--- title: SB 221. Massage Therapy Practice; the number of education hours applicable to licensed massage therapists; increase collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb221 cite_as: SB 221, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb221 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb221.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb221/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70574 date: 2026-01-12 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb220.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb222.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 240 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb221.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 221 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-20 last_action: Senate Recommitted sponsors: - Shawn Still - Carden Summers - Kay Kirkpatrick - Chuck Hufstetler text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB221/2025 upstream_id: 1978533 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - massage therapy licensing - occupational licensing - professional education requirements --- # SB 221. Massage Therapy Practice; the number of education hours applicable to licensed massage therapists; increase ## Text 25 LC 55 0453 Senate Bill 221 By: Senators Still of the 48th, Summers of the 13th, Kirkpatrick of the 32nd and Hufstetler of the 52nd A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 24A of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgi a Annotated, relating to1 massage therapy practice, so as to increase the number of educa tion hours applicable to2 licensed massage therapists; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for3 other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Chapter 24A of Title 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotat ed, relating to massage7 therapy practice, is amended by revising paragraph (6) of subse ction (b) of Code8 Section 43-24A-8, relating to licensure of massage therapists, application, and requirements,9 as follows:10 "(6) The applicant has completed successfully a board recognize d massage therapy11 educational program consisting of a minimum of 500 625 hours of course and clinical12 work;"13 SECTION 2.14 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.15 S. B. 221 - 1 - ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia Senate bill would raise the minimum training required to become a licensed massage therapist in Georgia from 500 hours to 625 hours of coursework and clinical work. ### Plain-language summary Under current Georgia law, people seeking a massage therapy license must complete a board-recognized educational program with at least 500 hours of course and clinical work before the state's massage therapy licensing board will approve their application. This bill would amend that requirement, found in Georgia's massage therapy practice law (O.C.G.A. § 43-24A-8), to raise the minimum from 500 hours to 625 hours. The bill does not change any other licensing requirements for massage therapists, such as exams or background checks, and it does not specify a delayed effective date, so it would take effect under Georgia's standard rules for newly signed legislation. It also repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change. ### What it does - Raises the minimum required hours of massage therapy education from 500 to 625 hours of course and clinical work for licensure applicants. - Amends O.C.G.A. § 43-24A-8, the section of Georgia law governing licensure requirements for massage therapists. - Repeals any existing Georgia laws or provisions that conflict with the new 625-hour requirement. ### Who it affects People applying to become licensed massage therapists in Georgia, massage therapy schools and training programs that must adjust their curricula to meet the new hour requirement, and the state board that reviews and approves massage therapist license applications. ### Why it matters Future applicants for a Georgia massage therapy license would need to complete 125 more hours of training than currently required, which could mean longer or more expensive schooling before someone can legally practice massage therapy for pay in the state. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises paragraph (6) of subsection (b) of O.C.G.A. § 43-24A-8 to change the minimum required educational hours from 500 to 625 for massage therapist licensure applicants. - Section 2 repeals all Georgia laws or parts of laws that conflict with this change. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-20) - Last action: Senate Recommitted (2026-01-12) - Sponsors: Shawn Still, Carden Summers, Kay Kirkpatrick, Chuck Hufstetler - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70574 > The history, votes, and amendments (240 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb221.md?full=1