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).
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Mometrix · SponsoredMBLEx Secrets Study GuideFull-length practice tests and step-by-step review for the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination.See the study guide →
Mometrix · SponsoredMBLEx FlashcardsPortable flashcards covering the MBLEx's high-frequency topics — a cheaper add-on for drilling terms and definitions on the go.See the flashcards →
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.
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