AL Bill Would Clarify Exemptions to Massage License Requirement

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Alabama House Bill 119 is currently pending in the Alabama State Senate. If passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor, the bill would make a number of changes to the Alabama Massage Therapy Licensure Act. Some of the most important changes would include:

• Increasing the number of hours of massage education required for licensure from 500 to 650 (the Board increased the entry-level requirements to 650 hours by rule several years ago so this would simply update the statute).
• Specifying that practitioners of accupressure, deep tissue therapy, neuromuscular therapy, and reflexology must obtain massage therapy licenses.
• Exempting from the massage licensure requirement those people who practice only directed movement therapy including, but not limited to, the Feldenkrais method of somatic education, the Trager approach to movement education, the Rosen method, and body-mind centering; and energy field work including, but not limited to, Polarity Therapy, Reiki, Reflexology, Touch for Health, or Jin Shin Do, provided these services are not designated or implied to be massage or massage therapy.
• Deleting the existing provision for temporary massage therapy permits. Temporary practice permits would no longer be available if HB 119 becomes law.

We will continue to keep you posted on the status of the bill.