What Is the California Board of Massage Therapy?

There is no California Board of Massage Therapy. California does not license massage therapists through a state board at all. Instead, the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC), a nonprofit created by the California Massage Therapy Act, issues a voluntary statewide certification that lets practitioners work in any city or county without needing separate local permits.¹

What CAMTC Is and Why It Exists

CAMTC is not a government licensing agency. It is a nonprofit organization established by state law to certify massage practitioners. In its own words, “CAMTC certification is voluntary,” and “neither the State of California nor CAMTC requires you to be certified to provide massage for compensation in California.”²

So if someone tells you they are “licensed” by the state of California to do massage, the terminology is off. The correct credential is a CAMTC certificate, and the correct title for someone who holds one is Certified Massage Therapist (CMT). Those titles, along with “CAMTC-certified” or any similar wording, are legally reserved for current certificate holders.³

Why Most Therapists Get Certified Anyway

Certification is voluntary, but skipping it is costly in practice. Without a CAMTC certificate, you fall under whatever rules your city or county imposes, and those can include local permits, separate background checks, medical exams, and additional education requirements that vary from one jurisdiction to the next.

A CAMTC certificate overrides all of that for the individual practitioner. Local governments cannot require a certified therapist to complete a separate background check, medical exam, extra education, or any local permit to provide massage for compensation, and they cannot ban certified practitioners from working in their jurisdiction.²³

Massage businesses are treated differently. Even when every therapist on the premises is certified, the establishment itself may still need a local permit. Cities and counties keep the authority to regulate massage businesses, though any such local rules must be “reasonable and necessary.”² If you plan to open a practice, check your local establishment rules separately from your personal certification.

How to Qualify for CAMTC Certification

Under Business and Professions Code Section 4604, you must meet four requirements:

Be at least 18 years old.
Complete at least 500 hours of coursework from a CAMTC-approved school, covering massage techniques and related subjects.
Submit fingerprints through California’s Live Scan system and pass a criminal background investigation.
Pay the required certification fees.

These are set by statute, so CAMTC cannot waive them.¹

Education Hours

Of the 500 required hours, at least 100 must cover anatomy and physiology, contraindications, health and hygiene, and business and ethics.⁴ CAMTC’s school-approval standards require at least 310 in-person supervised hours, with 250 dedicated to hands-on massage skills, 20 to anatomy and physiology lab, and 10 to ethics.⁵

Confirm your school is on CAMTC’s current approved list before enrolling. Hours completed at an unapproved school, or at a school that later loses approval, will not count.

Background Check

Fingerprinting goes through a Live Scan provider in California, which charges its own fee on top of CAMTC’s certification fee.⁴

A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you. CAMTC may deny certification if an applicant has been convicted of an offense “substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of a certificate holder,” or has committed a fraudulent or dishonest act tied to those duties.⁶ In practice, denials most often involve sexually related offenses, prostitution-related activity, and fraud.

If CAMTC proposes to deny your application, you receive at least 15 calendar days’ notice explaining the reasons. You can then be heard orally or in writing before at least two hearing officers. Their decision ends the internal process, but you have 90 days to challenge it in superior court.⁶

Fees, Term, and Renewal

A new two-year CAMTC certification costs $300. Recertification is also $300 for most applicants, and fees are non-refundable whether the application is approved or denied.⁷

Certification lasts two years. You are responsible for getting a completed renewal in before it expires. Late fees climb fast:

Up to 10 days late: $50
Up to 29 days late: $80
30 or more days late: $180

Miss the window by 18 months and you cannot renew at all; you have to start over as a new applicant under whatever requirements exist at that time.⁸ California does not currently require continuing education for renewal, which makes the renewal itself simpler but puts the whole weight of staying certified on that 18-month deadline.

What Certified Therapists Can and Cannot Do

California law defines massage as “the scientific manipulation of the soft tissues.” The terms “massage” and “bodywork” mean the same thing under the Massage Therapy Act.³

Hard limits apply to every certified practitioner. Massage of the genitals or anal region is prohibited. Massage of the female breast requires the client’s written consent beforehand. Any sexual activity during a massage, or on the premises of a massage establishment, is unprofessional conduct, as is sexually suggestive advertising.³

On the other side, local governments cannot stop certified therapists from working on the gluteal muscles or from using specific techniques CAMTC recognizes as legitimate. That protection exists because some local ordinances had previously restricted lawful techniques beyond what state law prohibits.

How CAMTC Disciplines Certified Therapists

CAMTC investigates complaints against certified therapists and takes enforcement action. The most common grounds are sexual misconduct and prostitution-related activity.⁹ Actions fall into three main categories:

Suspension. The certificate goes temporarily inactive. Some suspensions happen automatically by operation of law, such as after certain arrests or convictions; others follow an evidence-based investigation.
Probation. The therapist keeps the certificate but must comply with specific conditions.
Revocation. The certificate is canceled. In the most serious cases, revocation is permanent with no option to reapply.

Practicing on a suspended certificate, or outside the conditions of a restricted one, is itself grounds for further discipline. When criminal conduct is involved, CAMTC works with law enforcement, and cases may be prosecuted separately in criminal court.³

Checking Whether a Therapist Is Certified

Anyone can verify a massage therapist’s current status through CAMTC’s online record search. It works best when you have the therapist’s full certificate number, since practitioners can share similar names and locations.¹⁰ For consumers choosing a therapist, or employers vetting an applicant, this is the authoritative source.

Practicing Outside California

CAMTC certification does not require passing the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx). Starting January 1, 2026, approved schools must tell students that the MBLEx is not required for California certification but may be required for licensure in other states.¹

If you expect to work outside California at any point, consider sitting for the MBLEx while coursework is fresh. The exam is administered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards, and most states that license therapists accept it. You must be enrolled in or have graduated from an approved massage therapy program to take it.¹¹

Separately, the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork offers voluntary board certification, which it calls “the highest voluntary credential attainable in the massage therapy profession.” Board certification requires passing the NCBTMB exam, holding a current state license where applicable, clearing a background check, and agreeing to the organization’s standards of practice.¹² It is not required anywhere, but some practitioners pursue it for credibility.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code BPC – Massage Therapy Act
2
California Massage Therapy Council. Frequently Asked Questions
3
California Massage Therapy Council. Massage Therapy Act and Related Statutes 2026
4
California Massage Therapy Council. Requirements to Certify
5
California Massage Therapy Council. Policies and Procedures for Approval of Schools
6
California Assembly Committee on Business and Professions. CAMTC Background Paper 2025
7
California Massage Therapy Council. CAMTC Fee Schedule
8
California Massage Therapy Council. CAMTC Recertification Application Instructions
9
California Massage Therapy Council. CAMTC Data Report to Legislature
10
California Massage Therapy Council. Record Search
11
Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards. MBLEx Requirements and Process
12
National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Board Certification FAQs