Join IMpact!

Today, we stand on the edge of history.

As the United States prepares to commemorate 250 years of independence in 2026, massage therapy has its own declaration to make: that it, too, is ready to unite, evolve, and move forward. 

With five states already on board, and more poised to join, the Interstate Massage Compact (IMpact), a decades-long dream is no longer just an idea—it’s becoming a reality. Massage therapists have long imagined a world where licensure mobility is not a bureaucratic headache, but a lived freedom. That future is within reach.

But it's also at risk.

To understand the significance of this moment, we need to look back through the annals of American history. Mark Twain is supposed to have said, “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes”. 

From Albany to American — Isolation to IMpact

In the 1750s, the American colonies faced a problem: they were isolated, scattered, and subject to competing interests. Sound familiar? 

Benjamin Franklin’s Albany Plan of Union was the first to suggest something radical—cooperation! Though ultimately rejected by both colonial assemblies and Britain, it planted a seed and laid the intellectual framework for later unifying efforts.

Over time, that idea of unity grew stronger, evolving through the First and Second Continental Congresses, the Articles of Confederation, and eventually into a fully realized Union of 13 colonies through the United States Constitution. These efforts required compromise, vision, and trust. Each colony had to relinquish some control to gain something more powerful: a functional, shared system built to serve the greater good.

IMpact follows the blueprint of cooperation and shared governance that built the United States. As sovereign states gave up some control for a more perfect union, so too would massage licensing jurisdictions come together under IMpact—respecting state sovereignty while enabling shared standards, mobility, and public trust.

That willingness to compromise is what makes the compact possible. It’s a declaration that massage therapy as a profession deserves more than state-by-state silos. It deserves the freedom to move, to grow, and to serve wherever our care is needed!

For many massage therapists—especially those who relocate for family, military, or other reasons—this kind of mobility could be life changing. For the profession as a whole, it’s a vital step toward standardization, portability, and unity.

The Interstate Massage Compact is, in my estimation, the most innovative and progressive development in the history of massage and bodywork. IMpact stands alongside the MBLEx and Board Certification as among the greatest advancements we have ever made. 

Why IMpact is Revolutionary for Our Profession

• Mobility & Opportunity: Similar to the freedom of a driver’s license, IMpact’s multistate license means therapists can work across member state borders without redundant applications.

• Professional Standards & Trust: Shared rules ensure consistent quality and bolster consumer confidence.

• Access & Equity: Clients in underserved regions will benefit. Military families, in particular, gain much-needed career continuity.

We are watching history rhyme with itself—but this time, it’s our history. Massage therapists will no longer be bound by outdated restrictions. Each new member of the compact chips away at the walls that have kept professionals trapped in a single jurisdiction for the last century. This momentum is building. Just as the Continental Congresses and Articles of Confederation needed those first ratifications to take effect, IMpact’s promise hinges on this first wave of states binding themselves together. And like the early days of American independence, seven states will be only the beginning.

Just as the formation of a nation required persistence and diplomacy, IMpact has taken years of advocacy, negotiation, and trust-building among therapists, associations, legislators, and licensing boards. It has required courage from early adopters—those willing to go first and model what is possible.

Much like our national ancestors, we are in the very midst of revolution!

Of course, getting here hasn’t been easy. And now, new risks have presented themselves.

Two Compacts, One Profession, And The Risks Involved

Recent developments threaten to tear apart years of consensus, trust-building, and compromise.

• The steward for IMpact, Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB), has publicly opposed reopening the compact statute for revision—calling such an effort “unnecessary,” “destabilizing,” and potentially dangerous.

• More alarmingly, FSMTB has explicitly warned that some of the proposed changes could “facilitate human trafficking and allow organized criminal enterprises to infiltrate the profession.”

• Meanwhile, a different group—led by American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) now in concert with the Council of State Governments (CSG) and with backing from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)—has advanced a “Revised Massage Therapy Compact,” a new version of the compact legislation that differs substantially from IMpact.

