The state Legislature created this regulatory agency in 2005 as part of the secretary of state’s office “to protect the public from unqualified practitioners.”
The board establishes education, training, and experience standards for massage therapists. It reviews license applications to ensure that those seeking to practice in the state are eligible, and also issues licenses to massage therapy businesses.
The officials ensure that practitioners renew their licenses and receive continuing education. They investigate complaints concerning alleged violations of laws and regulations. Disciplinary actions include fines as well as license suspensions and revocations.
The governor appoints all five board members. Four of them must have been professionally engaged in massage therapy in the state for at least three years. No more than one member may be a massage school owner. The fifth member represents the public.
Minimum Education Requirements for Massage Therapy Programs in Georgia
To become a massage therapist in Georgia, a student is required to complete a school program that provides 500 or more clock hours of coursework and training. The state board stipulates that schools be recognized by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, as well as the Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission.
Curricula must include at least 440 hours of instruction, plus 50-60 hours of supervised clinical experience. The board mandates 125 hours of anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology courses; 200 hours of theory, technique, and practice; 40 hours of pathology; 10 hours of ethics and business management; and six hours of ethics.
The remaining 125 or more hours pertain to other subjects. Students must learn effleurage or gliding, tapotement or percussion, petrissage or kneading, stretching, superficial warming, contraindications, modesty and draping, client data collection, and therapeutic relationships.
Upon graduation, the next step is to register online with the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork to take the Massage and Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx). Once approved, a candidate contacts Pearson VUE to schedule the exam at a testing center in Atlanta, Albany, Augusta, Dunwoody, Griffin, Macon, Marietta, Savannah, or Stockbridge.
The board reviews license applicants’ MBLEx results to determine whether they are qualified to practice in the state. Massage therapists must renew their licenses every two years, which involves obtaining 24 credits of continuing education from board-approved providers.