Massage License Requirements in South Dakota
Verified against South Dakota Board of 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 →
South Dakota requires a state-issued massage therapy license from the South Dakota Board of Massage Therapy (Department of Health) before anyone may practice massage therapy for compensation. Applicants complete 500 hours of education at a board-recognized facility — including a minimum 6 hours specifically in ethics — and pass one of four accepted national exams, most commonly the MBLEx. Licenses renew annually, and South Dakota notably offers no license-by-reciprocity pathway: therapists licensed elsewhere must still obtain a full South Dakota license before practicing in-state.
South Dakota Massage License Requirements
| Licensing Authority | South Dakota Board of Massage Therapy (SD DOH) |
| Title | Massage Therapist |
| Training Hours | 500 hours — Board-recognized facility; the Board recognizes programs accredited by COMTA, ACICS, NACCAS, ACCET, ACCST, DETC, HLC, or ABHES |
| Exam | MBLEx (Massage & Bodywork Licensing Exam) (Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB)) Alternatives accepted: NCETM — National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage; NCETMB — National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork; NBCA/AMMA exam — American Medical Massage Association |
| Renewal Period | 1 year |
Fee Breakdown
| Application Fee | $100 |
| Initial License Fee | $65 |
| Renewal Fee (every 1 year) | $65 |
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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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
8 hours every 1 year.
The Board's licensing-requirements page specifies 8 hours of board-approved continuing education for 2026 renewal. No subject-matter breakdown (e.g. an ethics-specific carve-out) for this renewal CE requirement was found on the sourced page, so ethicsHours is left undefined rather than assumed. (Separately, the 500-hour initial education curriculum requires a minimum of 6 hours of ethics instruction, but that is an initial-education requirement, not part of ongoing renewal CE.)
Sources
Data last verified: 2026-07-24 | Source: SD Dept. of Health — Board of Massage Therapy Licensing Requirements