Georgia CommonsSenate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 221: Massage Therapy Practice; the number of education hours applicable to licensed massage therapists; increase
Last action January 12, 2026 · Senate Recommitted
A Georgia Senate bill would raise the minimum training required to become a licensed massage therapist from 500 hours to 625 hours of coursework and clinical work.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Under current Georgia law, people seeking a massage therapy license must complete a board-recognized training program of at least 500 hours combining coursework and hands-on clinical practice. This bill would raise that minimum to 625 hours, a roughly 25 percent increase in required training time before someone can become licensed. The change is made by amending O.C.G.A. § 43-24A-8, part of the chapter of Georgia law governing massage therapy practice. The bill does not change any other licensing requirements, fees, or renewal rules for massage therapists. It repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a specific delayed effective date beyond the standard process for a bill becoming law.
What the bill does
- Raises the minimum hours required in a board-recognized massage therapy educational program from 500 to 625 hours of course and clinical work.
- Applies this new hour requirement to applicants seeking massage therapist licensure under O.C.G.A. § 43-24A-8.
- Repeals any existing state laws that conflict with the new 625-hour requirement.
- Leaves all other massage therapy licensure requirements in that Code section unchanged.
Who it affects
People currently enrolled in or planning to enter massage therapy training programs in Georgia, the schools that run those programs, and the state board that oversees massage therapist licensing would all be affected by the higher hour requirement.
Why it matters
Prospective massage therapists would need to complete an additional 125 hours of training before they could get licensed in Georgia, which could mean more time and cost to enter the profession, while training programs would need to adjust their curricula to meet the new hour minimum.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends paragraph (6) of subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 43-24A-8 to change the required training hours from 500 to 625.
- Section 2 repeals any laws or parts of laws that conflict with this change.
Status timeline
- Senate Recommitted (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Shawn Still (R, SD-48)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-13)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
- Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-52)
Topics
- massage therapy licensing
- occupational licensing
- professional education requirements
- Georgia licensing boards