Louisiana Massage Therapy Licensing Requirements

To get a massage therapy license in Louisiana, you need to complete a board-approved training program, pass the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx), clear a fingerprint-based criminal background check, and pay a $75 application fee to the Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy (LBMT). The Louisiana massage therapy license requirements also include an annual $125 renewal and 12 hours of continuing education each year after your first year of practice.¹

Education Hours

How many training hours you owe depends on when you enrolled. If you enrolled in a massage therapy program on or after July 1, 2024, you must complete at least 625 instructor-supervised, in-person hours at a board-approved school. If you enrolled before that date, the previous 500-hour minimum still applies.²

Coursework covers anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, ethics, and hands-on technique. Tuition at Louisiana programs typically ranges from roughly $3,000 at community colleges to $20,000 or more at private academies, with programs built around the lower hour threshold tending toward the lower end.

Exam and Background Check

Once your education is finished, you sit for the MBLEx, a standardized national test covering anatomy, pathology, kinesiology, and professional ethics. You also submit to a criminal background check that includes fingerprinting.¹ The MBLEx testing organization charges its own exam registration fee, which is separate from anything you pay the LBMT.

Application Fee and Annual Renewal

The initial application fee is $75 and is non-refundable.³ After you’re licensed, renewal costs $125 per year. Miss the deadline and the board adds a $100 late fee on top of the renewal.⁴

Renewal also carries a continuing education obligation. Every licensed therapist must complete at least 12 hours of board-approved continuing education each year. The requirement kicks in after your first 12 months of licensure; your initial year is exempt.⁵

Courses must be registered and approved by the LBMT, and they have to focus on massage theory, practice, methods, or the laws, regulations, business principles, and ethical standards that apply to the profession. Classes that teach diagnosis, treatment of illness, or procedures outside the massage therapy scope will not receive Louisiana CE credit.⁵

Criminal History That Blocks a License

Criminal history can keep you out of the profession, and some bars are permanent. The LBMT may refuse to issue a license to anyone convicted of a felony or of any crime connected to the practice of massage therapy, unless the conviction was reversed on appeal.⁶

Sexual misconduct is a complete, non-discretionary bar. Anyone who has been convicted of, pleaded no contest to, or received deferred adjudication for any criminal offense involving sexual misconduct is permanently ineligible for a massage therapy license. The board has no authority to make an exception.⁶

If You’re Already Licensed in Another State

Louisiana enacted universal occupational license recognition in 2024 under HB 716. If you’re moving in with an active license from another state, the LBMT must issue you a Louisiana license when you meet all of the following:⁷

A current license in another state with a similar scope of practice, as determined by the LBMT.
You have held that license for at least one year.
You met the other state’s examination, education, or experience requirements.
You are in good standing with no pending disciplinary actions or investigations. If something is pending, the LBMT waits for it to resolve before deciding.
No disqualifying criminal record under Louisiana law.
Louisiana residency, with proof.
Payment of all applicable Louisiana fees.

The LBMT may also require you to pass a jurisprudence exam on Louisiana-specific massage therapy laws before issuing the license.⁷

When You Don’t Need a License

A few situations fall outside the licensing requirement entirely:⁸

Services performed in state-licensed hospitals are exempt from the massage therapy licensing chapter.
You may massage an immediate family member without compensation and without a license.
Practitioners licensed in another state who come to Louisiana temporarily to teach a continuing education course are exempt.
Out-of-state licensed therapists providing services as part of a disaster emergency response team working with relief officials are exempt while in Louisiana for that purpose.

Professionals licensed under other Louisiana laws, such as physical therapists or chiropractors, may perform soft tissue techniques within their own scope of practice without a massage license. They cannot hold themselves out to the public as a “licensed massage therapist.”⁸

If You Open a Location

Your individual therapist license does not cover the place where you work. If you operate a physical location where massage therapy is performed, you need a separate establishment license from the LBMT. Louisiana law defines a “massage establishment” as any place of business that offers and conducts massage therapy on its premises.⁹

The original registration fee for a massage establishment is $100, with a $100 annual renewal and a $100 late fee for missed deadlines.⁴ Establishments must meet board sanitation and safety standards, including clean equipment, laundered linens between clients, at least one toilet and one sink with running water, and shower facilities on site if the business offers whirlpool baths, saunas, or steam rooms.¹⁰ The same permanent sexual misconduct bar that applies to therapists also applies to establishment owners and operators, with prostitution convictions added to the list.⁶

Penalties for Practicing Without a License

Working as a massage therapist in Louisiana without a license is a misdemeanor. A conviction carries a fine between $100 and $1,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both. The same penalty applies to owners and operators of unlicensed massage establishments.¹¹

Once you’re licensed, the LBMT can suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew your license for fraud in obtaining the license, selling or bartering it, unprofessional conduct that endangers public health or safety, a felony conviction, conviction of any crime connected to massage therapy, or any violation of the massage therapy act or board rules. Disciplinary proceedings follow the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act, which guarantees you notice and a hearing before the board acts.⁶

1
Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy. LABMT – Home Page
2
Louisiana State Legislature. Senate Bill No. 353 – 2024 Regular Session
3
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:3562 – Fees
4
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Laws – RS 37:3562 Fees
5
Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy. CEU Provider Information – Section: Chapter 37 Continuing Education Rules
6
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:3563 – Grounds for Discipline
7
Louisiana Legislature. HB 716 2024 Regular Session – Universal Recognition of Occupational Licenses
8
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:3553 – Application of Chapter Exceptions and Exemptions
9
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Laws – RS 37:3552 Definitions
10
Legal Information Institute. Louisiana Administrative Code Title 46 XLIV-2501 – Safety and Sanitary Requirements
11
Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy. Louisiana Massage Therapists and Massage Establishments Act – Section: RS 37:3565 Penalties