2016 North Dakota Century Code Title 43 Occupations and Professions Chapter 43-25 Massage Therapists
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CHAPTER 43-25
MASSAGE THERAPISTS
43-25-01. Short title.
Repealed by S.L. 1997, ch. 375, § 11.
43-25-02. Definitions.
1. "Board" means the North Dakota board of massage.
2. "Massage" means the scientific and systematic manipulation of the soft tissues of the
human body through any manual or mechanical means, using western and eastern
modalities, including superficial hot and cold applications, hydrotherapy, reflexology,
shiatsu, acupressure, and the use of salts or lubricants for the purpose of promoting,
maintaining, and restoring the health and well-being of the client. The term includes
assessment, effleurage (stroking or gliding), petrissage (kneading), tapotement
(percussion), compression, vibration, friction, and active or passive range of motion
and stretching either by hand, forearm, elbow, knee, foot, or with mechanical
appliances for the purpose of body massage. Except as provided in this chapter,
"massage" does not include diagnosis or other services that require a license to
practice medicine or surgery, osteopathic medicine, chiropractic, occupational therapy,
physical therapy, or podiatry and does not include service provided by professionals
who act under their state-issued professional license, certification, or registration.
3. "Massage establishment" means any place of business in which massage is practiced.
4. "Massage therapist" means an individual who practices massage.
5. "Remote education" means asynchronous education that is not in person, live, or
presented in real time.
43-25-03. Massage therapists to be licensed.
A person may not:
1. Practice massage, attempt to practice massage, or teach massage techniques, for a
fee or gratuity or as a free demonstration, without a license issued under this chapter;
2. Operate or conduct a massage establishment unless it meets the requirements
adopted by the board;
3. Employ an unlicensed person to perform a massage; or
4. Use the title "massage therapist" or the abbreviations "L.M.T." or "M.T." or terms of
similar meaning without a license issued by the board.
43-25-04. Exemptions.
The following persons are exempt from this chapter:
1. Schools that furnish massage services to their student athletes.
2. Any student of a school of massage who is practicing massage in the course of
fulfilling a required massage therapy practicum under the direct supervision of a
licensed massage therapist or in the course of participating in a school-supervised
student massage clinic under the direct supervision of a licensed massage therapist, a
school may charge a fee and students may accept tips under a policy set by the
school. Students may practice homework unsupervised on other students, family, or
friends, but no fee or tip may be charged or accepted. These massages may only be
performed at the school or at the residence of the student, family member, or friend.
3. Any individual who is engaged in a profession or occupation for which the individual is
licensed by this state, as long as the individual's activities are performed in the course
of the bona fide practice of the individual's profession or occupation and as long as the
individual does not represent to the public that the individual is a massage therapist or
is engaged in the practice of massage and does not perform massage while working in
a massage establishment.
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4.
5.
6.
A health spa or similar business to the extent the spa or business is performing
superficial applications used for beautification or health of the skin, including salt glows
and contouring.
Any individual instructor demonstrating massage techniques as a component of a
board-approved seminar.
Any individual practicing healing by manipulating the energy field or the flow of energy
of the human body by means other than the manipulation of the soft tissues of the
human body, provided that the individual's services are not designated or implied to be
massage or massage therapy. For purposes of this subsection, a light touch or tap is
not a manipulation of the soft tissues of the human body.
43-25-05. Board of massage - Terms.
1. The governor shall appoint a board of massage, to consist of five members.
a. Three members of the board must be massage therapists who are licensed in this
state and annually work at least five hundred hours practicing massage in this
state for at least the previous three years. These members must be appointed for
terms of three years, staggered so that the term of one member expires each
year.
b. One member of the board must be a consumer member. To qualify as a
consumer member an individual may not be or have been a massage therapist,
may not have an immediate family member who is a massage therapist, may not
be an owner of or have any affiliation with a massage school, may not be a
current or past member of any other health care licensing entity, may not have a
fiduciary obligation to a facility rendering health care services, may not have a
financial interest in the rendering of health care services, and may not have a
direct and substantial financial interest in massage therapy. This member must be
appointed for a two-year term, staggered so that the term expires with a licensed
board member but not with the instructor board member.
c. One member of the board must be an instructor at a school of massage that
meets the standards set by the board. This member must be appointed for a term
of two years, staggered so that the term expires with a licensed board member
but not with the consumer board member.
d. Each member of the board holds office until that member's successor is
appointed and qualified. Any member appointed to a term beginning after
June 30, 2013, may only serve for a total of six consecutive years, after which
that member may not be reappointed unless a period of two years has passed
since that member last served on the board.