  • ***It is critical to note that this “Revised Compact” has never been vetted by the profession and was developed rapidly within the AMTA silo—without the broad, collaborative, years-long process that built IMpact.***

• According to Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (ABMP), these changes “will effectively destroy all work done thus far on an interstate compact and force the process to start anew.”

  
  

  In short: the profession is now facing not progress, but fragmentation. Two competing compacts—one forged with consensus (IMpact), the other born out of unilateral revision(AMTA)—threaten to divide stakeholders, confuse legislators, and undermine the careful progress made over the last five years.

  
  

  And the stakes are high: if legislation must be re-done, states that already adopted IMpact (five of them, including Arkansas) may be forced to reauthorize—and some may withdraw entirely. ABMP warns there is “no way to guarantee these original five states will be willing or able to sign on to a new compact.” That's not progress, that's regression.

AMTA has a documented past of extending its influence beyond the proper scope of a professional association. History shows us that when AMTA cannot direct or define the future of the profession, a familiar pattern emerges: push back hard, attempt to pull decision-making back toward itself, and pressure the rest of the field to recalibrate around its preferences.

We saw this tension in the long struggle between AMTA’s Council of Schools and the educators who eventually developed COMTA as an independent accrediting body. We saw it again when the rise of the MBLEx disrupted the National Certification exam model that AMTA historically supported, prompting a restructuring into Board Certification. And we are seeing the same pattern now with the push for a “Revised Compact.”

This repeated overreach and resistance—rooted in the need to preserve influence and to challenge initiatives not originating from within AMTA—does more than slow progress. It breeds confusion, erodes trust, and keeps the profession locked in cycles of stagnation.

Massage therapists—including AMTA’s own members—must decide whether they are willing to let one association, guided by a large corporate staff infrastructure, continue to dominate the profession’s direction. Concentrating power this way does not strengthen massage therapy; it places the entire field at risk of repeating the same patterns of uncertainty and organizational control.

This isn’t a minor legislative tweak. It’s a potential unraveling of years of work — just when the profession was poised to finally deliver true mobility.

Why The Original Compact (IMpact) Is The One The Profession Should Back

The original IMpact may not be perfect—progress never is— but it was built with deliberation, compromise, broad stakeholder involvement, and a focus on public safety.

• The compact was developed over years by a Technical Assistance Group of 25 individuals spanning educators, regulators, licensees, and association representatives (including ABMP, FSMTB, and yes, even AMTA).

• The requirements — 625 hours of education, passage of a national exam, clean disciplinary record, etc. — reflect a standard established through the earlier Entry-Level Analysis Project (ELAP), which many in the profession supported as the benchmark for safe, effective practice.

• The compact reserves fine-tuning of eligibility (education equivalencies, exam history) for a rulemaking process under a Compact Commission, not statute—preserving flexibility for future evolution without destabilizing the statutory base.

  
  

  IMpact was built to endure, even as the profession evolves.

  
  

Join IMpact, (or Die?)

In Franklin’s day, he published a cartoon of a serpent divided, each piece marked by the name of a colony, beneath were the words: JOIN, or DIE. It was not a threat, it was a call to unite or face irrelevance and defeat. Today, massage therapy faces a similar crossroads.

The world around us is changing—fast. Other health professions have long embraced licensure compacts and multistate practice models. Telehealth, cross-state mobility, and national standards are no longer revolutionary concepts—they’re expectations.

We cannot afford to stand still. If we remain a patchwork of disconnected state rules—resisting innovation out of fear, nostalgia, or politics—we risk isolating ourselves from healthcare, opportunity, and the next generation of professionals.

Without IMpact, we risk allowing our profession to become frozen in place, locked out of the future. We permit massage to be seen as an illegitimate relic instead of a vital practice. We will watch as our hard fought relevance fades while other professions march forward. Most troubling, this petty infighting plays out in full view of our healthcare colleagues and stakeholders, diminishing the credibility we’ve fought so hard to earn.

Trust: What The Founders Taught Us

When the American colonies debated Union, compromise meant relinquishing some control. They had to trust each other, trust that a common future was worth the uncertainty. Over time, that trust gave rise to a unified nation built on shared governance.

Similarly, by supporting the original compact, we affirm trust in the process, in each other, and in the future we’re building together.

