The District of Columbia will recognize schools certified or accepted by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation, as well as programs considered comparable. The licensing agency may also accept education from schools that have regional accreditation, accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Education and Training, accreditation from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology, or accreditation from other agencies recognized by the US Department of Education.
The District of Columbia Educational Licensing Commission will approve DC institutions. Out-of-state schools must be properly licensed in their respective states.
Programs must be at least 500 hours in length. At least 100 hours must be spent studying anatomy, physiology, and athletics. The bulk of the leftover time should be spent on theory.Health and sanitation, first aid and CPR, massage contraindications, ethics, and company practices should all be covered. Other subjects may also be addressed. A minimum of three hours of moral training is required.The licensure application mentions the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB), which is no longer available. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCNTMB), which had provided it, discontinued it on February 1, 2015, preferring to focus efforts on a Board Certification procedure that is more rigorous than state licensure. The NCBTMB now administers the NCBTMB Board Certification Exam.