District of Columbia Massage Therapy

Continuing Education Requirements

Massage therapy license requirements vary from state to state and the laws are constantly changing. It's our current understanding that Washington, D.C. requires massage therapists to complete 14 CE hours every two years. Of the 14 CE hours, 3 CE hours must be in ethics, 2 hours must be in LGBTQ (continuing education focusing on patients or clients who identify as lesbian,gay, bisexual, transgender, gender nonconforming, queer, or question their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression (“LGBTQ”) ), and 9 CE hours must be massage-related course work. Note that at least 10% (1.5 hours) must be in public health priority topics.

Licensees may note that the list seems to include more than fourteen 14 hours. This is, however, not necessarily the case since some CE courses may satisfy more than one requirement. For example, one of the topics identified as public health priorities is ethics. Renewing licensees are already required to complete 3 hours of ethics, which also will satisfy the requirement of 1.5 hours of public health topic.

If you would like to verify this information, or have further questions regarding your massage therapy continuing education requirements, we suggest contacting the District of Columbia Board of Massage directly. The telephone number for the District of Columbia Board is 877-672-2174 or visit their website at https://dchealth.dc.gov/node/146342.

Remember, the Institute for Integrative Healthcare Studies is approved by the NCBTMB as a continuing education Approved Provider (#049478-00) and Health Positive! is a division of the Institute. All of our continuing education programs can be used for your Board Certification renewal.

You may also use our credits for other organizations you belong to such as the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) or Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP).