General Information
To offer Massage Therapy training in Missouri, you must first apply for certification or exemption from Proprietary School Certification. Any school, business, training provider, or organization that is not certified or exempt is prohibited from operating in Missouri.
It is important to note that Massage Therapy is regulated by the Department of Commerce & Insurance’s Division of Professional Registration (DCI-DPR) and the Missouri Board of Therapeutic Massage. For this reason, the application review process will look slightly different for these programs. Specific additional steps include:
- Once you have completed the Proprietary School Certification Survey and submitted an application, the department will share this information with DCI-DPR, who will then forward it to the Missouri Board of Therapeutic Massage for consideration.
- The Board must review your program and instructors before certification is issued. The Board meets monthly or every other month, so there may be slight delays for the department as we await their review.
- The department will finalize your application once we receive the Board’s approval.
If your program intends to practice massage therapy on members of the public, you must also become licensed by the Missouri Board of Therapeutic Massage to operate a massage parlor in addition to completing the Proprietary School Certification process. Please contact DCI-DPR for more information about massage parlor licensure.