Government Relations Update

March 2026

Our Work Towards Licensure Continues

Your AMTA California team is working to secure an author for our bill to transition California from a voluntary certification system to a mandatory statewide license for our profession. Several legislators have expressed interest in carrying the bill, and we are working to ensure we find the right fit. Because a spot bill has been introduced, we have an extended deadline to secure an author for this legislative session.

Licensure Offers Three Key Benefits

For the Public: When a member of the public seeks treatment from a massage therapist, they are entitled to a reasonable expectation that their practitioner has the appropriate qualifications in the field of massage therapy.
For the Public: When a member of the public seeks treatment from a massage therapist, they are entitled to a reasonable expectation that their practitioner has the appropriate qualifications in the field of massage therapy.
For the Practitioner: Those without your education, training, and expertise should not be permitted to exploit your professional title or represent themselves as qualified massage therapists.
For the Practitioner: Those without your education, training, and expertise should not be permitted to exploit your professional title or represent themselves as qualified massage therapists.
For the Profession: Massage therapy deserves recognition and regulation alongside other healthcare fields. No other physical medicine—such as chiropractic, acupuncture, or physical therapy—relies on a voluntary certification system.
For the Profession: Massage therapy deserves recognition and regulation alongside other healthcare fields. No other physical medicine—such as chiropractic, acupuncture, or physical therapy—relies on a voluntary certification system.

The current voluntary certification model offered by the CAMTC cannot achieve these goals.

Frequently Asked Questions About Licensure

  • No. Our bill includes generous legacy provision that will automatically transition currently certified therapists into the new licensing system.

  • You will still be eligible to be automatically transitioned. The bill provides multiple pathways to licensure, including demonstrating professional practice history (such as three years of professional massage therapy experience) or membership in good standing with a recognized professional organization like the American Massage Therapy Association.

  • We anticipate the fees being similar to what we currently pay for our voluntary certification fees. We are looking at licensing board fees from similar fields, such as the acupuncture board, to model the fee structure.

What’s Next In the coming months

We will host town halls—both virtual and in person—to answer your questions and provide updates. We will also need you to:
We will host town halls—both virtual and in person—to answer your questions and provide updates. We will also need you to:
Contact your legislators to voice your support for licensure. Share information with your colleagues and patient.
Contact your legislators to voice your support for licensure. Share information with your colleagues and patient.
Participate in advocacy efforts, including events in SacramentoCheck out our new Government Relations Page on our site.
Participate in advocacy efforts, including events in SacramentoCheck out our new Government Relations Page on our site.
Keep an eye out for more information on how you can get involved, and give back to our great profession.
Keep an eye out for more information on how you can get involved, and give back to our great profession.

A long-awaited update on our Government Relations efforts towards state licensure for massage therapy  

Currently, there is a spot bill* on the Massage Therapy Act (AB 1757).  (A "spot bill" is a placeholder piece of legislation introduced by lawmakers—commonly in the California Legislature—that makes no substantive changes to existing law. It holds a "spot" to meet introduction deadlines, allowing the author to insert substantive, often complex, language later through amendments.) 

Our team is currently still shopping for an author for a bill to propose a change to the current Massage Therapy Act from a voluntary certification to a mandatory state license. While we do have some possible interested candidates, we do not have a commitment yet. It is very important that we have the right person to lead and author this bill, since it can very much determine whether or not a bill will succeed or die on the floor. 

We will keep you updated as we proceed.

What Are We Doing?

As your government relations team, we are advocating to sunset the CAMTC and establish a full licensure board for our profession. We are working with the California Legislature’s Business and Professions Committee to advocate for a short extension to the CAMTC, as opposed to a full four-year extension. This will signal the legislature’s willingness to explore winding down the CAMTC and replacing it with a licensing board for our profession.  If this does not happen during this session, we will still press for sunrising a mandatory licensing board for massage therapy.

Please note that we are in the early stages of this movement, and the specifics are still being developed.

If you are against moving towards mandatory licensure, please let us know your concerns and what it would take to get you to support licensure. We are your professional association and want to make sure your voice is heard. 

