Section 34-43A-8 - Application for license; licensing requirements(a) An individual desiring to be licensed as a massage therapist shall apply to the board on forms provided by the board. Unless licensed pursuant to subsection (b), an applicant for a license shall submit evidence satisfactory to the board that he or she has met all of the following requirements: (1)a. Completed a minimum of 650 hours of instruction which shall consist of all of the following:1. One hundred hours of anatomy and physiology, including 35 hours of myology, 15 hours of osteology, 10 hours of circulatory system, and 10 hours of nervous system, with the remaining 30 hours addressing other body systems at the discretion of the massage therapy school.2. Two hundred fifty hours of basic massage therapy, the contradistinctions of massage therapy, and related touch therapy modalities, including a minimum of 50 hours of supervised massage.3. Fifty hours of business, hydrotherapy, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, professional ethics, and state massage therapy laws.4. Two hundred fifty hours of electives as determined by the massage therapy school.b. The board, by rule, may increase the minimum number of hours of instruction required for a license, not to exceed the number of hours recommended by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.c. In addition to paragraphs a. and b., to perform therapeutic massage on an animal, a massage therapist shall have also graduated from a nationally approved program and completed at least 100 hours of postgraduate training and education in animal anatomy, pathology, and physiology for the specific type of animal upon which he or she will perform therapeutic massage.(2) Successfully passed a state board exam or a national standardized examination approved by the board. The board may approve other state exams on a case-by-case basis.(3) Completed a criminal history background check pursuant to Section 34-43A-13(c).(4) Paid all applicable fees.(b) Notwithstanding the requirements listed in subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a), the board may license an applicant who is licensed or registered to practice massage therapy in another state if the standards of practice or licensing of that state, at the time the applicant was originally licensed or registered, were equal to or stricter than the requirements imposed by this chapter. All applicants may be subject to an initial in-person board hearing determined by the board.(c) Upon receipt of an application, the board shall notify the applicant that his or her application is pending and shall also notify the applicant upon the approval or rejection of his or her application. If an application is rejected, the board shall notify the applicant of the reasons for the rejection.Ala. Code § 34-43A-8 (1975)
Added by Act 2024-361,§ 3, eff. 6/1/2024.