July 2017 Washington State Regulatory Changes

July 2017 marked several regulatory changes that affect every massage therapist in Washington state.

July 1st The official name change from LMP to LMT begins to take effect.

From then on, when you renew your massage license it will display licensed massage therapist. You can start updating your business cards and advertising materials now, if you haven’t already done so. And remember, your massage license number must appear on all advertisements.

July 30th the new WACs take effect, creating new requirements for draping, recordkeeping, breast massage, obtaining consent just to name a few topics.

These are major changes developed over the past couple years by the Board of Massage with extensive input from the AMTA-WA Government Relations Committee and comments from massage therapists and the public.

It is imperative that massage therapists familiarize themselves with the new rules, which are posted on the Dept of Health’s website for massage therapists. Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit the green “subscribe” button to subscribe to updates direct from the Dept of Health Massage Program.

Here are a few quick links to sections that have been updated:

The WA Board of Massage has decided to look at education requirements next. They will look at updating rules regarding initial training as well as continuing education. You can participate in this process by attending Board of Massage meetings, or sending in written comments. The next meeting is posted on our event calendar and includes a meet and greet with members of the AMTA-WA Chapter Board and Government Relations Committee.