By Pete and Lee Whitridge
We’re well underway in the 2025-2027 license renewal cycle. With the new year, I know many of you are starting to think about continuing education requirements and options. I’ll address the current requirements for renewal later in this article. I do want to emphasize that you will need in-person attendance hours again for the first time in six years.
Once the previous license renewal cycle was complete in August, Lee and I spent most of the Fall traveling in our RV. Fondly nicknamed our 2025 Wander, we traveled from Florida to Victoria, BC, through the Pacific NW and returned home in early December. Along the way, we enjoyed a teaching stop in WA state at their AMTA conference. It was a wonderful trip teaching, visiting friends, and exploring the beauty of this amazing country. My clients have been happy about my return and I’m deeply enjoying my time back in the therapy room. I’m also excited to get back into a teaching space. I’ll be teaching at a beautiful spa/resort outside of Knoxville in January and will be back in the swing of workshop teaching starting in April in Sarasota and Gainesville.
My class in Gainesville this spring will be Myofascial Components of Head, Neck, and Shoulder Pain. I’ve been fascinated this past year working with a variety of joint replacement clients, including several with reverse shoulder replacements. I have some new videos and other visuals to share, as well as strategies and new ideas about helping these clients gain confidence to fully heal. We’ll be working with techniques to assist your clients in reducing their pain and swelling, increasing their range of motion, and regaining function in their daily lives. I hope you’ll join me for this workshop on April 18-19 at FSM. Register here
I’ll be offering several workshops in 2026 and then a full schedule of classes from January through August 2027 when I’ll be teaching both bodywork weekends and one day Big 3 required classes as well.
Continuing Education Reminder:
This is the first renewal cycle in 6 years where therapists are required to complete AT LEAST 12 continuing education hours in person (classroom hours). These 12 hours (out of the total 24) must be taught by an approved provider who is registered in the CEBroker.com system.
Total Hour Requirements: 24 hours
• 12 Massage Related (classroom hours ONLY)
• 5 Additional hours outlined in 64B-7.28 (classroom hours OR instructional hours)
• 2 Florida Laws and Rules Review (classroom hours OR instructional hours)
• 2 Professional Ethics (classroom hours OR instructional hours)
• 2 Prevention of Medical Errors (classroom hours OR instructional hours)
• 1 Human Trafficking Awareness (classroom hours OR instructional hours)
To clarify: Classroom hours refer to LIVE, in-person, hands-on education presented by a FL approved provider. You MUST have 12 Massage Related classroom hours this renewal cycle. Instructional hours refer to additional teaching methodologies and can include video presentation, correspondence courses, online instruction, webinars, etc. These must also be presented by a FL approved provider.
Here is a link to the rule from 64B-7.28 (4)a-(6)c
Important Statutory Change:
I’ve recently become aware of a new issue that might affect your licensure status and as a result could bar you from renewal. I was informed by a colleague at the Sarasota School of Massage Therapy that she’d been notified by a past graduate who had received his license from the board 5 years earlier, that he was no longer eligible for licensure renewal due to a change in the statutes during the 2024 legislative session. He had appeared in front of the Board at the time of his initial licensure because he’d answered “yes” to one of the history questions on his application. At his Board hearing he presented his case and assured the Board of his ability to practice safely. He was issued his license without restriction. Now, in 2025, he completed his background check which included his history but nothing new. When he went to renew his license during this past renewal window, he was denied the ability to even begin the renewal process. He contacted the Board Office and was told definitively “NO, you cannot proceed, the NEW Statutes have now disqualified you from licensure or licensure renewal.” I am concerned about this issue and will report back to you regarding this in future newsletters. If you’ve experienced this situation, please contact me directly at 772-332-6116. I’d like to know more about your experience and hope to help the Board Office comprehend the unintended consequences of this statutory change.
On a personal note, my middle brother Mark, died suddenly in October and we flew to Denver to join Mark’s family and my mother and youngest brother Jeffrey for a celebration of life. It was a shock and a poignant reminder of the fragility of life and limited time we all have on this earth. I encourage you to take care of yourselves, spend quality time with your loved ones, and to help your family members and clients know that you care about them and are grateful for their presence in your life. Lee and I are so grateful for the FSM family we’ve been part of for so long. Thank you all.
