Massage Licensure is Coming to Indiana: Here Are The 3 Changes You Must Prepare For (2024)

Important changes to state massage requirements are underway in Indiana.

These changes include requirements that practicing massage therapists complete continuing education hours, carry a specific level of liability insurance, and submit to a criminal background check. Also, massage students will have to complete more educational hours than before.

All of theserequirements are part of a larger development: In Indiana, certification thatserves as title protection is transitioning to licensure that regulates thepractice of massage, as well as titles including “massage therapist,” “bodyworker,”clinical massage therapist” and more.

The state board is currently working to finalize the massagelaw’s rules. In fact, a special meeting was set for April 16, for a finalreview and discussion of HouseEnrolled Act 1289, which isthe act that stipulated the changes to Title 25, Article 21.8 of Indiana statecode.

MASSAGE Magazine spoke a customer service representative with the Indiana State Board of Massage who said the changes will go into effect 183 days after the effective date the changes are adopted, and publicized, by the state massage board.

In the meantime,therapists in the Hoosier State should be prepared for the roll-out of these newrequirements that will affect their ability to legally practice massage.

Here is a breakdown of the threemost important changes underway in Indiana.

1. Increased Educational Hours

Oncelicensure is in place, Indiana massage therapists will need to show proof ofsuccessful completion of 24 hours of continuing education (CE) within the mostrecent four-year period. Currently, CE is not required.

Additionally,massage students will be required to complete 625 hours of classroom andhands-on instruction, up from the current 500 hours, to apply for a statelicense.

Once massageschool education is completed, a graduate must take one of the followingexaminations accepted by the Indiana State Board of Massage Therapy:

• The Massage& Bodywork Licensing Examination

• The NationalBoard Certification Agency National Certification Examination

• The BoardCertification Exam in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork

After applying for licensure, new massage therapists willhave to register for a criminal background check that includes beingfingerprinted. With certification, applicants have to simply “provide a historyof any criminal convictions the individual has, including any convictionsrelated to the practice of the profession,” according to Indiana legal code.

For informationabout fees related to licensure and how to schedule a criminal background check,massage therapists should connect with the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.

2. Required Liability Insurance

Many massage therapists are required — by their stategoverning board, employer or landlord — to possess liability insurance in orderto practice. This insurance is a form of risk management that ensures you arerelieved from the financial responsibility of a potential loss.

Further, product liability coverage applies to instanceswhere a client may sue a massage therapist due to damage or injury resultingfrom use of a product, such as a massage lubricant, that causes an allergicreaction, or a faulty table that crashes to the ground in the middle of amassage.

Indiana massage therapistsare already required to hold professional liability insurance and must provideproof of insurance when applying for certification. The new rule states thattherapists applying for licensure must have minimum coverage of $2 milliondollars per claim and $6 million dollars in aggregate.

Professionalliability coverage, also known as malpractice insurance, applies to instanceswhere a client may sue a massage therapist due to damages or injury incurredduring the course of a session.

Liability insurance is often an annual or bi-annualpurchase, Indiana massage therapists may want to consider reviewing theircurrent policy as it comes up for renewal to confirm that their limits willmeet the new requirements. Some insurance companies may be adjusting orincreasing their policies to meet the new limits in the coming year. (Disclosure: MASSAGE Magazine‘ssister company, MassageMagazine Insurance Plus, is one organization that has adjusted its coverage to meet the newrequirements in Indiana.)

3. The Transition from Certification to Licensure

Currently, certification in Indiana provides for title protection,meaning that anyone practicing massage in the state who is not certified cannotuse such titles as “certified massage therapist” or “massage therapist,” or theabbreviations “CMT” or “MT,” when referring to what they practice.

Since the current law doesn’t protect the practice of massage, people withouteducation and certification can currently set up shop touching clients.

The new rule will prevent people who don’t possess massageeducation from getting massage jobs, “and that’s what’s happening now,” saidNicole Muench, who owns and directs Carmel School of Massage & Healing Artsin Carmel, Indiana.

“I think it will be a good change that will help us, [as] themedical profession will look at our profession [as having] more integrity withthis new regulation, because we’ll be licensed as medical professionals arelicensed, such as nurses and physical therapists and dental hygienists,” Muenchadded. “I think that big picture is we will see our industry leaning moretoward the clinical, medical setting.”

A component of changes to massage therapy’s reputation couldlay in the new licensure rule that therapists must include their license numberin any advertisement.

What’s Next for Indiana MTs

Until the changes go into effect, the Indiana Board of Massage Therapy will keep on renewing and issuing massage certifications. The state’s massage therapists should check the board’s website regularly for updates on the transition from certification to licensure, and for the implementation of the additional changes described here.

About the Author:

Karen Menehan is MASSAGE Magazine’s editor in chief.