It may look like an easy question, but it’s not. To answer this question, you first need to understand the regulation of massage in the UK. I have followed the UK massage qualification and regulations for the past 24 years.

This article was written by Dror Steiner, a UK osteopath, massage therapist, and acupuncturist. Dror is managing the Sheffield Massage Training & the founder of Bodyology Massage School, has 27 years of experience as a therapist, and taught massage for the last 24 years.

Surprisingly, in the UK, no mandatory qualifications are required to become a professional massage therapist. The government has no regulations on the course length, subjects to study, who can teach massage, whether therapists need professional medical insurance, and other aspects.

This is quite shocking!

However, not all is lost.

Instead of mandatory government regulation, voluntary regulation is available in the UK. This is how it works:

• A public organization called the Examination Board (EB) was created. Currently, there are a few dozen EBs in the UK. Each EB develops its own standards for teaching massage, including course length, content, syllabus, teachers’ requirements, health and safety regulations, school facilities, students’ complaint procedures, and the process of accepting students. Also, and this is important, each EB sets their final exams.

• As shown above, each EB develops a regulation framework for massage schools, massage courses, and massage teachers. Each course is given an allocated level. The higher the level, the more advanced the course is. In the UK, the most common beginner course is Level 3 NVQ.

• Massage schools wishing to be regulated ‘shop around’ and find the best EB. The school choice is usually influenced by the school ethos. Then, there is a process for the school to become accredited to teach the EB course.

• Prospective students who wish to learn massage need to choose their massage school based on their teaching and service quality. To some extent, this will be influenced by the school’s choice of EB.

• Once in a course, students need to fulfil the course requirements to take the final exams and graduate. Some of those requirements are given by the EB, some by the school.

• At the end of the course, students who fulfil all the requirements will take the final exams. Exams are given by the EB (this is to maintain similar standards for all schools that teach the same EB course).

• Once graduated, students need to obtain medical malpractice insurance. There are dozens of insurers who do that in the UK. Insurers have a list of EB and qualified massage schools. Insurers will not insure anyone who didn’t go through the process above.
• Once graduated, students can also become members of one of the few Practitioners Associations (PA) that regulate students once they graduate (and become practitioners). The idea of the PA is to have regulations that keep therapists’ standards high.

There has been some encouraging news about UK regulations lately, such as the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) creation. CNHC is an independent UK regulator for complementary therapy. Yes, it was set up with government support, but joining it is still not mandatory. Yet, most therapists join CNHC. The CNHC again has a list of accredited EBs, and you can become a member once you take an EB-accredited course. Becoming a CNHC member assures the general public of the therapist’s quality.

To sum up, although there are no mandatory regulations for massage in the UK, there are many options for voluntary regulation. Most massage schools, students and potential massage employers will only go the route of regulated courses. We all agreed that the quality of massage therapists is better once regulated.