6.3 Advertising, Assumed Names, and License Display

Who may advertise massage

Section 117.93 says a person—including an instructor, school, therapist, or establishment—who is not licensed under the Massage Therapy Act may not use the word massage on a sign, display, or other advertising unless expressly exempt from the Act's license requirements. A sexually oriented business may not use the word massage or bath in advertising under any circumstances.

The rule reaches the advertisement before a service is delivered. A person cannot lawfully solicit paid massage first and plan to obtain a license later. Synonyms and derivations in the statutory definitions also prevent evasion by relabeling the same regulated service.

False or misleading claims

A licensee may not use advertising that is false, misleading, deceptive, or not readily subject to verification. The rule identifies examples:

• a material factual misrepresentation or omission needed to avoid misleading the audience;
• a representation likely to create an unjustified expectation about a health-care service or procedure;
• an unsubstantiated comparison with another health professional's services;
• confusion about a professional's credentials, education, or licensure;
• representing that required insurance deductibles or copayments can be waived or do not apply;
• representing that plan benefits will be accepted as full payment when a required deductible or copayment remains;
• taking advantage of the fears or emotions of a particularly susceptible client; and
• using a professional name, title, or identification reserved or commonly used by another profession.

A guarantee that massage will permanently cure a disease creates both an unjustified result expectation and a scope problem. An accurate statement that a person holds a current Texas massage therapist license is verifiable.

Assumed names and license numbers

When a therapist uses an assumed name in practice, the therapist's full legal name or license number must appear in each advertisement and every time the business or assumed name appears in writing. Notice the word or: the rule does not require both pieces in every instance.

The massage establishment's license number must appear in conjunction with the establishment's assumed or legal name. An assumed name used by a therapist cannot itself be false, misleading, or deceptive.

Do not expand this into a rule that every advertisement by an individual using only the full legal name must always print the license number. License-number inclusion is a reliable way to identify the person and is mandatory in the assumed-name circumstances, but the examination should follow the rule's exact trigger.

State or county business-filing laws may separately govern assumed-name registration. Section 117.93's tested massage requirement is transparent identification in advertising; do not cite a nonexistent Chapter 455 assumed-name registration section.

Schools and recruitment advertising

A massage school may not make false, misleading, or deceptive statements about another school's activities or programs. An advertisement seeking prospective students must clearly indicate that training is offered and cannot imply that the advertiser is seeking prospective employees. It includes the educational program's and school's full correct name and license number.

These rules prevent a school from disguising tuition-based enrollment as a job opportunity. They also connect to the pre-enrollment disclosures about program length, voluntary hours beyond 500, costs, policies, and licensure eligibility.

Display of issued licenses

Section 117.23 requires a license to be displayed appropriately and publicly at the licensed business location or at the licensed individual's primary office or place of employment. If an individual has no primary office or employment location, the person carries a current identification card. A displayed individual therapist license has a current photograph attached to the front.

A massage establishment displays its license prominently where the public can inspect it. Schools likewise display the school license conspicuously. Issued licenses remain TDLR property and cannot be altered.

The rule does not say only an original paper certificate may be displayed, does not require a government photo ID to hang beside every license, and does not prohibit a treatment-room door lock. Avoid attaching unrelated invented rules to the credential-display question.

Scenarios

Legal-name advertisement: Jane Smith advertises under Jane Smith. Section 117.93 does not create the same assumed-name identification trigger, though every claim must remain truthful.

Assumed name: Jane advertises as Hill Country Bodywork. Each advertisement and written appearance of that name includes Jane's full legal name or therapist license number.

Establishment name: Hill Country Massage, LLC displays its establishment number with its legal or assumed name.

School recruitment: An ad saying Massage Therapists Wanted when the real offer is tuition-based training is misleading and violates the education-ad rule.

Mobile therapist: With no primary office or place of employment, the individual carries the current identification card.

Guaranteed cure: A claim of guaranteed permanent relief is prohibited even if the therapist believes past clients improved.

Answer framework

Ask whether the advertiser is licensed or exempt, whether a sexually oriented business is involved, whether the claim is verifiable and within scope, whether an assumed name is used, which license type is advertised, and where the issued credential must be displayed or carried. Those facts resolve the rule without a universal-license-number shortcut.