4.1 Two-Year Renewal and Expired-License Rules

The two-year license term

Under 16 TAC section 117.24, a Texas massage therapist license is valid for two years. The licensee is responsible for renewing before the expiration date. Failure to receive or notice a reminder does not excuse the late fee, and there is no practice grace period after expiration.

A timely renewal requires a completed department-approved renewal application, all applicable fees, completion of the continuing-education requirement, and completion of the human-trafficking prevention training required by Occupations Code Chapter 116 with proof as TDLR prescribes. TDLR also conducts the criminal-history check authorized by section 455.1525 when it receives a renewal application.

The normal two-year therapist renewal fee in section 117.100 is $75 and is nonrefundable. Continuing education and trafficking training must be completed in the applicable license period rather than promised for later.

No practice on an expired credential

Section 117.24 is explicit: a person whose license has expired may not engage in massage-therapist activities and may not hold out as a massage therapist, imply entitlement to the titles licensed massage therapist or massage therapist, or use RMT, LMT, MT, or facsimiles of those titles. Paying a late fee does not retroactively authorize work performed while expired.

The rules do not create a massage-therapist inactive status in a section 117.26. Chapter 117 has no such therapist-status provision. A person who plans a break should still distinguish nonpractice from an invented inactive license. If the credential expires, the expiration rules apply.

Late-renewal windows

TDLR's current therapist-renewal page describes three late-renewal windows under the general TDLR law:

With a normal $75 renewal, the first two amounts are $112.50 and $150. The third window also uses twice the normal fee after approval. The calculation does not restore authority to work during the expired period.

The current public page does not state that an individual automatically must repeat the 500-hour course after three years. When the late-renewal provisions no longer apply, the person must use whatever application route current law and TDLR instructions require; completed, acceptable education does not disappear merely because a license expired. Avoid adding a school-repeat penalty that the cited renewal rule does not contain.

Human-trafficking training

The renewal applicant must complete an HHSC-approved human-trafficking prevention course for every renewal. It can be taken at any point during the current license period. If a course was approved when completed and is later revised or retired, TDLR says the completed approved course still satisfies that cycle. The same course may be repeated in later cycles when it remains the available approved option.

The requirement is separate from ordinary massage continuing education. The training page describes a non-continuing-education certificate, and TDLR's current cross-profession FAQ does not list massage therapy among professions awarded automatic CE credit for the training. A massage therapist should not subtract the trafficking course from the 12-hour total without separate evidence that the particular activity qualifies under the massage CE rules.

Background and disclosure at renewal

Applicants with reportable criminal history provide the department's Criminal History Questionnaire with renewal materials. TDLR evaluates convictions under the applicable statutes and guidelines. The direct-ineligibility provisions for enumerated offenses and the mandatory-revocation provisions remain distinct from the general evaluation of other criminal history.

Licensees also have an ongoing duty under section 117.90 to keep their TDLR licensure file current by giving written notice of changes to name, address, telephone number, and employment. Waiting until the next renewal can leave the department with an incorrect address and does not shift responsibility for a missed deadline.

Scenarios

• A license expires yesterday: the therapist must stop compensated practice until renewal is effective.
• A renewal is filed 60 days late: the 1.5-times fee window applies.
• A renewal is filed 100 days late: the twice-fee window applies because the license is more than 90 days but under 18 months expired.
• A license is two years expired: executive-director approval is required before late renewal.
• The therapist finished 12 CE hours but skipped trafficking training: renewal requirements are incomplete.
• The therapist paid online but continued using LMT before approval: payment alone does not erase the expiration prohibition.

Calendar discipline

Track the expiration date, CE documents, trafficking certificate, contact details, and background disclosures well before filing. The legal objective is not merely to submit a form; it is to maintain continuous authority to practice.