Michigan Massage Therapy Licensure Renewal Guidelines

Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) licenses in Michigan expire on October 31. The first license you receive is an initial license that is issued until the next October 31. You will not need CE to renew your initial license. Every license after that will be issued for three years and will need to be renewed every three years thereafter. LMT’s will need 18 hours of CE every time you renew a three year license. The 18 hours of CE must include: 1 hour of pain management and 2 hours of Professional Ethics/Boundaries. These requirements must be met with every three year renewal.

Human Trafficking Requirement

(for all professions licensed under the Public Health Code)

This is a one-time requirement that must be completed by all Massage Therapists (MTs) renewing their licenses starting in 2020. The requirement is a “content” requirement and not an “hours” requirement. The content is outlined in the Massage Therapy rules. You will need proof of completion of this training to renew your license if you graduated before 2022 and did not have this training as part of your massage training in school.

In 2022 and after, all new applicants for licensure will be required to have Human Trafficking training as part of their Massage Therapy curriculum in school.

Implicit Bias Training–   For initial renewals completed after June 1, 2021, completion of one hour of implicit bias training is required for each year of licensure since June 1, 2021. If renewing prior to June 1, 2022, implicit bias training is not required for that renewal. Once the initial renewal is completed, then 1 hour of implicit bias training will be required for each year of the current license cycle going forward. Please note, this is not a one-time training and must be completed for each renewal cycle prior to the renewal being completed.

Additional Rules Regarding CE

CE hours cannot be carried over from one licensing period to the next. The CE has to be earned during the three-year period immediately preceding your renewal date in order for it to count when you renew.

You may not earn CE for a program or activity that is the same as a program or activity that you have already earned CE during that renewal period.

A licensee shall not earn CE in topics that are excluded from the Massage Therapy licensure which includes: Feldenkrais; Trager; Polarity or polarity therapy; Asian bodywork therapy; Shiatsu; Reflexology; or Structural integration.

There are ways other than Workshops to earn CE hours which are outlined in the rules document.