Beginning July 1, 2017, anyone who intends to take the Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination (MBLEx) must be enrolled in, or have graduated from, an education program approved or recognized by the state board or agency authorized to regulate massage therapy in the state in which the school is located.
The policy was created by the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards’ (FSMTB) member boards and executive staff, according to an FSMTB press release.
The policy is intended to ensure MBLEx test-takers have obtained appropriate massage therapy education. The FSMTB’s director of member services, Kevin Snedden, told MASSAGE Magazine that the FSMTB does not collect data pertaining to fraud and so could not provide information regarding the prevalence of fraud in massage education.
However, Snedden said the policy “should help define appropriate education with the requirement that it be provided from an approved school.”
The issue of massage-education fraud is problematic in every state, and many states are actively working on addressing the issue, he added.