On February 5, 2024, CMTO’s updated Registration Regulation under the Massage Therapy Act was published by the Ontario government.

The new regulation will come into force on July 1, 2024. Below is a summary of key changes.

• Massage Therapy education required for registration
  • The Registration Committee, or a body approved by them, will have the authority to approve Massage Therapy education programs for the purposes of registration with CMTO.
  • This authority comes into effect on Jan 1, 2027, 30 months after the updated regulation comes into effect.
  • CMTO has long been a supporter of the accreditation standards and process of the Canadian Massage Therapy Council for Accreditation (CMTCA). The Registration Committee has determined that accreditation with CMTCA will be required for a program to be approved for the purposes of registration with CMTO.
• Practice hours for maintaining a General Certificate
  • Previously, RMTs with a General Certificate were required to provide a minimum of 500 hours of direct client care within the previous three years to maintain their certificate. This requirement has been changed to 500 hours of actively practicing the profession in the previous three years. This will make it easier for educators to maintain their General Certificate as practising the profession requirement includes time spent teaching in an approved Massage Therapy education program. More information about this updated requirement will be in the Currency Requirement for maintaining a General Certificate of Registration policy to be posted on CMTO’s website prior to July 1, 2024.
• Place of practice in Ontario
  • RMTs with a General Certificate of Registration will no longer be required to maintain a practice location in Ontario. The intent of removing this requirement is to facilitate labour mobility.
• Registering as Inactive
  • Individuals registering for the first time with CMTO will be able to register in the Inactive class of registration. This will support applicants who have met all of the requirements for registration but who have not yet secured employment as an RMT. They will be required to move to the General class of registration before they begin practising.

In addition to the above changes, new updates to the Registration Regulation are administrative in nature. The new changes provide clarity and consistency to the requirements for being granted and maintaining registration with CMTO.

If you have questions about the updated Registration Regulations requirements, please reach out to us at registrationservices@cmto.com.