In Pennsylvania, massage therapy licenses expire on January 31st of odd years. 2027 is just a couple months away, so here’s a list of everything you need for renewal.
#1 - Make sure your email address with PALS is updated.
The Board emails renewal notices approximately 60 days prior to license expiration date. Notices are emailed to the most recent email address the licensee has reported to the Board.
You can update your email address with the PA Licensing System (PALS) at pals.pa.gov.
#2 - You need 24 hours of continuing education.
CEs earned in 2025 and 2026 will count towards 2027 renewal.
Included in those 24 CEs,
- 16 of those hours need to be in-person training
- 4 hours of ethics
- 2 hours of Act 31 Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting training
You don’t report the CEs to the Board at the time of renewal, but you will need the certificates of completion in case of auditing. Save your certificates for 5 years.
Act 31 makes every massage therapist a mandated reporter, and is a requirement that sits outside the Massage Therapy Law entirely. Every applicant for an initial licence from a health-related board must complete 3 hours of training in child abuse recognition and reporting, approved by the Department of Human Services, as a condition of licensure. It has applied since 1 January 2015.
It is often thought that the Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting training falls outside of the 24 CE hours, but in the language from the board on Pennsylvania’s official website, these hours are lumped together with continuing education.
24 Hours (when renewing license)
24 hours of continuing education is required for biennial renewal of license. Of those 24 hours, at least 16 hours must be earned through contact hours, and 2 hours must be Board-approved continuing education in child abuse recognition and reporting.
From Massage Therapist Licensure Requirements Snapshot, from the official website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Approved CE providers (PA State Board of Massage Therapy)
- PA massage therapy schools operating under section 5(a)(3) of the Massage Therapy Law
- Massage schools approved by the Board or accredited by a U.S. Dept. of – Education–recognized agency
- AMTA and its state chapters
- NCBTMB-approved providers
- ABMP
- Individually approved courses, listed on the Board’s site
#3 - Make sure your CPR certification is up to date.
CPR training must be taken in-person, the board does not accept online-only CPR.
Some approved providers include:
- American Heart Association
- American Red Cross
- American Safety & Health Institute
#4 - It costs $175 to renew.
File through the PA Licensing System (PALS) at: pals.pa.gov
What if I was licensed in 2025 or 2026?
From the State website:
Under the Board’s Regulations, all licenses expire January 31st of the odd-numbered years. If your initial license is issued during the biennial period, you would be exempt from the CE credits for the biennial period during which your initial license was issued with the exception of the 2 hours in recognizing and reporting child abuse CE.