To be a massage therapist in Georgia, you must be 18, graduated high school, graduated a certified massage school with at least 500 hours of course and clinical work, provide fingerprints, pass a criminal background check, have insurance, and pass a national exam related to massage and bodywork. Every two years, therapists must report 24 hours of continuing education – 12 hours must be hands-on, in-person training.

Every county within Georgia then has different requirements for massage businesses. The laws surrounding massage therapy businesses are very complicated, obscure, and stringent because in the 1970s, “massage parlors” were popping up everywhere as fronts for prostitution. The Deuce, an HBO show with James Franco, makes an excellent portrayal of that time period. As lawmakers fought prostitution, they found themselves also fighting “massage therapy”, so here we are today with very confusing laws that are ultimately just trying to make clear that massage therapy is not sex work. 

As a massage therapist, I have no tolerance for jokes about massage as sex work. It is a huge headache to deal with as a massage therapist, from the legal issues, the licensing issues, and, of course, the clients. Massage therapy is not sex work. Massage therapy is appropriate for children, family members, animals, invalids, the stressed, the injured, the hopeless, the ugly, the beautiful – it’s for everyone and anyone can provide nurturing touch to anyone who needs it. And not that there is anything wrong with sex, but that is a whole other can of worms and I’m not dealing with that in my scope of practice. If you want me to pour a can of worms on you, though, we can talk. 

If you’re curious to learn more about state requirements, click here.