Massage License Requirements in Illinois
Verified against Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation · 2026-07-24 · verified by agent
Illinois's 600-hour training requirement is sourced from IDFPR — Qualifications for Licensure: Massage Therapist (227), verified 2026-07-24. Its required exam — MBLEx (Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination) — 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 →
Illinois requires a Massage Therapist license from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) under the Massage Therapy Practice Act (225 ILCS 57) before anyone may practice or hold out as a massage therapist. Applicants must complete a 600-clock-hour approved training program and pass the MBLEx (or, for endorsement applicants already licensed elsewhere, the NCBTMB exam), along with a fingerprint-based background check. Licenses run on a 2-year cycle tied to a fixed December 31 even-year expiration and require continuing education, including a specific ethics-hour minimum, to renew.
Illinois Massage License Requirements
| Licensing Authority | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) |
| Title | LMT |
| Training Hours | 600 hours — IDFPR-approved massage therapy program in accordance with Section 1284.20 of the Administrative Code, or a substantially similar program from another jurisdiction |
| Exam | MBLEx (Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination) (Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB)) Alternatives accepted: NCBTMB (National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork) examination — per IDFPR's licensure-qualifications document, this is accepted only under the Endorsement Method (applicants currently licensed and practicing in another jurisdiction); the direct 'Acceptance of Examination' pathway for applicants with no license elsewhere lists the MBLEx only. |
| Renewal Period | 2 years |
Fee Breakdown
| Initial License Fee | $175 |
| Renewal Fee (every 2 years) | — |
means no primary source publishes that figure — left blank on purpose rather than estimated or copied from an unverified aggregator.
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).
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25 hours every 2 years, including 2 ethics hours.
Per 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1284.90, licensees must complete 24 hours of continuing education, including at least 2 hours of ethics, during the 24-month prerenewal period preceding December 31 of each even-numbered year. IDFPR's massage therapy page states that, per 225 ILCS 57/67, an additional 1 hour of CE on domestic violence and sexual assault has been added — raising the total to 25 hours — with the Department noting this additional hour applies beginning with the 2026 renewal cycle. IDFPR's 227 licensure-qualifications document confirms 25 hours are required for all renewals 'with the exception of the first renewal of this license.'
Licensure by Endorsement
Under the Endorsement Method, an applicant currently licensed and practicing massage therapy in another jurisdiction may apply by submitting proof of the same 600-hour (or substantially similar) education, an official certification of licensure/good standing from the original state, and passage of either the NCBTMB examination or the MBLEx, plus fingerprinting.
Sources
- IDFPR — Qualifications for Licensure: Massage Therapist (227)
- IDFPR — Massage Therapy homepage
- IDFPR — (227) Massage Therapist New Application Checklist (fees)
- Illinois Administrative Code, 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1284.90 (Continuing Education)
- IDFPR — Massage Therapist Continuing Education Sponsor Application Instructions (F1974MT)
- IDFPR — Massage Licensing Board
Source Notes
Where a source is stale, conflicting, or required a judgment call, we document it here rather than presenting a single confident-sounding number. See our methodology for how these calls are made.
- Illinois's training-hour requirement has been 600 hours since January 1, 2014 (previously 500). Some sites still list 500 hours — that figure is outdated.
Data last verified: 2026-07-24 (verified by: agent) | Source: IDFPR — Qualifications for Licensure: Massage Therapist (227)