Massage therapy licensing guidelines: San Francisco
As new laws were passed in California that took effect in 2009, many of San Francisco's permit requirements were no longer lawful. Previously, San Francisco required its massage therapists to have at least 100 hours of coursework from an approved massage therapy school or program. However, the state requires at least 500 hours of education. Several other requirements must be met to gain licensure in California. These licensing requirements include:
Candidates must be at least 18 years of age and able to provide proof of age.
Applicants must submit a completed application along with a non-refundable application fee.
Candidates must submit official transcripts from approved schools showing evidence of completion of at least 500 hours of massage therapy. At least 250 hours of the coursework must include: physiology, health and hygiene, business and ethics, anatomy and contraindications. Official transcripts must indicate the coursework taken and the grades received for each course.
Applicants must provide proof of passage of one of three certification examinations:
Massage and Bodyworks Licensing Examination (MBLEx)
National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage (NCETM)
National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodyworks (NCETMB)
Candidates who have licenses from another state with equivalent requirements may be certified through a reciprocal process.
Applicants must pass a fingerprint-based criminal background check.
Candidates whose background checks reveal convictions of felonies, violent crimes or sexually-related offenses may be denied certification.
In addition to gaining one's massage therapy license in California, one must obtain and qualify for a Massage Establishment Permit or an Outcall Massage Service Permit, unless he or she is planning to work for an already established massage therapy business in San Francisco.
A Massage Establishment Permit includes the acquisition of a Building Permit, Conditional Use Authorization (CU), permits from the Department of Health and may require official Neighborhood Notification. However, if one is planning to open a home-based massage establishment, many of these permits and zoning requirements are not required. Massage therapists are advised to check with the San Francisco Department of Health for more details.
All massage therapists who conduct business through outcall services, which may be included in many escort services, require an Outcall Massage Service Permit. In order to obtain this permit, applicants must submit a Massage Establishment Application for a Permit to Operate. Along with this application submission, massage therapists must include a business plan with a list and description of services, the names of other massage practitioners who may be working under this permit, names of all owners of the business, list of previous licenses held (and possibly revoked, along with the reason it was revoked), the application fee and a Workers' Compensation Declaration. All owners must submit to a criminal background check.
The hours of for all massage establishments and outcall services are limited to 7 a.m. to midnight in San Francisco.
All massage therapists opening an establishment or operating a business with outcall services must obtain a business permit from the City of San Francisco.
