Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 20 - DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND INSURANCE › Division 2197 - Board of Therapeutic Massage › Chapter 2 - Massage Therapist Licensure Requirements › Section 20 CSR 2197-2.010 - Application for Licensure

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment clarifies language on
				  background checks, distance education, and applying for licensure and rescinds
				  grandfathering provisions.
(1) A person who seeks licensure as a massage
				therapist and has completed either five hundred (500) clock hours of massage
				therapy training in an apprenticeship with a certified mentor and has
				successfully passed an examination approved by the board or massage therapy
				studies consisting of at least five hundred (500) clock hours of supervised
				instruction from a Coordinating Board of Higher Education (CBHE) certified
				school, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
				approved vocational program or school, or school, college, university, or other
				institution of higher learning in the United States accredited by a regional
				accrediting commission recognized by the United States Department of Education
				or an equivalent approving body for out-of-state applicants, shall be at least
				eighteen (18) years of age and shall submit the following:
(A) A completed notarized application and
				application fee;
(B) Two (2) sets
				of fingerprints for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check by
				the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
				Any fees due for a fingerprint background check shall be paid by the applicant
				directly to the Missouri State Highway Patrol or its approved
				vendor(s);
(C) Official evidence of
				completing five hundred (500) clock hours of massage therapy training in an
				apprenticeship with a certified mentor or an official final transcript showing
				successful completion of a massage therapy program to be submitted directly to
				the board office from the certified mentor or massage therapy program which
				includes:
1. The applicant's name;
2. Date of enrollment;
3. Date of completion; and
4. Documentation that the massage therapy
				program consisted of at least five hundred (500) clock hours of supervised
				instruction which consisted of-
A. At least
				three hundred (300) clock hours dedicated to massage theory and practice
				techniques provided directly by the certified mentor or an instructor within a
				massage therapy program. An instructor for massage theory and practice
				techniques or certified mentor shall document at least two (2) years of massage
				therapy practice and either be licensed as a massage therapist in this state or
				be licensure eligible, based upon board review of the instructor's credentials.
(I) An instructor of kinesiology or pathology
				within the massage therapy program shall submit verification of education
				and/or experience in kinesiology or pathology instruction and licensure as a
				massage therapist or licensure eligibility is not required;
B. One hundred (100) clock hours
				dedicated to the study of anatomy and physiology provided by one (1) of the
				following:
(I) The certified mentor who must
				hold an associate, bachelor, or advanced degree in a science related field from
				a college, university, or other institution of higher learning in the United
				States accredited by a regional accrediting commission recognized by the U.S.
				Department of Education that includes a course of study in anatomy and
				physiology. Such degrees include, but are not limited to, physical therapy,
				chiropractic, osteopathy, medicine, nursing, chemistry, or biology;
(II) A school, college, university, or other
				institution of higher learning in the United States accredited by a regional
				accrediting commission recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, a
				massage therapy program approved by the Missouri CBHE, or an out-of-state
				school approved by an agency equivalent to the Missouri CBHE;
(III) The certified mentor who must have
				earned at least fifteen (15) semester hours or twenty-five (25) quarter hours
				in science or science related courses from a college, university, or other
				institution of higher learning in the United States accredited by a regional
				accrediting commission recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. All
				course work must have a passing grade and at least eight (8) semester hours in
				fifteen (15) quarter hours of the course of study shall be in anatomy and
				physiology. For the purpose of this regulation a semester hour is equivalent to
				fifteen (15) clock hours and a quarter hour is equivalent to ten (10) clock
				hours;
(IV) An instructor within a
				massage therapy program who must hold an associate, bachelor, or advanced
				degree in a science related field that includes a course of study in anatomy
				and physiology. Such degrees include, but are not limited to, physical therapy,
				chiropractic, osteopathy, medicine, nursing, chemistry, or biology from a
				college, university, or other institution of higher learning in the United
				States accredited by a regional accrediting commission recognized by the U.S.
				Department of Education; or
(V) An
				instructor within a massage therapy program who must have earned at least
				fifteen (15) semester hours or twenty-five (25) quarter hours in science or
				science related courses from a college, university, or other institution of
				higher learning in the United States accredited by a regional accrediting
				commission recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. All course work must
				have a passing grade and at least eight (8) semester hours or fifteen (15)
				quarter hours of the course of study shall be in anatomy and physiology. For
				the purpose of this regulation a semester hour is equivalent to fifteen (15)
				clock hours and a quarter hour is equivalent to ten (10) clock hours;
C. Fifty (50) clock hours
				dedicated to business practice, professional ethics, hygiene, and massage law
				in the state of Missouri provided by a certified mentor or an instructor within
				a massage therapy program with documented experience/education in a related
				field; and
D. Fifty (50) clock
				hours dedicated to ancillary therapies provided by a certified mentor or an
				instructor(s) within a massage therapy program with documented
				experience/education in a related field. The fifty (50) clock hours shall
				include at a minimum cardiopul-monary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid
				provided by an instructor who holds the respective instructor certification;
				and
(D)
				Evidence of passing one of the following:
1.
				National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork
				(NCETBM) as administered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic
				Massage and Bodywork or its successor organization;
2. National Certification Examination for
				Therapeutic Massage (NCETM) as administered by the National Certification Board
				for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork or its successor organization;
3. Asian Bodywork Therapy (ABT) Examination
				as administered by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and
				Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM);
4. The
				American Medical Massage Association National Board Certification Examination
				(AMMA NBCE) administered as of 2006;
5. Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination
				(MBLEx) as administered by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards or
				its successor organization; or
6.
				An examination deemed appropriate by the board;
(E) An applicant completing a massage therapy
				program consisting of less than five hundred (500) hours of supervised
				instruction from a Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education (CBHE)
				approved school, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
				(DESE) approved vocational program or school, college, university, or other
				institution of higher learning in the United States accredited by a regional
				accrediting commission recognized by the United States Department of Education
				or an equivalent approving agency for out-of-state schools, or who has
				completed a massage therapy program deficient in clock hours according to
				20 CSR
				2197-2.010(1)(C) 4.A.-D. may complete
				deficiencies at either a Missouri CBHE approved school, DESE approved
				vocational program, mentorship approved by the board, or school, college,
				university, or other institution of higher learning in the United States
				accredited by a regional accrediting commission recognized by the United States
				Department of Education, or an out-of-state school approved by an agency
				equivalent to CBHE; and
(F) For the
				purpose of 20 CSR 2197-2.010, a clock hour is defined as fifty (50) minutes of
				instruction and the course of instruction meeting the educational requirements
				for licensure shall not be provided via correspondence course, audiotape,
				videotape, or other electronic means unless approved by the
				board.