Massage License Requirements in Arkansas
Verified against Arkansas Department of Health — Cosmetology, Body Art, and Massage Therapy Section · 2026-07-25 · verified by agent
Arkansas's 500-hour training requirement is sourced from Arkansas Massage Therapy Act (Ark. Code Ann. §17-86-101 et seq.), full statutory text, verified 2026-07-25. Its required exam — Arkansas Massage Therapy Law examination (state jurisprudence exam), required in addition to a national competency exam — comes from the same source.
Compiled and verified against primary state-board sources by GetMassageLicense — cite-or-deny, with no invented figures. How we source & verify →
Arkansas licenses massage therapists through the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), advised by the Massage Therapy Technical Advisory Committee, under the Massage Therapy Act (Ark. Code Ann. §17-86-101 et seq.) — not a standalone massage board. Applicants complete a minimum 500-hour, 4-month program at an ADH-licensed school and must pass both a recognized competency exam (MBLEx, NCETM, or NCETMB) and a state-administered jurisprudence exam on Arkansas massage therapy law. Licenses renew every two years on the licensee's birthday, requiring 18 hours of continuing education.
Arkansas Massage License Requirements
| Licensing Authority | Arkansas Department of Health — Cosmetology, Body Art, and Massage Therapy Section (ADH) |
| Titles | Massage Therapist, Master Massage Therapist, Massage Therapy Instructor |
| Training Hours | 500 hours — ADH-licensed massage therapy school. Per Ark. Code Ann. §17-86-306(e), curriculum must include 175 hrs anatomy/physiology/pathology/contraindications; 225 hrs technique; 25 hrs hydrotherapy/electrotherapy/heliotherapy; 25 hrs hygiene & infection control; 25 hrs massage therapy law/business management/professional ethics; and 25 hrs related subjects. The ADH Rules for Massage Therapy, Section 8.5(c) (schools) additionally requires at least 3 of those 25 hygiene/infection-control hours to cover HIV/AIDS and other basic communicable disease education, per the rule's own cross-reference to §17-86-306(e)(4). |
| Exam | Arkansas Massage Therapy Law examination (state jurisprudence exam), required in addition to a national competency exam (Arkansas Department of Health (jurisprudence exam); FSMTB (MBLEx) or NCBTMB (NCETM/NCETMB) for the competency exam) Alternatives accepted: MBLEx; NCETM; NCETMB |
| Renewal Period | 2 years (biennial; license expires on the licensee's birthday) |
Fee Breakdown
| Initial License Fee | $80 |
| Renewal Fee (every 2 years (biennial; license expires on the licensee's birthday)) | $80 |
Related & additional fees
Separate or situational costs — not part of the standard initial application.
| Massage therapy learning permit application fee (paid at school enrollment) | $75 |
| Examination/reexamination fee | $25 |
| Reciprocity license application fee | $75 |
| Duplicate license fee | $10 |
| Pocket card fee (not to exceed) | $10 |
Recommended MBLEx exam prep
Formal prep pays for itself against a $265 retake. These are the resources we point candidates to for the MBLEx (Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination). Read the full MBLEx exam-prep guide for what the exam covers, what it costs, and how to schedule it.
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Mometrix · SponsoredMBLEx Secrets Study GuideFull-length practice tests and step-by-step review for the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination.See the study guide →
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Mometrix · SponsoredMBLEx Online Prep CourseA guided video course with instructor-led lessons, quizzes, and a study plan for the MBLEx — a subscription option for a more structured review.See the course →Continuing Education
18 hours every 2 years (biennial), confirmed with no dedicated ethics-hour carve-out.
18 hours of continuing education are required each 2-year renewal cycle (1 CE hour = at least 50 minutes of instruction). No more than 6 of the 18 hours may be home-study/online; the remaining at least 12 hours must be in a qualifying non-home-study format. Confirmed by reading the full Section 6 (Continuing Education) of the Arkansas Rules for Massage Theruration, effective 9/5/2024: there is no ethics-specific CE-hour carve-out for renewal — the 25-hour 'law, business management, and professional ethics' component is part of the initial 500-hour entry-level curriculum only.
Starting your own practice in Arkansas?
Working for yourself usually means a business entity. An LLC keeps your personal assets separate from the practice and is the name your business bank account, lease and liability policy go under. Northwest forms it and acts as your registered agent in Arkansas — a flat fee, no upsell funnel.
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Form an LLC with Northwest →Licensure by Endorsement
Under Act 1011 of 2019, applicants holding a 'substantially similar' license (at least 500 in-classroom training hours) in good standing from another U.S. jurisdiction may apply by reciprocity if they have no license revocation for bad faith or law/ethics violations, no suspended or probationary license, have passed a licensing exam comparable to MBLEx/NCETM/NCETMB, pass the Arkansas Massage Therapy Law exam, and submit 3 letters of recommendation. A 90-day temporary license is issued immediately upon a complete reciprocity application. Act 137 of 2023 separately provides automatic occupational licensing for uniformed service members, veterans, and their spouses holding an out-of-state license in good standing.
Local & City Requirements
Ark. Code Ann. §17-86-302(a)(6) requires clinics and schools to comply with 'all requirements of the Department of Health, city ordinances, and state laws'; AR Massage Therapy Rules Section 7.2(j) separately requires clinics to 'be compliant with all applicable city, state and local statutes and regulations' (similar but not identical wording — quoted separately here rather than treated as one source's phrase). Neither source itself enumerates what those local rules are.
Sources
Data last verified: 2026-07-25 (verified by: agent) | Source: Arkansas Massage Therapy Act (Ark. Code Ann. §17-86-101 et seq.), full statutory text