324.265. Massage therapists, qualifications of applicants--waiver, when--licensure term, renewal--student license, when--provisional license, when--exemptions--exemptions for certain therapists licens
Massage therapists, qualifications of applicants--waiver,when--licensure term, renewal--student license, when--provisionallicense, when--exemptions--exemptions for certain therapistslicensed in other jurisdictions.
324.265. 1. A person desiring a license to practice massage therapyshall be at least eighteen years of age, shall be of good moral character,shall pay the appropriate required application fee, and shall submitsatisfactory evidence to the board of meeting at least one of the followingrequirements:
(1) Has passed a statistically valid examination on therapeuticmassage and body work which is approved by the board, prior to August 28,1999, and applies for such license by December 31, 2000; or
(2) Has completed a program of massage therapy studies, as defined bythe board, consisting of at least five hundred hours of supervisedinstruction and subsequently passing an examination approved by the board.The examination may consist of school examinations. The program and courseof instruction shall be approved by the board.
(a) The five hundred hours of supervised instruction shall consist ofthree hundred hours dedicated to massage theory and practice techniques,one hundred hours dedicated to the study of anatomy and physiology, fiftyhours dedicated to business practice, professional ethics, hygiene andmassage law in the state of Missouri, and fifty hours dedicated toancillary therapies, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) andfirst aid.
(b) A person completing a massage therapy program comprised of lessthan five hundred hours of supervised instruction may submit an applicationfor licensure and the board shall establish requirements for the applicantto complete the requirements of paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of thissubsection.
2. A person who has practiced less than three years or has less thanone hundred hours of training may request a waiver of the requirements ofsubsection 1 of this section and apply for a temporary two-year licensewhich shall not be renewable. By the end of such two-year period, suchperson shall complete at least one hundred additional hours of formaltraining, including at least twenty-five hours in anatomy and physiology,in a school approved by the board. Such person shall have until December31, 2000, to apply for a temporary license pursuant to this subsection.
3. Each license issued pursuant to the provisions of this sectionshall expire on its renewal date. The board shall renew any license upon:
(1) Application for renewal;
(2) Proof, as provided by rule, that the therapist has completedtwelve hours of continuing education; and
(3) Payment of the appropriate renewal fee.
Failure to obtain the required continuing education hours, submitsatisfactory evidence, or maintain required documentation is a violation ofthis subsection. As provided by rule, the board may waive or extend thetime requirements for completion of continuing education for reasonsrelated to health, military service, foreign residency, or other goodcause. All requests for waivers or extensions of time shall be made inwriting and submitted to the board before the renewal date.
4. An applicant who possesses the qualifications specified insubsection 2 of this section to take the examination approved by the boardmay be granted a provisional license to engage in the practice of massagetherapy. An applicant for a provisional license shall submit proof thatthe applicant has applied for the examination approved by the board. Aprovisional license shall be valid for one year from the date of issuanceand shall be deemed void upon its expiration date. A provisional licenseeis prohibited from practicing massage therapy after expiration of theprovisional license.
5. As determined by the board, students making substantial progresstoward completion of their training in an approved curriculum shall begranted a student license for the purpose of practicing massage therapy onthe public while under the supervision of a massage therapy instructor.
6. A student license may be renewed until the student completes suchstudent's training. Upon request, the board may extend a provisionallicense for good cause at the discretion of the board. An application forthe extension of a provisional license shall be submitted to the boardprior to the expiration of the provisional license.
7. The following practitioners are exempt from the provisions of thissection upon filing written proof with the board that they meet one or moreof the following:
(1) Persons who act under a Missouri state license, registration, orcertification and perform soft tissue manipulation within their scope ofpractice;
(2) Persons who restrict their manipulation of the soft tissues ofthe human body to the hands, feet or ears;
(3) Persons who use touch and words to deepen awareness of existingpatterns of movement in the human body as well as to suggest newpossibilities of movement;
(4) Persons who manipulate the human body above the neck, below theelbow, and below the knee and do not disrobe the client in performing suchmanipulation.
8. Any nonresident person licensed, registered, or certified byanother state or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia,or foreign territory or recognized certification system determined asacceptable by the board shall be exempt from licensure as defined in thischapter, if such persons are incidentally called into the state to teach acourse related to massage or body work therapy or to provide massagetherapy services as part of an emergency response team working inconjunction with disaster relief officials.
9. Any nonresident person holding a current license, registration, orcertification in massage therapy from another state or recognized nationalcertification system determined as acceptable by the board shall be exemptfrom licensure as defined in this chapter when temporarily present in thisstate for the purpose of providing massage therapy services at specialevents such as conventions, sporting events, educational field trips,conferences, and traveling shows or exhibitions.
(L. 1998 H.B. 1601, et al., A.L. 1999 H.B. 343 merged with S.B. 362, A.L. 2006 S.B. 756, A.L. 2008 H.B. 1419)