TITLE
16 OCCUPATIONAL AND
PROFESSIONAL LICENSING
CHAPTER 7 MASSAGE THERAPISTS
PART 4 REQUIREMENTS FOR LICENSURE
16.7.4.1 ISSUING AGENCY: Regulation and Licensing
Department, Massage Therapy Board
[16.7.4.1
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.1 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.2 SCOPE: This part applies to
applicants for licensure.
[16.7.4.2
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.2 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: This part is adopted pursuant to the Massage
Therapy Practice Act, Sections 61-12C-8.B, 61-12C-8.C, 61-12C-9 and 61-12C-16.
[16.7.4.3
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.3 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[16.7.4.4
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.4 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: July 28, 2005, unless a later date is cited
at the end of a section.
[16.7.4.5
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.5 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.6 OBJECTIVE: This part is to establish the minimum
requirements for applicants applying for licensure by examination, temporary
licensure and licensure by credentials, and to establish the licensure
procedures.
[16.7.4.6
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.6 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.7 DEFINITIONS: [RESERVED]
[16.7.4.7
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.7 NMAC, 07-28-05; A, 09-04-09]
[Refer
to 16.7.1.7 NMAC]
16.7.4.8 LICENSE OR REGISTRATION
REQUIRED:
A. Massage therapists: A
person must be licensed by the board in order to legally provide or offer to
provide massage therapy services for compensation, as defined in 16.7.1.7 NMAC;
or to use the title or represent him/herself to be a massage therapist; or to
use any other title, abbreviations, letters, figures, signs or devices that
indicate the person is a massage therapist.
B. Massage therapy
instructors: A person shall be registered by the board, as set forth in 16.7.6 NMAC,
in order to legally provide or offer to provide massage therapy training as a
massage therapy instructor.
C. Massage therapy
schools: Massage therapy schools must be registered by the board, as set forth in
16.7.5 NMAC, before they can legally operate and offer education, instruction
or training in massage therapy.
[16.7.4.8
NMAC - N, 07-28-05; A, 09-04-09]
16.7.4.9 LICENSURE EXEMPTIONS:
The following are exempted from
licensure by the board pursuant to Section 61-12C-5.1 of the Massage Therapy
Practice Act.
A. Other professionals licensed in or regulated by
another New Mexico licensing board or agency rendering services within the
scope of their authorizing law or regulation, provided they do not represent
themselves as massage therapists.
B. Massage therapy students who are rendering
massage therapy services within the course of study of a registered massage
therapy school or under the supervision of a registered massage therapy
instructor.
C. Massage therapy instructors visiting New
Mexico who have met the requirements set forth in 16.7.6.11 NMAC.
D. Sobadores; Hispanic traditional healers;
Native American healers; reflexologists whose practices are limited to hands,
feet and ears; practitioners of polarity, Trager approach, Feldenkrais method,
craniosacral therapy, Rolfing structural integration, reiki, ortho-bionomy or
ch’i gung; or practitioners of healing modalities not listed in this subsection
who do not manipulate the soft tissues for therapeutic purposes from practicing
those skills. However, if any of these
persons applies for and is granted a license pursuant to the Massage Therapy
Practice Act, that person shall comply with all licensure requirements and be
subject to the provisions of the boards’ statute and regulations.
[16.7.4.9
NMAC - N, 07-28-05; A, 09-04-09]
16.7.4.10 GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR LICENSURE:
A. Age: The applicant must be eighteen (18) years of
age or older on the date the application is submitted.
B. Pre-requisite
education to massage therapy training:
The applicant must have completed high school or its equivalent.
C. Photograph: The applicant must provide a 2"x
2" head and shoulders frontal view photograph taken of the applicant
within the six-months prior to making application for licensure.
D. Application fee: The applicant must pay the required
application-processing fee as set forth in Subsection D of 16.7.3.8 NMAC of the
board's regulations.
E. Board-approved application form: The
applicant must provide a completed, legible board-approved application form
that must either be typed or printed in black ink, along with any other
documents required in the board’s application process.
(1) Incomplete
application for licensure forms will be returned to the applicant for
completion.
(2) Faxed application for
licensure forms will not be accepted.
F. First aid and CPR: The applicant must have completed four course
hours of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and four course hours of first aid
and must provide proof, with the application, of current certification in basic
life support accepted by the American heart association or the American red
cross.
[16.7.4.10
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.8 NMAC, 07-28-05; A, 09-04-09]
16.7.4.11 MASSAGE SCHOOL
REQUIREMENT: The applicant for licensure as a massage
therapist must have graduated from a massage therapy school approved to operate
as a private post-secondary educational institution or its equivalent.
