(a) To be eligible for a Massage Therapist license an applicant must:
  (1) submit a completed application on a department-approved form;
  (2) pay the fee required under §117.100;
  (3) be at least 18 years of age;
  (4) ensure that a certified transcript or other acceptable record of all relevant course work is submitted to the department;
  (5) provide proof of successfully passing the required exam;
  (6) provide proof of successfully passing the jurisprudence exam;
  (7) successfully pass a criminal history background check performed by the department in accordance with the Act, the department's criminal conviction guidelines, and pursuant to Texas Occupations Code, Chapters 51 and 53; and
  (8) satisfactorily complete massage therapy studies in a minimum 500-hour department approved course at a licensed massage school in which includes at least:
    (A) 200 hours of massage therapy techniques and theory and the practice of manipulation of soft tissue, with at least 125 hours of Swedish massage therapy techniques;
    (B) 50 hours of anatomy;
    (C) 25 hours of physiology;
    (D) 50 hours of kinesiology;
    (E) 40 hours of pathology;
    (F) 20 hours of hydrotherapy;
    (G) 45 hours of massage therapy laws and rules, business practices and professional ethics;
    (H) 20 hours of health, hygiene, first aid, universal precautions, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); and
    (I) 50-hour internship program.
(b) Unless otherwise indicated, an applicant for licensure as a massage therapist must submit all required information and documentation of credentials on department-approved forms.
(c) If the application is incomplete, the department will send a notice listing any additional materials required to complete the application.
(d) In the event that a deficiency is present in course work, the applicant may have up to one year to complete additional course work acceptable to the department; otherwise, the application may be voided.
(e) A criminal history check performed under this subsection requires an applicant for a license to submit a complete and legible set of fingerprints, on a form prescribed by the department, to the department or to the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information from the Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(f) The department may not issue a license to a person who does not comply with the requirements of this section.
(g) The department shall conduct a criminal history record information check of each applicant for a license using information:
  (1) provided by the individual under this section; and
  (2) made available to the department by the Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and any other criminal justice agency under Chapter 411, Government Code.

Source Note: The provisions of this §117.20 adopted to be effective November 1, 2017, 42 TexReg 4991; amended to be effective May 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 2406; amended to be effective February 1, 2020, 45 TexReg 543; amended to be effective April 1, 2021, 46 TexReg 2003