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 64B7-28.0043 – Biennial Renewal of Massage Therapist License The current biennium ends August 31, 2027.
The Department of Health mails a reminder to the address on file before the window opens, but that notice is a courtesy, not a legal requirement. If your address is outdated and the reminder never reaches you, the deadline still applies. Update your mailing address through your MQA online account well before renewal season.
What Renewal Costs
On-time biennial renewal for an active license is $105: a $100 renewal fee plus a $5 unlicensed activity surcharge that funds the state’s enforcement program against unlicensed practitioners.3Florida Board of Massage Therapy. Fees Archives
If your license is on inactive status and you want to keep it inactive, you still pay $105. Reactivating from inactive to active before the expiration date costs $205. Reactivating after expiration costs $355.1Florida Board of Massage Therapy. Licensed Massage Therapist
Payment runs through the MQA Online Services portal with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover.
The 24 Hours of Continuing Education
You need 24 hours of approved continuing education during each two-year cycle.4Florida Board of Massage Therapy. Continuing Education (CE) Seven of those hours are set by the board:
- Prevention of medical errors, 2 hours
- Florida laws and rules, 2 hours
- Professional ethics, 2 hours
- Human trafficking awareness, 1 hour
The remaining 17 hours split into two groups. Twelve must be classroom hours taken in the physical presence of an instructor, with hands-on participation or live demonstration.5Florida Board of Massage Therapy. CE Requirements Update – Hands-on by Distance The other five can be standard instruction hours, including online or distance-learning formats. The 12-hour classroom requirement is where therapists most often get caught short, because live courses cannot be squeezed into the final week the way an online ethics module can.
Courses must come from a board-approved provider, an approved Florida massage school, the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, or certain first-aid organizations. All hours must be reported through CE Broker, the state’s electronic tracking system, before you can submit your renewal.
How to Renew Online
Renewal is handled entirely through the MQA Online Services portal. Before you log in, confirm every CE hour is already posted in CE Broker. The portal checks your education record during the application, and anything missing will block submission.
Once you log in with your license number and password, the system walks you through a short set of questions, asks you to attest that all required education is complete and reported, and takes payment. A receipt and updated license status appear once the transaction clears. The whole process takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes if your CE record is already clean.
Renewing an Inactive License
If you have stopped practicing and placed your license on inactive status, you still have to renew every two years to keep it from going delinquent. Inactive-to-inactive renewal is $105.1Florida Board of Massage Therapy. Licensed Massage Therapist
Reactivating to active status costs $205 before expiration and requires proof that you completed the CE requirements for every biennium the license was inactive. If the license sat inactive for more than two consecutive renewal cycles, the board may require a competency examination or additional conditions before restoring active status. Practicing on an inactive license carries the same consequences as practicing with no license at all.6Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 456.036 – Licenses; Active and Inactive Status; Delinquency
What Happens If You Renew Late
Missing the August 31 deadline turns the license delinquent immediately, and you cannot practice massage therapy in Florida until you fix it.7Florida Board of Massage Therapy. Maintaining Your License Any work done while delinquent is treated as unlicensed practice and can bring disciplinary action and criminal prosecution.8Florida Department of Health. Unlicensed Activity
A delinquent active renewal costs $205, which is the regular $105 plus a $100 delinquent surcharge. Reactivating from delinquent inactive status runs $355. You also have to complete CE for both the expired cycle and the current cycle before the board will reactivate the license, which can mean up to 48 hours of continuing education and the mandatory topics for both periods.1Florida Board of Massage Therapy. Licensed Massage Therapist
When a License Goes Null and Void
A delinquent license that still is not renewed by the end of the following renewal cycle becomes null and void automatically, with no action required by the board.1Florida Board of Massage Therapy. Licensed Massage Therapist For the current biennium, any license still delinquent after September 1, 2027, will be voided.
A null-and-void license cannot be renewed or reactivated. You would have to apply as a new candidate, meeting every original requirement: completing an approved massage therapy program, passing the national examination, undergoing background screening, and paying the full initial application and licensing fees.9Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 480 – Massage Practice That starts at $255 and takes considerably longer than a renewal. If the gap between you and a valid license is a $100 surcharge and some catch-up CE, that is a far better place to be than starting over.