A. Out-of-state or multiple schools: The applicant who has graduated from an
out-of-state massage therapy school or who has attended more than one massage
therapy school must make arrangements for the school to provide the following
items.
(1) The board's form “A”
completed and submitted directly to the board by the massage therapy school(s)
that the applicant attended as provided in 16.7.4.13 NMAC.
(2) An official
transcript submitted directly to the board by the school(s) that meets the
requirements in Subsection B of 16.7.4.11 NMAC.
(3) Proof that the school
is approved to operate as a private post-secondary educational institution or
its equivalent. The respective state’s
department of higher education usually grants this approval. The name of the agency or entity may vary from
state to state.
B. Official transcripts
of massage therapy training: The applicant shall make arrangements for
official transcript(s) to be sent directly to the board by the educational
institution documenting that the applicant has completed a minimum of six
hundred fifty (650) hours of massage therapy training as provided in 16.7.4.12
NMAC.
(1) If more than one
massage therapy school was attended, at
least one official transcript must document a minimum of 300 class hours of
training in massage therapy as defined in 16.7.4.7 NMAC above.
(2) Continuing
education (CE) or continuing education units (CEU) may be accepted toward the
educational requirements for licensure.
(3) If official
transcripts are not available due to unusual circumstances (example: school
closure, destroyed records), the applicant will be responsible to provide
satisfactory evidence to the board that he/she has met the required massage
therapy training. The board shall
consider such documentation on a case-by-case basis.
[16.7.4.11
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.9 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.12 MINIMUM HOURS OF MASSAGE THERAPY TRAINING: The applicant must have completed at least a
six hundred fifty (650) hour program in massage therapy training. The
massage therapy training must meet the following minimum curriculum
requirements:
A. 165 hours minimum
of anatomy and physiology, to include:
(1) physiology;
(2) anatomy;
(3) kinesiology; and
(4) forty (40) hours minimum
of pathology.
B. 150 hours minimum
of training in massage therapy as defined in 16.7.1.7 NMAC.
(1) The massage therapy
training shall include contraindications of massage therapy.
(2) A minimum of 100
hours of hands on training must be completed before the student is allowed to
begin a clinical practicum as defined in 16.7.1.7 NMAC.
C. 75 hours minimum
of general instruction to include.
(1) business;
(2) hydrotherapy;
(3) thirty (30) hours minimum
of professional ethics;
(4) four hours of first
aid; and
(5) four hours of
cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
D. Electives may
include:
(1) additional massage
therapy;
(2) related hands-on
modalities;
(3) additional anatomy
and physiology;
(4) clinical practicum
(not to exceed 150 hours);
(5) counseling;
(6) herbology;
(7) homeopathy;
(8) nutrition;
(9) breathing and
stretching techniques;
(10) theory; and
(11) other courses with
prior board approval. See 16.7.4.14 NMAC
for instructions.
E. The total number of hours in the massage
therapy program is a minimum of six hundred fifty (650) hours.
F. If an applicant
is missing a core curriculum course or is missing a small portion of the core
curriculum to complete the 650-hour requirement, the applicant may obtain the
training course(s) from a New Mexico registered independent instructor, or from
a New Mexico registered school, or from another massage therapy school that
meets the requirements in 16.7.4.13 NMAC.
[16.7.4.12 NMAC - N, 07-28-05; A, 06-08-06; A, 09-04-09]
16.7.4.13 FORM “A” FROM MASSAGE SCHOOL REQUIREMENT:
A. The following circumstances require that the
applicant’s massage school(s) submit a completed “form A for massage school” to
the board office along with an official transcript and proof that the massage
therapy school(s) is/was approved to operate as a private post-secondary
educational institution or its equivalent at the time the applicant attended
the school(s):
(1) if the applicant
attended a massage school that is located out-of-state; or
(2) if the applicant has
attended more than one massage therapy school whether in-state or out-of-state;
or
(3) if the applicant
graduated from a massage therapy school more than two (2) years ago.
B. The “form A for massage school” contains four
sections corresponding to Subsections A, B, C, and D of 16.7.4.12 NMAC, and
each section must be completed correctly to prevent delays in the applicant’s
licensure process.
(1) An hourly breakdown must be provided
for each course/category/subject listed that the school provided in the
curriculum that the applicant completed.
If a subject is taught within another subject, the school should provide
a written explanation on school letterhead and attached to the form “A”.
(2) If there are no hours specified next to a
course/category/subject, it will be an indication to the board that the
course/category/subject was NOT part of the school’s curriculum.
[16.7.4.13 NMAC - N, 07-28-05; A, 09-04-09]
16.7.4.14 ELECTIVE COURSES IN THE “OTHER”
CATEGORY: If an applicant has attended a massage
therapy training program that is not a registered massage therapy school and/or
provides proof of completion of elective courses that falls under the
"other" category in Paragraph (11) of Subsection D of 16.7.4.12 NMAC,
the course(s) will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and may be accepted by
the board. The applicant must provide
the following.