Click this Link: Find Local Representatives Near You
Click this Link: Find Local Representatives Near You

State Legislation

The AMTA California Chapter, with the guidance and leadership of National AMTA, are in alignment to move towards a mandatory licensure over a voluntary certification process. This would put California in line with the vast majority of the rest of the country.  We believe this is the crucial step forward for our profession and the safety of our patients and clients.

Why Should Massage Therapists Want a Mandatory State License

California has 482 municipalities (cities), 58 counties, and 256 cities, (just over half of them), currently require CAMTC (California Massage Therapy Council) for you to be a Certified Massage Therapist, to legally work within their cities. That means anyone in those 226 cities can call themselves a “massage therapist” and it is totally legal. No education, training, or requirements are necessary to practice massage, be it actual massage or under the guise of sex work and human trafficking.

Mandatory Requirement: Unlike our current voluntary certification system, licensure is mandatory. This ensures that only qualified individuals can use the title of massage therapist, safeguarding your reputation and the integrity of the field. With mandatory licensure, you are either a massage therapist or you are not.
Mandatory Requirement: Unlike our current voluntary certification system, licensure is mandatory. This ensures that only qualified individuals can use the title of massage therapist, safeguarding your reputation and the integrity of the field. With mandatory licensure, you are either a massage therapist or you are not.
Alignment with Healthcare Standards: Licensure will align massage therapy with other healthcare fields, implementing appropriate standards and requirements, similar to chiropractors, acupuncturists, and physical therapists. This will ensure our profession is treated with the respect it deserves. Massage is healthcare and we ARE healthcare workers. Our business is healthcare!
Alignment with Healthcare Standards: Licensure will align massage therapy with other healthcare fields, implementing appropriate standards and requirements, similar to chiropractors, acupuncturists, and physical therapists. This will ensure our profession is treated with the respect it deserves. Massage is healthcare and we ARE healthcare workers. Our business is healthcare!
  Protection Against Illicit Activities: Licensure will make it illegal for individuals to fraudulently use our title as a cover for illicit activities.  Massage is Healthcare! We are not sex workers, nor are we in the business of human trafficking.
  Protection Against Illicit Activities: Licensure will make it illegal for individuals to fraudulently use our title as a cover for illicit activities.  Massage is Healthcare! We are not sex workers, nor are we in the business of human trafficking.
 Industry Standard: California is one of only five states without licensure for massage therapists. 45 other states, D.C., and Puerto Rico require it.
 Industry Standard: California is one of only five states without licensure for massage therapists. 45 other states, D.C., and Puerto Rico require it.
Elevating the Profession: We aim to elevate our profession by ensuring it is overseen by departments that cover health and consumer affairs, rather than those that are under the auspice of vice and criminal activities.
Elevating the Profession: We aim to elevate our profession by ensuring it is overseen by departments that cover health and consumer affairs, rather than those that are under the auspice of vice and criminal activities.
Public Safety and Trust: Licensing guarantees that the public receives care from well-trained and vetted professionals, ensuring public trust and safety in the field.  Our current system does not and cannot do that.
Public Safety and Trust: Licensing guarantees that the public receives care from well-trained and vetted professionals, ensuring public trust and safety in the field.  Our current system does not and cannot do that.

additional links to useful information and websites

Join the Movement! If you would like to join in our advocacy efforts to improve the regulation of Massage in California
Join the Movement! If you would like to join in our advocacy efforts to improve the regulation of Massage in California
If you would like to become personally involved, have questions or concerns, please contact our Government Relations Chair, Timothy Peckinpaugh
If you would like to become personally involved, have questions or concerns, please contact our Government Relations Chair, Timothy Peckinpaugh
You can watch AMTA’s address to the Business and Professions Committee here
You can watch AMTA’s address to the Business and Professions Committee here
Text of AB 2194
Text of AB 2194
Current Version of Massage Therapy Act
Current Version of Massage Therapy Act
2025 CAMTC Sunset Report
2025 CAMTC Sunset Report

Background And History

A Brief History of AMTA-CA's Legislative Efforts
A Brief History of AMTA-CA's Legislative Efforts
A Very Brief History of the California Massage Therapy Act
A Very Brief History of the California Massage Therapy Act

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