Summary: FSMTB has been the project manager for the Interstate Massage Compact since 2021. It was built with years of input from all of the major organizations including AMTA. Recently, AMTA has worked behind FSMTB's back and created a second compact that would incorporate the changes that they have asked for. They have been repeatedly told that the changes should and will happen in the rule making process. They have not announced any plan for their new compact and it has only led to more confusion and division in the profession. AMTA's position on the compact has flip-flopped through the years. This recent flop needs to be stopped. We ask that AMTA withdraw their compact and work with FSMTB to get the IMpact passed in as many states as possible.

12/08/2025. Latest update: New evidence that AMTA and CSG are on the wrong track. 

We, the undersigned massage therapists and supporters, call on all national organizations and stakeholders to protect the original 2023 Interstate Massage Compact (IMpact) and reject attempts by the Council of State Governments (CSG) and AMTA to rewrite its statutory language.

Despite the support from ABMP, ISPA, MMIP, AFMTE, COMTA, major industry organizations, and 97% of the  nearly 2000 responses to the IMpact Survey – of which 47% were AMTA members – AMTA, CSG and the DoD went behind the backs of the entire profession to appease AMTA. AMTA has been repeatedly reassured that their issues would be addressed in rule making — including during the compact development in 2022 and with the joint letter AMTA co-authored with FSMTB in 2024. They are aware that addressing these concerns in statute would be restrictive and detrimental to the profession.

Recent proposed changes circulating in the profession were not developed through any transparent or collaborative process. 

FSMTB’s latest communication tells exactly why the proposed changes will hurt the profession more than help.

“The FSMTB does not support revisions to the model statutory language for three main reasons:

1. Making the changes in Statute instead of in Rule will RESTRICT access to the multistate license. Our intention is to have the multistate license be available to as many qualified LMTs as possible.
2. One proposed change will FACILITATE HUMAN TRAFFICKING and allow organized criminal enterprises to infiltrate the profession. The existing language is written to prevent that.
3. The IMpact model was written through an extensive stakeholder-informed and consensus-based process from the existing regulations across states and responding to the unique characteristics and needs of the massage therapy profession, keeping public protection at the forefront. The proposed changes were arbitrarily concocted in a silo and uninformed by regulatory realities.”

The IMpact was built through years of stakeholder input, regulatory expertise, and national collaboration. Rewriting the statute now is unnecessary, destabilizing, and harmful to both therapists and the public.

• We urge all organizations to:
• Support the original 2023 IMpact model legislation.
• Reject unvetted statutory revisions.
• Share accurate information to reduce confusion and misinformation.
• Prioritize public safety, transparency, and unity in the profession.

Protect the IMpact. Protect the public including LMTs. Protect the future of massage therapy.

Sign this petition and take the IMpact™ survey to keep the IMpact strong and moving forward. https://www.massagecompact.org/surveys/impact-survey-of-the-profession 

Tell AMTA and CSG to retract their revisions, which were only done to appease AMTA National, and work together with the FSMTB to move the IMpact and profession forward. 

Julie Onofrio, LMT

Laura Allen Clayton, LMBT

Donna Sarvello, LMT

(Requests for money are directly from change.org and go to change.org. No money is being collected or used by the creators of this petition.) 

Resources:
IMpact™ Proposed Revisions Analysis and Recommendations: This is from the Federation of State Massage Boards who has been involved in this project for 4 years explaining why the proposed changes from AMTA/CSG will hurt the massage profession.  https://files.constantcontact.com/1c2f0dbb001/c794ebfc-3748-4db0-862d-5c7d5680d257.pdf

History:
History of the Compact - https://www.massagecompact.org/about-impact

 AMTA’s 2015 Position Statement saying they are committed to license portability. https://www.amtamassage.org/about/position-statements/massage-therapy-portability/

Oct 31, 2025. AMTA and the Council of State Governments (CSG) rewrote the massage compact that has been in progress since 2021 in which millions of dollars has been spent by FSMTB and they did it behind FSMTB’s back. They sent an email to their members requesting that they take a survey.

The letter and survey inaccurately claim that the reason why the compact is not progressing faster is because of some of the language, when in fact the reason why it hasn’t progressed as fast is AMTA’s flip flopping support. 

This created two different compact versions at a time when most massage therapists were unaware that there was even a first compact or what it meant for the profession. This creates further confusion for states and especially legislators who will not know which one to pick. 

Nov. 3 2025. FSMTB publicly objected. (https://fsmtb.org/2025/11/03/fsmtb-statement-on-the-proposed-revisions-to-the-interstate-massage-compact/ )

Nov. 13, 2025. AMTA publicly endorsed the new version. https://www.amtamassage.org/about/news/revisions-to-compact/ 
 CSG created a brand new compact website that looked like the original compact website that used the same template/images until last week when they updated their website.  https://massagecompact.csg.org/  

Nov. 20, 2025 - Statement from FSMTB Update on the IMpact™ — and How You Can Help https://fsmtb.org/2025/11/25/update-on-the-impact-and-how-you-can-help/

(Requests for money are directly from change.org and go to change.org. No money is being collected or used by the creators of this petition.)