2. Within one month after appointment of a new member, the board shall meet at some
convenient place within the state and shall annually elect a president, vice president,
and secretary-treasurer. The secretary-treasurer must be bonded in the sum of one
thousand dollars for the faithful discharge of the secretary-treasurer's duties.
43-25-05.1. Powers and duties of the board.
The board has the following powers and duties:
1. The board may adopt and enforce rules as necessary to implement this chapter.
2. The board periodically shall inspect or cause to be inspected all massage
establishments. The board and the board's agents may enter and inspect any
massage establishment at any time during which the establishment is open for the
transaction of business.
3. The secretary-treasurer shall prepare and submit to the governor a biennial report
detailing income and expenses and a list of licensed massage therapists.
4. The board may hire office personnel deemed necessary by the board for carrying on
the board's official duties and shall set the compensation to be paid to the personnel.
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43-25-06. Removal of members of board of massage - Officers of the board.
The governor may remove from office a member of the board for failure to maintain the
qualifications for appointment, for neglect of duties as required by this chapter, for malfeasance
in office and incompetency, or for unprofessional conduct. The governor may fill any vacancy
caused by removal of any member of the board, on the member's resignation or death.
43-25-07. Requisites for licensure and examination - Subjects - Minimum passing
grade - Fee for re-examination.
1. Any person who is eighteen years of age or more and of good moral character and
temperate habits is entitled to apply to the board. An applicant may receive a license
from the board as a massage therapist if the applicant:
a. Presents a diploma or credentials issued by a school of massage that meets the
standards set by the board;
b. Passes an examination conducted or approved by the board; and
c. Pays the required fees, which must accompany the application to the board.
2. Any applicant failing to obtain licensure within six months of the initial application is
entitled to reapply within six months after notification that the application was rejected,
upon payment of a fee of fifty dollars or a lesser amount established by the board. Two
applications exhaust the privilege under the original application.
3. Conviction of an offense does not disqualify a person from licensure under this chapter
unless the board determines the offense has a direct bearing upon a person's ability to
serve the public as a massage therapist or the person is not sufficiently rehabilitated
under section 12.1-33-02.1.
4. The board may approve alternate educational methods or methodology for applicants
to complete educational requirements if the applicant has graduated from a school of
massage that is accredited by a national or regional accrediting agency recognized by
the United States department of education.
43-25-08. Fee for license.
The fee to receive a license as a massage therapist is one hundred fifty dollars or a lesser
amount established by the board.
43-25-08.1. Criminal history record checks.
The board shall require an applicant under this chapter to submit to a statewide and
nationwide criminal history record check. The board may require a licensee under this chapter
to submit to a statewide and nationwide criminal history record check. The nationwide criminal
history record check must be conducted in the manner provided by section 12-60-24. All costs
associated with obtaining a background check are the responsibility of the applicant or licensee.
43-25-09. License - Display - Renewal - Renewal fee.
1. Each license must be conspicuously displayed at the place of practice.
2. On or before January first of each year, each licensed massage therapist shall pay to
the secretary-treasurer of the board a renewal fee of one hundred dollars or a lesser
amount established by the board.
3. Continuing education of at least twenty-four continuing education hours, or equivalent
college credits, submitted every two years is a further requirement for renewal of the
license. For the first renewal after becoming licensed in this state, a minimum of three
hours of the required twenty-four hours must be ethics education. The board may
accept continuing education attained by remote means. No more than nine hours of a
licensee's renewal hours may be by remote means. To qualify as continuing education,
the remote education must be board-approved for content and suitability.
a. Odd-numbered licensed individuals shall report continuing education in
odd-numbered years and even-numbered licensed individuals shall report
continuing education in even-numbered years, based on the calendar year.
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b.
4.
5.
6.
Licensed individuals during their initial licensure period are not required to report
hours of continuing education. Thereafter, the licensees shall report continuing
education pursuant to subdivision a.
c. The board may grant an individual waiver based on health issues or other good
cause deemed sufficient by the board.
If the board reasonably believes a massage therapist or applicant has a physical or
mental condition jeopardizing the health of those who seek relief from the individual,
the board may require the individual to have an appropriate examination by a qualified
examiner approved by the board. If the individual has had or has any communicable
disease sufficient to disqualify the applicant to practice massage in the state, the board
shall deny a license until the individual furnishes due proof of being physically and
mentally competent and sound.
A holder of an expired license may within one year from the date of its expiration have
the license renewed upon payment of the required renewal fee. The board may require
production of a new certificate of physical examination and evidence of any required
continued educational hours being completed.