A. A separate
written request for consideration of the course(s).
B. An official
transcript that clearly names the course(s) to be considered.
C. A copy of the
school catalog that clearly describes the course(s) to be considered. In accordance with Paragraph (2) of
Subsection B of 16.7.4.11 NMAC, continuing education will NOT be accepted.
D. An
administrative review fee as set forth in Paragraph 7 of Subsection A of
16.7.3.8 NMAC.
[16.7.4.14 NMAC - N, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.15 DOCUMENTS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE:
Any document submitted in a foreign language must be accompanied by an
accurate translation in English.
A. Each translated
document must bear the affidavit of the translator sworn to before a notary
public certifying that he or she is competent in both the language of the
document and the English language and that the translation is a true and
complete translation of the foreign language original.
B. The affidavit
must also contain the translator's contact information, including name, address
and phone number.
C. Translation of
any document relevant to a person's application will be at the expense of the
applicant.
[16.7.4.15
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.9 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.16 SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR A TEMPORARY
LICENSE:
A. Qualifications for
temporary license:
(1) The applicant for
temporary license must meet all the requirements set forth in Sections
16.7.4.10 through 16.7.4.15 NMAC.
(2) The applicant for
temporary license must not have previously sat for the national certification
examination for therapeutic massage and bodywork (herein referred to as the
NCETMB or the national exam).
(3) The applicant may
obtain a temporary license while waiting to sit for the national examination.
(4) Upon submitting the
application for licensure, the applicant for a temporary license must submit a
temporary license fee, as set forth in Subsection D of 16.7.3.8 NMAC.
(5) The board may deny
issuance of a temporary license for the same reasons a permanent license may be
denied.
B. Issuance of the
temporary license:
(1) The applicant for
temporary license may not begin work until the temporary license has been
issued by the board, has been received by the licensee, and has been publicly
posted in principal place of practice.
(2) The temporary
licensee may NOT advertise in the yellow pages or other similar advertising
book.
(3) The temporary
licensee must keep the board informed at all times of any change in address and
contact phone number(s).
(4) If the temporary
license has not yet expired and the board receives official notice that the
temporary licensee has successfully passed the examination, a permanent license
will be issued provided the applicant has met all other licensure requirements,
including payment of the licensure fee.
The temporary license will automatically become null and void.
C. Surrender of
temporary license required:
(1) If a temporary
license holder fails the national examination, the temporary license
immediately becomes null and void and must be surrendered directly to the board
office within fifteen (15) days of the examination date; and the privileges to
practice authorized by the temporary license are no longer valid.
(2) Expired or null and
void temporary licenses shall be surrendered to the board.
(3) If an applicant, who
holds a temporary license that must be surrendered, has misplaced or lost the
temporary license and cannot return it to the board as required, the applicant
must provide the board with an affidavit attesting that the license has been
lost or misplaced and that the applicant is no longer practicing massage
therapy.
[16.7.4.16
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.11 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.17 SPECIFIC PROVISION FOR PERMANENT LICENSURE:
The applicant must meet all the requirements set forth in Sections
16.7.4.10 through 16.7.4.15 NMAC, in addition to the following requirements:
A. Jurisprudence
examination: The applicant for
permanent licensure must successfully pass the board's jurisprudence
examination as set forth in 16.7.10.8 NMAC.
B. National
certification examination: The
applicant must successfully pass the national certification examination for
therapeutic massage and bodywork (NCETMB), or the national examination for
therapeutic massage (NCETM) as provided in 16.7.10.9 NMAC, and must make
arrangements for the national examining agency to send official examination
results, as defined in 16.7.4.7 NMAC, directly to the board.
C. MBLEx: The applicant must successfully pass the
massage and bodywork licensing examination, and must make arrangements for the
examining agency to send official examination results directly to the board.
D. Licensure fee: Upon written notification, sent by the board by certified mail return receipt requested, that the applicant has met all other requirements for licensure, the applicant must submit the initial license fee as stated in the notification based on the fee structure set forth in Subsection A of 16.7.3.8 NMAC.
(1) The initial licensure fee must be paid in
full before the permanent license will be issued.
(2) If the applicant
fails to pay the initial license fee within thirty (30) days of receipt of the
notification of approval, the application will be deemed withdrawn and subject
to the provisions in 16.7.4.19 NMAC.
