How to transfer your Massage therapist licence to Washington (2026)

Massage therapist work in Washington is licensed at state level, by the Washington massage therapy board. This page says what a massage therapist licensed or working in another state has to do to work in Washington, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Most states license massage therapists and nearly all of them accept the MBLEx and 500 to 1,000 training hours for licensure by endorsement. A few states have no state licence and leave it to cities. Apply to Washington's board with MBLEx verification, your school transcript, licence verification and a background check.

Exam: MBLEx, accepted by nearly every licensing state.

How long: two to eight weeks. Fee: $50 to $250; the current figure is on the licensing body's own site.

What to have ready before you move

• MBLEx score transfer
• School transcript with hours
• Licence verification
• Fingerprints

Start the paperwork before you give notice. Every week the licence is not done is a week you are not paid, and nothing in the process needs you to be in Washington already.

What people get wrong

• Hours below ${STATE}'s minimum; the spread is 500 to 1,000
• Assuming no licence is needed in a state that licenses

Who hires massage therapists in Washington

Massage therapists in Washington are hired by spas, chiropractic and physical therapy clinics, massage chains and private practice. The metros with the most of that work are Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver and Bellevue. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the Washington openings page.

For the money side: the median massage therapist in Washington earned $82,820 a year ($40 an hour) in May 2024 across 3,590 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Washington has no state income tax on wages. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about Washington, on one page

The Washington page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Washington employers hiring from out of state.