(a) A person desiring to be licensed as a massage therapist shall apply to the board on forms provided by the board. Unless licensed pursuant to subsection (b), applicants for licensure shall submit evidence satisfactory to the board that they have met each of the following requirements:

(1) Satisfactorily completed a minimum of 500 hours of supervised courses of instruction which shall include, but not be limited to, anatomy, pathology, physiology, massage techniques, clinical practices, ethics, health, hygiene, and related subjects. The board shall determine how the 500 hours of instruction shall be broken down. The course of instruction may be provided by a massage therapy school approved by the board. The minimum 500 hours shall consist of the following: 325 hours dedicated to the study of basic massage therapy techniques and clinical practice related modalities; 125 hours dedicated to the study of anatomy, pathology, and physiology; and an additional 50 hours of discretionary related course work, including, but not limited to, hydrotherapy, business practices and professional ethics, health and hygiene, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid. Beginning January 1, 1998, applicants for licensure shall be required to complete a minimum of 650 hours of instruction. By rule of the board, the minimum 650 hours shall consist of the following: 100 hours of anatomy and physiology to include 35 hours of myology, 15 hours of osteology, 10 hours of circulatory system, and 10 hours of nervous system, with the remaining 30 hours to address other body systems at the discretion of the school; 250 hours of basic massage therapy, the contradistinctions of massage therapy, and related touch therapy modalities, to include a minimum of 50 hours of supervised massage; 50 hours to include business, hydrotherapy, first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and professional ethics; and 250 hours of electives to be determined by the school. The board may adopt a rule to further increase the minimum number of hours of instruction required for licensure, not to exceed the number of hours recommended by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Before performing therapeutic massage on an animal, a massage therapist shall graduate from a nationally approved program and complete at least 100 hours of postgraduate training and education in animal anatomy, pathology, and physiology for the type of animal upon which the massage therapist wishes to perform therapeutic massage.

(2) Passed the National Certification Exam for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork offered by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork or an examination of equivalent stature that is accredited by the National Committee for Certifying Agencies.

(b) Notwithstanding the requirements in subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a), the board may license an applicant if the applicant is licensed or registered in another state, which, in the opinion of the board, has standards of practice or licensure that are equal to or stricter than the requirements imposed by this chapter.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, each applicant for licensure shall be a citizen of the United States or, if not a citizen of the United States, a person who is legally present in the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal government.

(d) The board may notify each applicant of the acceptance or rejection of his or her application. If the application is rejected, the board shall list the reasons for rejection.