Membership Application Information

We provide the following membership options:

• Full Membership – for those actively working in the industry through our Full membership categories (Full Massage Therapist, Registered Massage Therapist, Spa Therapist, Full Manual Osteopathic Therapist).
• Associate Membership – for massage therapy students who are enrolled in the second year of their program, and who wish to provide treatment outside of a student clinic in a supervised setting.
• Student Membership – for massage therapy students in their first or second year who are only providing treatment in a supervised setting or for manual osteopathic therapy students who are only providing treatment in a supervised setting.
• Inactive Membership – for those full members who are taking an extended break from practicing/providing active treatment in either the profession of massage therapy or manual osteopathic therapy and thus no longer require insurance coverage.

We currently have members that practice in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Yukon Territory. Our membership is transferrable to all provinces and territories of Canada provided that members meet the requirements to practice within the jurisdiction (Spa Therapists are unable to practice in Newfoundland & Labrador and New Brunswick), with insurance options available for members from Coast to Coast to Coast. This removes the hassle of joining a different association, and the downtime that can be associated with inter-provincial movement. Our members practice all across Canada, from Coast to Coast to Coast.

The insurance that is offered to CMMOTA members is one of the best policies in the industry at one of the best prices. The insurance offered covers Commercial General Liability and Malpractice Liability with the option of additional coverage for equipment, A/R, loss of records, and more.

Not all professional liability insurance is created equally. Reading the following information may be the most important thing that you read this year – what kind of insurance do you have if you’re not with CMMOTA?

We often receive inquiries about CMMOTA’s Professional Liability Insurance, so we wanted to provide you as members with some immensely helpful information, to keep you informed, so that in turn you can inform others if they ask.

The current CMMOTA insurance program gives its members both OCCURRENCE BASED Commercial General Liability (CGL) and OCCURRENCE BASED Malpractice liability coverage.

Commercial General Liability covers property damage or injury to others that may occur while on or around your business premises when you are not directly providing RMT or MOT services to them (for example a client breaks their leg tripping on a loose piece of carpet entering your office). Malpractice Liability provides coverage for injury that directly results from your treatment or failure to provide the correct treatment to the client (ie. you injure a client due to improper treatment).

Occurrence based coverage means insurance would respond to an injury claim that was brought forward, even if it was months or years after the treatment that caused the injury was given, even if the policy has been cancelled.

With a Claims Made based policy, the claim has to be brought forward while the policy is active. As soon as a Claims Made policy goes inactive for any reason, it voids coverage for all past claims. While there are ways to extend the reporting period for Claims Made there is often a cost and a time limit of only a few years for these extensions.

So, for example, for someone going on maternity leave it would NOT be advisable for them to temporarily cancel a Claims Made Based policy as doing so could result in a denial of an injury claim from a past treatment. This would leave the member responsible for paying their own defense costs and any judgments against them. Even in cases where it is unlikely that there will be any judgment against the practitioner, the defense costs can be considerable. This same scenario with the CMMOTA Occurrence Based program poses no such issues as long as it can be shown a policy was in place when the treatment occurred that caused the injury.

Modality List for Massage Therapists Updated March 2024

Modality List for Manual Osteopathic Therapists Updated March 2024

Massage Therapists registered as full massage therapist members with CMMOTA in unregulated provinces are automatically recognized by all health insurance companies, as we do not accept full members with less than 2200 hours of training from a recognized school, nor do we recognize experience in lieu of education. As such their clients are able to seek reimbursement under their health insurance plans for massage treatments which they receive.

Currently CMMOTA Manual Osteopathic Therapists are recognized by the following insurance companies, and this list continues to grow as our membership base grows:

• Alberta Blue Cross
• Canada Benefit Providers
• Chamber of Commerce Insurance
• CINUP
• ClaimSecure
• ClaimXchange
• Desjardin Insurance
• Equitable Life
• Empire Life
• Greenshield
• GroupHEALTH
• Group Medical Services (GMS)
• Group Source
• Johnston Group
• Manitoba Blue Cross
• Manulife
• Maximum Benefits
• Medavie Blue Cross (not Veterans Affairs)
• NexGenRX
• Pacific Blue Cross
• People Corporation
• SSQ Financial
• Saskatchewan Blue Cross
• Sunlife
• The Co-Operators

The membership year for all members is January 1 to December 31.

Membership Categories with Pricing and Requirements

* Please note that prices listed do not include insurance, and are for NEW membership applicants only

Requirements:

To become a student member of the Association the following qualifications must be met:

• Enrolled in the first year or second year of a program from a recognized Massage Therapy program at a post-secondary institution that is recognized by the Association, with a minimum of 900 hours of education in Massage Therapy (MT only)
• Be enrolled in a Manual Osteopathic Therapy program that is recognized by the Association, with a minimum of 1000 hours of post secondary education in Manual Osteopathic Therapy (MOT only)
• Provide a Vulnerable Sector Check completed within 90 days of application date if obtaining insurance through the Association’s broker
• Obtain Insurance coverage through the post-secondary institution or the Association’s broker, or an alternative broker if so required
• Shall not hold membership in any other Manual Osteopathic Therapist Association, as defined above (MOT only)
• Shall reside within a Province or Territory of Canada
• Proof that our English Fluency Policy is met (as required)
• Provide proof of Canadian Citizenship, or Permanent Residency in Canada, or a valid Work Permit permitting the practice of Massage Therapy, or a valid study permit and a valid visitor visa (temporary resident visa) or an electronic travel authorization
• Provide a current letter of good standing if previously registered with another Association or Regulatory College

Requirements:

To become an associate member of the Association the following qualifications must be met:

