Massage License Requirements in New York
Verified against New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions — State Board for Massage Therapy · 2026-07-24
Compiled and verified against primary state-board sources by GetMassageLicense — cite-or-deny, with no invented figures. How we source & verify →
New York requires a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) credential from the NYS Education Department's Office of the Professions before anyone may practice massage therapy or use a protected title such as "massage therapist," "masseur," or "masseuse." Unlike most states, New York does not accept the MBLEx for initial licensure — applicants must instead pass the state's own New York State Massage Therapy Examination after completing 1,000 classroom hours (including at least 150 hours of hands-on practice) at a NYSED-registered program. Licenses are re-registered every 3 years and require 36 hours of continuing education.
New York Massage License Requirements
| Licensing Authority | New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions — State Board for Massage Therapy (NYSED) |
| Title | LMT |
| Training Hours | 1,000 hours — School or institute of massage therapy with a program registered by the NYS Education Department |
| Exam | New York State Massage Therapy Examination (NYSED State Board for Massage Therapy (administered via Meazure Learning, twice yearly)) |
| Renewal Period | 3 years |
Fee Breakdown
| Initial License Fee | $108 |
Related & additional fees
Separate or situational costs — not part of the standard initial application.
| Limited Permit (one-year, provisional, non-refundable) | $35 |
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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36 hours every 3 years.
36 hours of mandatory continuing education are required for re-registration every three years (8 NYCRR §78.5). A one-year conditional registration is available for good-cause delays. No ethics-specific hour carve-out was found in the sourced pages.
Licensure by Endorsement
Licensure by endorsement is available to therapists already licensed elsewhere with at least 2 years of post-licensure experience. The 2–4-year-experience pathway requires meeting NY's 1,000-hour education standard plus documented western/oriental practice experience. The 5+-year pathway (within the preceding 10 years) instead requires at least 800 classroom hours (300+ in anatomy/physiology/neurology/pathology/hygiene/first aid; 200+ in massage theory/technique, split between oriental and western methods) plus qualifying experience. Both pathways require passing an exam the State Board deems satisfactory (NY's own exam, or demonstrated comparability/experience). A separate one-year Limited Permit ($35, non-refundable, non-renewable) allows supervised practice for candidates who meet all requirements except the exam.
Sources
Data last verified: 2026-07-24 | Source: NYSED — Massage Therapy (Office of the Professions)