D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 17, r. 17-7502
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, an applicant shall furnish proof satisfactory to the Board that the applicant has successfully completed an educational program in the practice of massage therapy at an institution or institutions licensed by the District of Columbia Educational Licensing Commission or, in the discretion of the Board, by the educational licensing authority of another state, at the time the applicant graduated. In addition, said institution(s) shall be approved or accredited by the Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation/Approval or shall have equivalent standards as determined by the Board; or said institution(s) shall be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Education and Training, the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology, another accreditation agency approved by the United States Department of Education, or a regional body for post secondary education, at the time the applicant graduated, in accordance with § 504 (d-1) of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 3-1205.04 (d-1)).
An applicant for a license to practice massage therapy shall establish, to the satisfaction of the Board, that he or she has successfully completed a minimum of five hundred (500) hours of in-class training. At least three (3) of the hours' shall be in professional ethics.
An applicant who applies for a license to practice as a massage therapist more than two (2) years after completing the educational and examination requirements shall submit proof, to the satisfaction of the Board, of having completed fifty (50) hours of clinical training under the charge of a supervisor, of which at least twenty-five (25) hours shall be client contact hours within the four (4) months prior to the date the application is submitted.
Of the minimum 500 hours of in-class training required by § 7502.2, a minimum of 100 hours shall consist of anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology. The remaining 400 hours shall include a majority of hours in massage therapy theory and practice, as well as discretionary related course work, including but not limited to professional ethics, business practices, health and hygiene, contraindications of massage, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and first aid.
The in-class training hours required by § 7502.2 shall be accumulated in programs not less than six (6) months total duration.
An applicant may attend more than one (1) training institution, provided he or she graduates from a school requiring a minimum of five hundred (500) in-class hours.
Credits earned from a college or university shall be converted by the federal government conversion rate, which grants thirty-seven (37) clock hours for each one (1) credit hour. One (1) classroom hour shall be defined as no less than fifty (50) minutes of any one (1) clock hour. The Board shall not recognize correspondence and on-line courses.
An applicant shall submit the following as part of a completed application form:
The Board may issue a list of approved schools and training programs.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 17, r. 17-7502