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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina Establishes Interstate Massage Compact to Enable Multistate Licensing
Last action · September 25, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate (Senate action)Sponsors: Harry Warren and 5 others
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What This Bill Would Do
North Carolina enacts the Interstate Massage Compact, creating a multistate licensing pathway for massage therapists to practice across participating member states once at least seven states adopt the agreement. The measure establishes a joint Interstate Commission, sets specific eligibility criteria including educational and background check standards, and outlines disciplinary procedures for member states.
Licensed massage therapists meeting eligibility criteria gain the option to obtain a that grants authorization to practice in remote member states without securing separate individual licenses, while participating states share investigative and disciplinary data through a centralized system.
- Interstate occupational compacts are multi-state agreements that allow professionals licensed in one member state to practice in other participating states without obtaining additional separate licenses. context
- The bill has progressed through the North Carolina General Assembly, passing both chambers and being referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations of the Senate. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Licensed massage therapists
Eligible therapists may obtain a multistate license to practice across participating remote states and are subject to the jurisdiction and scope of practice laws of any state where services are provided.
North Carolina Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy
The Board is authorized to adopt implementing rules, participate in the Interstate Commission, share investigative data, and report when the Compact is enacted by seven states.
Active military members and their spouses
Individuals may designate a home state where they hold a current license in good standing and retain that designation during active duty assignments.
Key Facts
- Establishes the Interstate Massage Compact to create a multistate licensing pathway and improve public access to and safety of massage therapy services.
- Requires applicants for a multistate license to hold an active single-state license, complete at least 625 clock hours of education, pass a national licensing examination, and submit to a criminal background check.
- Disqualifies applicants with felony convictions within five years, specific misdemeanor convictions within two years, or any conviction related to human trafficking, kidnapping, sexual assault, or smuggling.
- Creates the Interstate Massage Commission as an instrumentality of member states with powers to adopt rules, assess fees, maintain a data system, and levy annual state assessments.
Show all 8 facts
- Grants home states exclusive power to impose adverse actions on multistate licenses while empowering remote states to issue cease and desist orders, impose encumbrances, and take adverse actions against authorizations to practice.
- Provides that active military members and their spouses retaining a home state license may maintain their home state designation during active duty assignments.
- Mandates that the Compact takes effect upon enactment by at least seven member states.
- Authorizes the North Carolina Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy to adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of the act.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the educational requirements to qualify for a multistate massage therapy license?
Can a remote state take disciplinary action against a massage therapist practicing under a multistate license?
When does the Interstate Massage Compact become effective?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
16 actions- Sep 25, 2025SenateRef To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
- Sep 25, 2025SenatePassed 1st Reading
- Sep 25, 2025SenateRegular Message Received From House
- Sep 24, 2025HouseRegular Message Sent To Senate
- Sep 23, 2025HousePassed 3rd Reading
- Sep 23, 2025HousePassed 2nd Reading
Show 10 earlier actions
- Sep 23, 2025HouseAdded to Calendar
- Sep 23, 2025HouseCal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
- Sep 23, 2025HouseReptd Fav
- Jun 24, 2025HouseRe-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Jun 24, 2025HouseReptd Fav
- Jun 17, 2025HouseRe-ref Com On Finance
- Jun 17, 2025HouseReptd Fav
- Apr 3, 2025HouseRef to the Com on Health, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 3, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 2, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Voting Record
Second Reading
Total
115
- Yes
- 103
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 12
- Abstain
- 0
How they voted (115)
91 more members
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 1 more sponsor
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Transition to Multistate Licensing Pathway
The bill shifts from traditional single-state licensure by introducing a reciprocal multistate licensing structure administered by an interstate commission.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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