North Carolina Raises Minimum Education Hours for Massage Therapists

We are pleased to report that, thanks to the dedicated advocacy efforts of the AMTA Government Relations Team, the AMTA-NC Lobbyist, the AMTA-NC Chapter, and our committed volunteers, Senate Bill 607 (SB 607) became law on July 9.

SB 607 increases the minimum education requirement for entry-level massage therapists in North Carolina from 500 to 650 hours. Without this new law, federal financial aid, specifically the Pell Grant, would have been in jeopardy for Title IV schools with massage therapy programs exceeding 500 education hours if the Department of Education's new rule ever goes into effect.

With the state licensing requirement now set at 650 education hours, massage programs with up to this many hours will continue to have access to the full array of federal financial aid under the DoEd's new Title IV regulations, which have been delayed. Additionally, Non-Title IV schools will have a grace period to bring their programs into compliance with the new requirements.

We encourage you to reach out to our Government Relations Team with any questions