Registered Massage Therapists – Registrants

Registrants who wish to maintain their professional status as practising RMTs must renew their Practising registration. Registrants not currently practising must renew their Non-practising registration.

The deadline for renewing registration is announced each year.

Renewal is done online, on the Registrant Portal.

Confirm your renewal requirements

Before renewing, registrants are asked to ensure the following registration renewal requirements have been met:

• You hold valid professional liability insurance. Have your certificate of insurance available for uploading in the Registrant Portal.
• You hold valid certification in Standard First Aid and CPR-C. If you have recently re-certified, have your certificate available for uploading in the Registrant Portal.
• Outstanding fees and fines (if any) are paid. (In the Registrant Portal, click “Invoices” in the menu at the left to pay outstanding fees and fines before beginning the registration renewal process.)

How to renew your registration

CCHPBC has prepared a video that outlines the registration renewal process.

Download the registration renewal video script

Registration renewal fees

Please note that the registration renewal fee now includes the cost (formerly $100) of the first attempt at CCHPBC’s mandatory online course for RMTs.

How to pay

• Pay by credit card (Visa or Mastercard) in the Registrant Portal or cheque mailed to CCHPBC.
• Please note that the College does not accept payment by debit card or online banking.

Click “Invoices” in the menu at the left in the Registrant Portal to review paid invoices or print a receipt.

Registration Status Change: Non-practising to Practising

If you hold Non-practising status and wish to return to Practising registration, you must complete the fillable Application for Return to Practising Registration form(PDF) and return it to College staff by mail, fax or email to ac.cbphcc@ofni. College staff will guide you through the next steps, which are summarized below.

If you have been Non-practising for less than two years, the requirements for a return to Practising status are:

• Valid professional liability insurance
• Current certification in Standard First Aid (SFA) and CPR-C
• Payment of any applicable fees via the Registrant Portal.

If you have been Non-practising for two years or more, College staff will review your application form and guide you through the next steps. There will be an assessment by the Registration Committee of your readiness for practice, which may result in a requirement that you successfully complete registration examination components or a clinical skills refresher course.

Registration Status Change: Practising to Non-practising

If you hold Practising status and are changing to Non-practising registration, please contact College staff for the applicable form, and return it to the College by mail or email to ac.cbphcc@ofni. College staff will guide you through the next steps which are summarized below.

The requirements for conversion to Non-practising status are:

• Payment of any applicable fees.
• Valid professional liability insurance: if you carry claims-based insurance, you must provide “tail” coverage for your period of Non-practising registration.

Registration Status Change: Relocation Outside of British Columbia

If you are moving out of BC, you will need to make a decision about whether or not to maintain registration with CCHPBC.

Moving to a regulated province?

If you intend to continue to practice, and are moving to another province in Canada that regulates massage therapy (Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland/Labrador), CCHPBC recommends that you obtain registration in your province of residence and that you do not continue to be registered in BC.

If you later decide to return to BC to practice as an RMT, and you continue to hold the equivalent of practising registration status in another regulated province, you will be able to re-obtain practising registration status with CCHPBC by following the labour mobility registration pathway (Link to: RMTS From Ontario, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, and PEI page) created by the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.

If you retain non-practising status in BC while practicing elsewhere, you will have to continue to meet CCHPBC’s requirements for non-practising registrants.

Moving to a non-regulated province, or outside Canada?

If you are moving to a non-regulated jurisdiction in Canada, or outside Canada entirely, there is no real benefit or advantage to maintaining non-practising status while you are away. The College’s Bylaws were amended in 2019 to minimize the differences between reinstatement of registration and return to practising status (from non-practising).

If you are a former registrant with the College and wish to return to practice as an RMT, you must apply for and be granted reinstatement of your registration before you can do so.

The requirements that apply to a reinstatement depend on when and why an RMT’s registration lapsed:

1. RMTs who fail to renew their registration for the following year by December 31 of the current year will automatically be cancelled. Reinstatement of registration following non-renewal is available within three months – that is, by March 31 – by meeting the requirements set out in the College’s Bylaws.
2. If registration has lapsed or been cancelled for more than three months, RMTs must meet the more extensive reinstatement requirements set out in the College’s Bylaws. 
3. Once the period of non-registration exceeds two years, an RMT may also be required to successfully complete one or more portions of the registration examination or a clinical skills refresher course, or otherwise demonstrate currency of knowledge, skills, and ability.
4. If registration was cancelled due to the College’s inquiry and/or discipline process, the College’s Bylaws sets out an additional requirement that applies in that circumstance.

See the College’s Bylaws to determine the fee that applies to each type of reinstatement.

Former registrants may not use the professional titles protected by the Massage Therapists Regulation, including “massage therapist”, “registered massage therapist”, or “RMT”. Those titles can be used only after registration has been reinstated by the College.

If you are applying for reinstatement, please contact College staff for the applicable form, and return it to the College by mail or email to ac.cbphcc@ofni.