Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 73 - PROFESSIONS AND VOCATIONS (§§ 73-1-1 — 73-79-1) › Chapter 67 - PROFESSIONAL MASSAGE THERAPISTS (§§ 73-67-1 — 73-67-39) › Section 73-67-35 - [Repealed Effective 7/1/2025] Education requirements for licensure; standards for massage therapy programs and schools; evidence of current national accreditation in lieu of application

(1)
To obtain a massage therapy license, an applicant must submit to the board the applicant's official and certified transcript(s) from the applicant's massage therapy school. The transcript must verify that the applicant has completed a board-approved training program of not less than five hundred fifty (550) hours of massage therapy instruction, and at least fifty (50) hours of student clinic, with a minimum grade requirement of "C" or better in every course of instruction, in the following subjects:
(a)
Two hundred (200) hours in massage theory and practicum;
(b)
Two hundred (200) hours in science of the human body;
(c)
One hundred fifty (150) hours in allied modalities; and
(d)
Fifty (50) hours in supervised student clinic.
(2)
"Massage theory and practicum" must include a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas:
(a)
Ten (10) hours in legalities including Mississippi massage law and ethics;
(b)
Twenty (20) hours in history, benefits, indications and contraindications;
(c)
One hundred (100) hours in massage demonstration and supervised practice, which must include, but is not limited to, client evaluation, stroking, kneading, stretching, friction, percussion, vibration, range of motion, approved hand held tools and devices designated as t-bars or knobbies, and draping and turning; and
(d)
The remaining seventy (70) hours may expand on any or all of the previous three (3) subject areas and/or be related to practical massage.
(3)
"Science of the human body" must include a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas:
(a)
Twenty (20) hours in anatomy, including all body systems;
(b)
Twenty (20) hours in physiology, including all body systems;
(c)
Twenty (20) hours in myology/kinesiology;
(d)
Twenty (20) hours in neurology;
(e)
Twenty (20) hours in pathology, including medical terminology; and
(f)
The remaining eighty (80) hours may expand on any or all of the previous six (6) subject areas and/or be related to the science of the human body.
(4)
"Allied modalities" must include, but are not limited to, a minimum of the following classroom hours in the specified subject areas:
(a)
Seven (7) hours in Eastern, European and Western theory/methods;
(b)
Eight (8) hours in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid;
(c)
Ten (10) hours in charting and documentation;
(d)
Twenty-five (25) hours in hydrotherapy and infrared heat;
(e)
Twenty (20) hours in referral methods within the health care system; and
(f)
The remaining one hundred thirty (130) hours may expand on any or all of the previous five (5) subject areas, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, and/or be devoted to any approach to massage therapy and wellness, such as trigger points, management, communication, safety, oriental or Eastern massage techniques and specialized populations. Schools with a temporary or probationary board status license must include a comprehensive review class of no less than sixteen (16) hours and three (3) hours to sit for and pass the board comprehensive exam.
(5)
"Student clinic" must include at least fifty (50) practical hands-on one-hour massage therapy sessions to be evaluated on documents filed and kept on record at the school for a minimum of six (6) months. These evaluations are to be completed by the clients of the massage therapy sessions and shall include the client's name, address, reason for session, indications and contraindications, date and signature. Each completed session shall constitute one (1) hour of student clinic. The hands-on session must be supervised by an instructor, board licensed in the area being supervised.
(6)
A massage therapy program shall not operate in the State of Mississippi unless it meets the minimum standards of curriculum for licensure as stated in this chapter. Massage schools and massage curriculums for licensure preparation must obtain a national accreditation from such agencies as the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation or programs with the same or greater requirements. Existing massage schools will have five (5) years from July 1, 2001, to obtain that accreditation. New massage schools will have five (5) years from the opening of the massage school to show conformance with the accreditation requirements. An existing accredited massage school that loses its accreditation will have three (3) years from the date of loss of its accreditation to show conformance with the accreditation requirements.
(7)
No massage therapy program shall consist of more than forty (40) in-class clock hours per week.
(8)
Hours credited through transfer credit shall not be recognized by the board unless the following transfer standards are met:
(a)
The school shall be provided with a certified transcript from a school licensed or approved in that state;
(b)
Courses for which credit is granted shall parallel in content and intensity to the course offered by the school;
(c)
Documentation of previous training shall be included in each student's permanent file.
(9)
Private business and vocational schools that have obtained national accreditation from an accrediting agency designated by the United States Department of Education may submit evidence of current accreditation in lieu of other application requests. Applications submitted on evidence of national accreditation must be approved or denied within sixty (60) days after receipt. If no action is taken within sixty (60) days, the application shall be deemed approved and a massage therapy license must be issued.
Laws, 2001, ch. 549, § 18; reenacted without change, Laws, 2004, ch. 476, § 18; reenacted and amended, Laws, 2008, ch. 451, § 18; Laws, 2011, ch. 371, § 2, eff. 7/1/2011.
Amended by Laws, 2021, ch. 409, SB 2751,§ 5, eff. 7/1/2021.
Reenacted without change by Laws, 2018, ch. 339, HB 905,§ 18, eff. 7/1/2018.
Amended by Laws, 2013, ch. 477, SB 2737, 18, eff. 7/1/2013.