All licenseholders must be designated as licensed massage therapists and may not
use any title or abbreviation without the designation "massage therapist".
43-25-10. Disciplinary actions - Complaints.
1. The license of a massage therapist may be denied, revoked, suspended, or placed on
probation for any of the following grounds:
a. The licensee is guilty of fraud in the practice of massage or fraud or deceit in
admission to the practice of massage.
b. The licensee has been convicted of an offense determined by the board to have a
direct bearing upon a person's ability to serve the public as a massage therapist,
or, following conviction of any offense, the person is not sufficiently rehabilitated
under section 12.1-33-02.1. The conviction of an offense includes conviction in
any jurisdiction in the United States of any offense, which if committed within this
state would constitute an offense under this state's laws.
c. The licensee is engaged in the practice of massage under a false or assumed
name, or is impersonating another practitioner of a like or different name.
d. The licensee is addicted to the habitual use of intoxicating liquors, or other legal
or illegal drugs, to the extent the licensee is compromised or impaired from
performing the professional duties of a massage therapist or is under the
influence while assessing, treating, or seeing a client.
e. The licensee is guilty of untrue, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive advertising,
the licensee prescribes medicines, drugs, or the licensee infringes on any other
licensed profession.
f. The licensee is guilty of gross negligence in the practice of massage, or is guilty
of employing, allowing, or permitting any unlicensed person to perform massage
in the licensee's establishment.
g. The licensee has violated this chapter or any rule adopted by the board.
2. A licensee who violates this chapter or any rule adopted by the board may be
assessed a civil penalty of up to two hundred dollars.
3. A complaint may be submitted to the board by any person or on its own motion. A
complaint must be signed by the complainant. The president may initiate an
investigation of the complaint and report to the board.
4. Any hearing regarding a disciplinary action or a denial of a license must be held
pursuant to chapter 28-32.
43-25-11. Provisions for hearing - Notice.
Repealed by S.L. 2001, ch. 384, § 15.
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43-25-12. Power of board to revoke, suspend, or annul licenses.
Repealed by S.L. 2001, ch. 384, § 15.
43-25-13. Records to be kept by the secretary-treasurer of the board.
The secretary-treasurer of the board shall keep a record of the names of all persons to
whom licenses have been granted under this chapter, the license number of each, the date of
granting each license and renewal, and other matters of record. Any official entry or a certificate
of the absence of information, certified under the hand of the secretary-treasurer and the seal of
the board, must be admitted as evidence in any of the courts of this state. The
secretary-treasurer shall furnish to any person a certified copy of any record upon payment of a
fee of ten dollars plus twenty-five cents per page copied.
43-25-14. Compensation of board members - Clerks.
The board members are entitled to receive compensation in an amount to be established by
rule not to exceed one hundred dollars per day or prorated for partial days the member is
actually engaged in the performance of other meetings and official duties and payment for
mileage and travel expenses as provided in sections 44-08-04 and 54-06-09.
43-25-15. Disposition of money received by the board.
Repealed by S.L. 1971, ch. 510, § 15.
43-25-16. Other laws unaffected by this chapter.
Repealed by S.L. 2001, ch. 384, § 15.
43-25-17. Practitioners at time chapter becomes effective.
Repealed by S.L. 1961, ch. 291, § 2.
43-25-18. Reciprocity.
1. Any individual who has been duly licensed and is in good standing in another state to
practice massage in a state that meets required educational hours and requirements in
this state, and who has been lawfully and continuously engaged in licensed practice
for two years or more immediately before filing of an application to practice in this
state, and who submits to the board a duly attested certificate from the examining
board of the state in which licensed, certifying to the fact of licensure and being of
good moral character and of professional attainments, may upon paying a fee of one
hundred fifty dollars or a lesser fee set by the board be granted a license to practice in
this state without being required to take an examination.
2. An applicant for licensure by reciprocity who has been duly licensed and is in good
standing to practice massage in a state with substantially similar licensure standards
as determined by the board and who has been lawfully and continuously engaged in
licensed practice for five years or more immediately before filing of an application to
practice in this state, may be granted a license by the board without being required to
take an examination if the applicant otherwise meets all of the requirements of
subsection 1.
43-25-19. Penalty for violation.
Any person violating section 43-25-03 without being exempt under section 43-25-04 is guilty
of a class B misdemeanor. In addition to the criminal penalties provided, the board may initiate a
civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction as necessary to enforce this chapter or any rule
adopted under this chapter, including an injunction to restrain a violation, without proof of actual
damages sustained by any person.
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