• Completed a minimum of 900 hours of education from a Massage Therapy program at a post-secondary institution that is recognized by the Association
• Enrolled in a second year of education from a Massage Therapy program at a post-secondary institution that is recognized by the Association, with a minimum of 1100 hours of education in Massage Therapy and a minimum cumulative total of 2200 hours of post-secondary education upon graduation
• Provide a Vulnerable Sector Check completed within 90 days of applying. Online checks are not acceptable unless completed through a recognized police service
• Obtain insurance coverage through the Association’s broker, or an alternative broker if so required
• Shall not hold membership in any other Massage Therapist Association, as defined above
• Proof that our English Fluency Policy is met (as required)
• Shall reside within a Province or Territory of Canada
• Provide proof of Canadian Citizenship, or Permanent Residency in Canada, or a valid Work Permit permitting the practice of Massage Therapy
• Provide a current letter of good standing if previously registered with another Association or Regulatory College

Requirements:

To become a Full Massage Therapist member of the Association the following qualifications must be met:

• Graduated from a Massage Therapy program that is recognized by the Association, with a minimum of 2200 hours of post-secondary education in Massage Therapy
• Submit proof of a valid certification in Standard First Aid and Level C CPR issued within the past 3 years. Online courses are not acceptable.
• Provide a Vulnerable Sector Check completed within 90 days of applying. Online checks are not acceptable unless completed through a recognized police service.
• Obtain insurance coverage through the Association’s broker, or an alternative broker if so required
• Shall not hold membership in any other Massage Therapist Association, as defined above
• Shall work within an unregulated Province or Territory of Canada
• Proof that our English Fluency Policy is met (as required)
• Provide proof of Canadian Citizenship, or Permanent Residency in Canada, or a valid Work Permit permitting the practice of Massage Therapy
• Provide a current letter of good standing if previously registered with another Association or Regulatory College

Requirements:

To become a Spa Therapist member of the Association the following qualifications must be met:

• Graduated from a Massage Therapy program that is recognized by the Association, with a minimum of 2200 hours of post-secondary education in Massage Therapy
• Submit proof of a valid certification in Standard First Aid and Level C CPR issued within the past 3 years. Online courses are not acceptable.
• Provide a Vulnerable Sector Check completed within 90 days of applying. Online checks are not acceptable unless completed through a recognized police service.
• Obtain insurance coverage through the Association’s broker, or an alternative broker if so required
• Shall not hold membership in any other Massage Therapist Association, as defined above
• Shall not hold membership in a provincially legislated College of Massage Therapy within the jurisdiction in which they practice.
• Shall reside and practice within one of the following regulated Provinces of Canada: British Columbia, Ontario, or Prince Edward Island
• Proof that our English Fluency Policy is met (as required)
• Provide proof of Canadian Citizenship, or Permanent Residency in Canada, or a valid Work Permit permitting the practice of Massage Therapy
• Provide a current letter of good standing if previously registered with another Association or Regulatory College

Requirements:

To become a Registered Massage Therapist member of the Association the following qualifications must be met:

• Provide proof of active membership in good standing with the provincially legislated College of Massage Therapy within the jurisdiction in which they practice
• Submit proof of a valid certification in Standard First Aid and Level C CPR issued within the past 3 years. Online courses are not acceptable.
• Provide a Vulnerable Sector Check completed within 90 days of applying. Online checks are not acceptable unless completed through a recognized police service.
• Obtain insurance coverage through the Association’s broker, or an alternative broker if so required
• Shall not hold membership in any other Massage Therapist Association, as defined above
• Shall practice within a regulated Province or Territory of Canada
• Proof that our English Fluency Policy is met (as required)
• Provide proof of Canadian Citizenship, or Permanent Residency in Canada, or a valid Work Permit permitting the practice of Massage Therapy
• Provide a current letter of good standing if previously registered with another Association or Regulatory College

Requirements:

To become a full member of the Association the following qualifications must be met:

• Graduated from a Manual Osteopathic Therapy program that is recognized by the Association, with a minimum of 1000 hours of post-secondary education in Manual Osteopathic Therapy
• Submit proof of a valid certification in Standard First Aid and Level C CPR issued within the past 3 years. Online courses are not acceptable
• Provide a Vulnerable Sector Check completed within 90 days of applying. Online checks are not acceptable unless completed through a recognized police service
• Obtain insurance coverage through the Association’s broker, or an alternative broker if so required
• Shall not hold membership in any other Manual Osteopathic Therapists Association, as defined above
• Proof that our English Fluency Policy is met (as required)
• Provide proof of Canadian Citizenship, or Permanent Residency in Canada, or a valid Work Permit permitting the practice of Manual Osteopathic Therapy
• Provide a current letter of good standing if previously registered with another Association or Regulatory College

Requirements:

To become an inactive member of the Association the following qualifications must be met:

• Has previously completed the qualifications to be a Full Massage Therapist Member, or a Full Manual Osteopathic Therapist Member, or a Registered Massage Therapist Member, or a Spa Therapist Member.
• Is not currently practicing as a Full Massage Therapist, Registered Massage Therapist or Spa Therapist (MT.RMT.ST Only).
• Is not currently practicing as a Manual Osteopathic Therapist (MOT Only).
• Does not hold membership in any other Massage Therapist Association (MT, RMT, ST Only)
• Does not hold membership in any other Manual Osteopathic Therapist Association (MOT Only)

Requirements:

To become an emeritus member of the Association the following qualifications must be met:

• Be a graduate of a recognized program in either Massage Therapy or Manual Osteopathic Therapy
• Has Retired from the Profession(s) and is no longer a practicing massage therapist or manual osteopathic therapist.
• Was a member in good standing with the Association for a minimum of 10 years
• Does not hold membership in any other Massage Therapist Association or Manual Osteopathic Therapists Association.