In December 2024, CMMOTA updated its receipt issuance policy, splitting it into three separate policies based on professional designations.

This article aims to clear up confusion about when to issue receipts, what to include on them, and more, helping CMMOTA Members navigate the process with ease.

Here are the key clarifications that apply to all professional designations:

• Receipts must be issued under the name of the therapist who provided the treatment. If you are not the one who provided the service and receipts are written under your name, THIS IS CONSIDERED FRAUD, and you could be personally liable both criminally and civilly.

• Receipts should only be issued in the name of the person who received the service or product. If a client asks you to issue a receipt for someone else, the answer should always be NO. Doing so is fraud and professional misconduct.

• Dual designations: If you hold both massage therapy or spa therapy and manual osteopathic therapy designations, you cannot combine treatments on one receipt. Each treatment must be receipted separately:

o Massage therapy treatment: Use your CMMOTA RMT Member Number.

o Spa therapy treatment: Use your CMMOTA ST Member Number.

o Manual osteopathic therapy: Use your CMMOTA MOT Member Number.

At no point should a receipt include both RMT or ST and MOT numbers, or any other professional designations like Acupuncturist or Chiropractor.

Here are the key clarifications for Manual Osteopathic Therapists and Massage Therapists:

• Gift Certificates/Gift Cards: A receipt for the sale of a gift certificate or gift card should not include your CMMOTA membership number since no treatment has been provided. Sales of gift cards are not eligible for reimbursement under health insurance plans.

• Treatment Paid by Gift Certificate/Gift Card: If a treatment is paid for with a gift certificate or gift card, the receipt can include your CMMOTA membership number, but it must clearly state that the payment was made via gift certificate or gift card. These treatments cannot be submitted to health insurance companies for reimbursement by the therapist. If the client wishes to submit the receipt for reimbursement, inform them that reimbursement is not guaranteed.

• Non-listed Modalities: If you use a modality that is not listed in the Modalities List for your professional designation (RMT list click here – MOT list click here), the treatment should not be described as Manual Osteopathic Therapy or Massage Therapy, and your CMMOTA membership number should not be included on the receipt. Examples of this would be esthetics, iridology, yoga group instruction, etc.

• Additional Modalities as Stand-Alone Treatments: A stand-alone treatment is defined as when a modality listed under the additional modalities section is the ONLY modality or technique that is provided in the treatment session. If you use an additional modality as a stand-alone treatment, it should not be receipted as Massage Therapy or Manual Osteopathic Therapy. The receipt should not, if possible, include your membership number. For example, if you provide cupping as the only modality in a treatment session, it should be billed as Cupping Therapy, not as a massage treatment or manual osteopathic treatment.

• Product Sales: When selling products, the receipt should not, if possible, include your CMMOTA membership number. If the product is purchased with a treatment, two separate receipts must be issued—one for the treatment and one for the product.

The reason that receipt writing is so incredibly important, and why we have placed such a high importance on it as an Association is because we desire to protect our members from unknowingly committing an act of fraud. These guidelines help ensure accurate and proper receipt issuance for treatments and products. If as a therapist you ever have a question about this or any other aspect of clinical practice, we encourage you to reach out to the Association by contacting the office, either by phone (403)356-1160 or by email to info@cmmota.com.