(1) A person, institution, or business entity offering a massage therapy program of instruction shall file a completed application for a certificate of good standing with the board on a form prescribed by the board and pay a fee as specified in KRS
309.357. The completed application shall provide proof acceptable to the board that the following criteria have been met:

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 309.363

  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

(a) The school is licensed to operate by the Kentucky Commission on Proprietary Education, the Council on Postsecondary Education, or their equivalent in another state;
(b) A curriculum statement showing clock hours devoted to each subject with the following minimums:
1. One hundred twenty-five (125) hours of anatomy, physiology, or kinesiology;
2. A two hundred (200) hour course to include massage theory, technique, and practice focusing on gliding strokes, kneading, direct pressure, deep friction, joint movement, superficial warming techniques, percussion, compression, vibration, jostling, shaking, and rocking;
3. Two hundred (200) hours of approach to the business of massage, specifically including contraindications, benefits, business, history, ethics, client documentation, legalities of massage, and modality courses designed to meet the school’s specific program objectives;
4. Forty (40) hours of pathology; and
5. The school may use its discretion in allotting the additional thirty-five
(35) curricular hours that are required under KRS § 309.358; and
(c) A listing of instructional staff and their qualifications as follows:
1. Instructors of the practical courses shall be licensed massage therapists and shall have three (3) years of experience in the practice of massage therapy;
2. Instructors of science courses shall be either licensed massage therapists with three (3) years of experience in the practice of massage therapy or have certification or specific higher education in the subject they are teaching; and
3. Instructors in adjunctive courses shall have subject-specific education and experience.
(2) A school may be presumed to have met the qualifications in subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this section if it holds a current designation of “Approved School” from the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork or has the designation of “accredited” or “COMTA-endorsed curriculum” from the Council for Massage Therapy Accreditation.
(3) The board shall accept National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and
Bodywork guidelines in approving continuing education.
Effective: June 29, 2021
History: Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 29, sec. 9, effective June 29, 2021. — Amended
2012 Ky. Acts ch. 76, sec. 24, effective July 12, 2012. — Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch.
112, sec. 7, effective July 15, 2010. — Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 29, sec. 10, effective July 12, 2006. — Created 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 45, sec. 14, effective June 24,
2003; and ch. 70, sec. 14, effective June 24, 2003.
Legislative Research Commission Note (6/24/2003). 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 45, sec. 14, and
2003 Ky. Acts ch. 70, sec. 14, are substantially identical and have been codified together. The phrase “joint movement” in subparagraph (b) 2. of subsection (1) of ch.
70, sec. 14, which passed the General Assembly last, prevails over “joint mobilization” in the same subparagraph of ch. 45, sec. 14. See KRS § 446.250.