(a)(1) No person shall engage in the practice of massage therapy unless the person has obtained a license from the department pursuant to this section. Each person seeking licensure as a massage therapist shall make application on forms prescribed by the department, pay an application fee of three hundred seventy-five dollars and present to the department satisfactory evidence that the applicant: (A) Has graduated from a school of massage therapy offering a course of study of not less than five hundred classroom hours, with the instructor present, that, at the time of the applicant’s graduation, had a current school code assigned by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and was either (i) accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, or (ii) accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, and (B) has passed an examination prescribed by the department. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork’s national examination for state licensing option shall not satisfy the examination requirements for a person seeking licensure pursuant to this section.

(2) Each person seeking licensure as a massage therapist on and after October 1, 2019, shall (A) notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A) of subdivision (1) of this section, have graduated from a school of massage therapy offering a course of study of not less than seven hundred fifty classroom hours, with the instructor present, that, at the time of the applicant’s graduation, has a current school code assigned by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and was either (i) accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, or (ii) accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, and (B) in addition to the requirement set forth in subparagraph (B) of subdivision (1) of this subsection, have completed not less than sixty hours of unpaid and supervised clinical or internship experience.

(b) Licenses shall be renewed once every two years in accordance with the provisions of § 19a-88. The fee for renewal shall be two hundred fifty-five dollars. No license shall be issued under this section to any applicant against whom professional disciplinary action is pending or who is the subject of an unresolved complaint in this or any other state or jurisdiction. Any certificate granted by the department prior to June 1, 1993, shall be deemed a valid license permitting continuance of profession subject to the provisions of this chapter.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the department may issue a license to an applicant whose school of massage therapy does not satisfy the requirement of subparagraph (A) or (B) of subdivision (1) or (2) of said subsection (a), provided the school held, at the time of the applicant’s graduation, a certificate issued by the Commissioner of Education pursuant to § 10-7b and provided the applicant graduated within thirty-three months of the date such school first offered the curriculum completed by the applicant. No license shall be issued under this subsection to a graduate of a school that fails to apply for and obtain accreditation by (A) an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education, or (B) the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation within thirty-three months of the date such school first offered the curriculum.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section and subdivision (1) of this subsection, the department may issue a license to an applicant who submits evidence satisfactory to the commissioner that the applicant (A) was enrolled, on or before July 1, 2005, in a school of massage therapy that was approved or accredited by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools or a state agency recognized as such state’s board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, (B) graduated from a school of massage therapy with a course of study of not less than five hundred classroom hours, with the instructor present, that at the time of the applicant’s graduation was approved or accredited by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools or a state agency recognized as such state’s board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, and (C) has passed an examination prescribed by the department.

(d) Each person licensed pursuant to this section has an affirmative duty to make a written referral to a licensed healing arts practitioner, as defined in § 20-1, of any client who has any physical or medical condition that would constitute a contraindication for massage therapy or that may require evaluation or treatment beyond the scope of massage therapy.

(e) No person shall use the title “massage therapist”, “licensed massage therapist”, “massage practitioner”, “massagist”, “masseur” or “masseuse”, unless the person holds a license issued in accordance with this section or other applicable law.

(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner may issue a license to an out-of-state applicant who submits evidence satisfactory to the commissioner of either: (1) (A) A current license to practice therapeutic massage from another state or jurisdiction, (B) documentation of practice for at least one year immediately preceding application, and (C) successful completion of the examination prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; or (2) (A) (i) on or before October 1, 2019, graduation from a school of massage therapy offering a course of study of not less than five hundred classroom hours, with the instructor present, and, at the time of the applicant’s graduation, was either (I) accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, or (II) accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, or (ii) on and after October 1, 2019, graduation from a school of massage therapy offering a course of study of not less than seven hundred fifty classroom hours, with the instructor present, and, at the time of the applicant’s graduation, was either (I) accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or by a state board of postsecondary technical trade and business schools, or (II) accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy, (B) successful completion of the examination prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, and (C) on and after October 1, 2019, completion of not less than sixty hours of unpaid and supervised clinical or internship experience.

(g) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (a) or (e) of this section shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.

(h) Any employer who knowingly and wilfully employs a person who is in violation of the provisions of subsection (a) or (e) of this section to engage in massage therapy shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.