Policy: Education Requirement for Exam Eligibility and Initial Registration
Summary
Up-to-date education is an important requirement, both at the time a registrant completes the certification examinations and at the time of Initial Registration. Requiring current education at the time of exam administration helps ensure candidates are writing the exams with up-to-date knowledge to better support their success.
If an applicant’s education is more than three years old as of the date of their certification examinations, or as of the date they submit their complete application for Initial Registration, the applicant must successfully complete a Refresher Course no more than 15 months prior to the date of the exam or the date of the application for Initial Registration.
Background
Three of the requirements for registration[1] as a Registered Massage Therapist/Massage Therapist (RMT/MT) in Ontario are:
- Successful completion of the required Massage Therapy education,
- Successful completion of the certification examinations,
- Successful completion of a Refresher Course if the applicant’s Massage Therapy education was completed more than three years from the date a complete application is submitted.
The Massage Therapy Act, 1991 requires that Massage Therapy education be current at the time an applicant applies for registration with CMTO. However, CMTO’s Board requires that current education is also required at the time of exam registration.
Requirements
For a registrant’s Massage Therapy education to meet the requirements for taking the MCQ or OSCE exams, and to meet the requirements for registration, applicants must have either:
- Completed a recognized Massage Therapy program within three years before registering for the exams, and before applying for registration; or
- Completed a recognized Massage Therapy program more than three years before registering for the exams AND completed a CMTO Refresher Course within 15 months before registering for the exams; and before applying for registration.
Approved by Council: December 7, 2015
Implementation Date: January 1, 2016
Reformatted: March 10, 2020
Updated to reflect wording and numbering of amended Registration Regulation: July 1, 2024
Revised: May 5, 2025, August 24, 2026
[1] subparagraph i of paragraph 1 of subsection 5 (1) of the Registration Regulation under the Massage Therapy Act, 1991