[16.7.4.17
NMAC - N, 07-28-05; A, 09-04-09]
16.7.4.18 REQUIREMENTS
FOR LICENSURE BY CREDENTIALS:
A. In addition to
the requirements in Sections 16.7.4.10 through 16.7.4.15 and 16.7.4.17 NMAC,
the applicant for licensure by credentials must provide verification of a
current, valid massage therapy license in another state/territory of the United
States, the District of Columbia or foreign nation.
(1) Verification of
licensure or registration as a massage therapist must be sent directly to the
board by the other licensing jurisdiction.
(2) The license to practice massage therapy must be in good standing. A prior disciplinary action by another licensing jurisdiction, related to health, safety and welfare, or any other civil or criminal issues will be evaluated by the board on a case by case basis. The review may lead to the issuance of a conditional or provisional license or to other disciplinary action up to and including denial of licensure.
B. The applicant must have met educational and
examination requirements in the other jurisdiction equal to or exceeding New
Mexico’s educational and examination requirements.
[16.7.4.18
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.10 NMAC, 07-28-05; A, 09-04-09]
16.7.4.19 APPLICATION EXPIRATION, WITHDRAWAL, AND DESTRUCTION:
A. Expiration or
withdrawal of application: The
application for licensure expires as follows and all previously paid fees will
be forfeited if:
(1) the applicant fails
to complete all requirements for temporary and/or permanent licensure within
one (1) year from the date the applicant's application file is started by board
office staff; or
(2) the applicant withdraws the application,
either by notifying the board in writing or by not paying the initial license
fee within the time allowed in Subsection C of 16.7.4.17 NMAC.
B. If the applicant
still wishes to seek licensure after the application has expired or been
withdrawn and it is still within one (1) year after the application expired was
withdrawn, the applicant shall complete the following procedure.
(1) Submit a
"reapplication form for withdrawn or expired application".
(2) Submit whatever the
application fee is at the time of reapplication.
(3) Complete any other
requirements or submit any other documentation pending when the application was
expired or withdrawn.
C. Application
destruction: The board will maintain
the expired or withdrawn application file for a period of one year after the
expiration or withdrawal date.
(1) After that date, the
file will be purged from the board's records and destroyed.
(2) The applicant whose
application has been purged from the board's records must complete the entire
application process again if, in the future, he/she is interested in licensure.
D. Temporary license unavailable: The option for a temporary license will no
longer be available to a person whose application has expired, been withdrawn,
or been destroyed from the board's records.
[16.7.4.19
NMAC - N, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.20 INITIAL LICENSE PERIOD:
The applicant who has met all the requirements for licensure shall be
issued an initial license for a period of up to two years, depending on when in
the renewal cycle the initial license is issued, in order to schedule the
license to renew on October 31.
A. The first
renewal cycle may be for as short a period as one year and the initial license
fee may be prorated accordingly based on the fee structure set forth in
Subsection A of 16.7.3.8 NMAC.
B. After the
license is renewed the first time, the license will be scheduled into a
biennial cycle and will be renewed every two years.
[16.7.4.20
NMAC - Rp, 16.7.4.12 NMAC, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.21 DISPLAY OF LICENSE: The licensee must
display the current license to practice massage therapy in a conspicuous place
in his/her principal practice location or place of business.
[16.7.4.21
NMAC - N, 07-28-05]
16.7.4.22 ADDRESS AND EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE CHANGES: It is the licensee’s responsibility to
provide written notification to the board of any changes in addresses, phone
numbers, and practice location(s) within thirty (30) days in order that renewal
notices and other correspondence from the board will be received by the
licensee in a timely manner, and in order for the board to be able to maintain
accurate licensing records. A form is
available for this purpose from the board office or from the board's website at
www.rld.state.nm.us/b&c/massage,
or a letter to the board advising of the changes will also be adequate.
[16.7.4.22
NMAC - N, 07-28-05]
HISTORY
OF 16.7.4 NMAC:
Pre-NMAC
History: The material in this part is derived from
that previously filed with the State Records Center and Archives under: Rule 92-2, Requirements for Licensure,
1-17-92
Rule
92-2, Requirements for Licensure, 9-9-92;
Regulation
2, Requirements for Licensure, 1-5-94;
Rule
92-3, Licensure Without Examination, 1-17-92;
Rule
92-3, Licensure by Credentials, 9-9-92;
Regulation
3, Licensure by Credentials, 1-5-94;
Rule
92-4, Application Procedure, 1-17-92;
Rule
92-4, Application Procedure, 9-9-92;
Regulation
4, Application Procedure, 1-5-94;
Rule
92-5, Provisional License, 1-17-92;
Rule
92-5, Provisional License, 9-9-92;
Regulation
5, Temporary License, 1-5-94
History of Repealed Material:
16 NMAC
7.4, Requirements for Licensure - Repealed 12-24-99
16.7.4
NMAC, Requirements for Licensure - Repealed 7-28-05.