The profession must trust:

• that the original compact — drafted with input from educators, regulators, practitioners, and major associations — reflects a balanced, fair, and safe approach;

• that the Compact Commission (once formed) will judiciously use rulemaking to refine eligibility, not to water down standards (It has been affirmed again and again; it is reasonable to assume the Commission will follow the original intent of the TAG when considering standards equivalencies.);

• that the effort to mobilize massage therapists across state lines is not about corporate agendas or politics—but about professional unity, public protection, and opportunity.

  
  

If we allow a second compact to fragment our profession’s efforts now, we risk betraying that trust. We risk returning to patchwork silos, competing standards, and more legislative confusion. We risk delaying or derailing true portability for years more.

The therapists who dedicated time, expertise, and resources to build IMpact deserve better. The profession deserves better.

Two competing compacts is not choice—it is chaos. Legislators will not know which version is legitimate. States will hesitate. Momentum will halt. Confusion will reign. And the profession will suffer.

Five states—Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, Arkansas, and Montana— have taken this brave leap into the future. Others— namely Georgia, Illinois, and North Carolina— have legislation pending. Not to mention nine states currently drafting legislation (Arizona, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) for 2026. Those clued in and paying attention can tell which way the wind is blowing. But it is time for even more to join the cause.

A Call To Action- Defend IMpact, Protect Our Future

We are at a historic moment that calls for vigilance, education, and unity. If you care about the future of massage therapy:

• Speak out. Share what you know about the original compact vs. the revised proposal. Help your colleagues and state legislators see the risks of fragmentation.

• Support the original model. Encourage your professional associations, educators, and colleagues to support IMpact. Sign the online petition at Change.org, to protect the original Compact.

• Stay informed. Keep an eye on FSMTB and IMpact updates, compact-commission rulemaking (after the 7th state adopts IMpact), and your state legislature.

• Elevate public safety & integrity. Remind stakeholders—including the public—that massage therapy is a legitimate healthcare profession deserving of consistent regulation and mobility.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Reach Out — Contact your state legislators and ask them to introduce and support IMpact.

2. Educate — Share IMpact FAQs, fact sheets, and the model legislation from massagecompact.org.

3. Advocate — Engage your professional associations, write letters of support, or testify in committee hearings.

4. Share Your Story — Highlight how portability matters; whether it’s seasonal work, supporting family, or new opportunities.

If your state hasn’t introduced the Compact, you can be the spark that gets it started. We are not just making licensure more practical, we are shaping the future of massage therapy itself. As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, what better way to honor that legacy than by strengthening our own profession’s union? 

Like those early architects of American unity, we’re building something bigger than ourselves. Something that future generations of massage therapists will inherit—a profession, finally with the freedom of portability, universal standards, and mutual cooperation between jurisdictions.

We are forging a national community of massage practitioners. We are writing the next chapter of our profession’s history—right here, right now. Let it not be said that we hesitated at the moment of this opportunity. May we choose cooperation over isolation, action over red tape, and vision over stagnation. And as we undertake this transformation, let us recall the pledge of our predecessors who came before us: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor.” Though the stakes may differ, the spirit remains the same.

We must act with unity, purpose, and vision so that IMpact doesn’t wither right at the finish line.

May this moment remind us— as professionals and as Americans— that when we act together, we can transform a dream into a system. A system into a standard. And a standard into a legacy.

Want to help bring the Compact to your state? Visit massagecompact.org to learn how you can learn more, take action, and stay updated. History is being written—take your part in it. The door is open—but it will not stay open forever.

Accompanying Vlogs:

https://youtu.be/-WB_sHfY4bs?si=2WmvON6kW0Oaezbp & https://www.tiktok.com/@kirbyclarkellis.mti/video/7579038037007453495?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7560755222181692983

https://youtube.com/shorts/dC9fmHYMcY4?si=qBsIkawN76-ZblPv & https://www.tiktok.com/@kirbyclarkellis.mti/video/7578973879859744013?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7560755222181692983

Peace and Healing,

Kirby Clark Ellis, MTI, BCTMB