How to Create a Massage Informed Consent and Intake Form for Solo Massage Therapists (with Free Template)
This guide walks a solo Licensed Massage Therapist or independent bodyworker through the ten substantive steps of building a massage informed consent and intake form that holds up under state-board review, captures the contraindications screening that keeps the client safe, and produces a tamper-evident audit trail on every signature. Each step is one paragraph of working guidance. Estimated time end-to-end: 30 minutes from blank document to signed PDF when using an AI form builder. Formfy is the AI form builder solo LMTs use; the same builder produces the consent and intake form, captures the e-signature, and links to your booking calendar in a single client touchpoint.
Before you start, gather four pieces of information: (1) your state license title and number plus the issuing board contact, (2) your draping protocol and sexual misconduct policy as written in your practice manual, (3) your cancellation and fee policy, and (4) the contraindications screening list aligned with your training. With those inputs, the substantive drafting takes under 30 minutes. Without them, the consent cannot be drafted because the scope and intake-screening clauses cannot be filled in.
Step 1: Identify the scope of practice under your state license
Begin by stating the scope of practice your state license authorizes. Massage therapy licensure is regulated state by state, with most states using the Federation of State Massage Therapy Boards (FSMTB) MBLEx exam as the licensure exam. State licenses use varying titles: LMT (Licensed Massage Therapist), LMP (Licensed Massage Practitioner in Washington), or CMT (Certified Massage Therapist in California, which is a state title not a license per se). The consent form should name the practitioner license title, license number, issuing state board, and any specialty designations such as NCBTMB Board Certification or perinatal specialty. State scope clearly: massage therapy is a hands-on soft-tissue manipulation modality and does not include diagnosis, prescription, joint manipulation reserved to chiropractors, or any practice reserved to medical or nursing licenses. Naming scope here protects you from later claims that exceeded boundaries.
Step 2: Build the intake health history (medications, contraindications, surgeries, injuries, allergies, pregnancy)
The intake health history is where most malpractice exposure is created or eliminated. Capture the standard health-screening elements: current medications (including blood thinners, opioids, muscle relaxers, blood pressure medications), known contraindications (recent infections, fever, contagious skin conditions, deep vein thrombosis history, uncontrolled hypertension), recent surgeries within the last twelve months (specify location and date), prior injuries with current symptoms, allergies (especially to lotion, oil, essential oil, or latex), pregnancy status with gestational week if applicable, autoimmune conditions, cardiovascular conditions, cancer history (some oncology guidance restricts deep work), and any current treatment with a physician or physical therapist. Add a free-text field for the client to describe current concerns and goals for the session. Update the intake at every session; bodies and conditions change.
Step 3: Document AMTA Code of Ethics and NCBTMB Standards of Practice acknowledgment
Reference both governing ethical frameworks in the consent. The American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) Code of Ethics commits practitioners to honesty, integrity, professional boundaries, confidentiality, and a non-discrimination posture. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) Standards of Practice define six standard areas: I Professionalism, II Legal and Ethical Requirements, III Confidentiality, IV Business Practices, V Roles and Boundaries, and VI Prevention of Sexual Misconduct. The consent form should state that the practitioner abides by both frameworks, name them by reference, and capture the client acknowledgment of receipt of the practice policies. Solo LMTs without NCBTMB Board Certification can still reference the Standards of Practice as a baseline; they apply broadly across the profession.
Step 4: Disclose draping protocol per state licensing rules
Draping is a state-licensing-board issue. Most state boards require continuous draping of the genitals and (for clients identified as women) the breasts at all times during the session, with only the area being worked exposed and re-draped immediately. The consent form must disclose the draping protocol so the client understands the standard before disrobing. State explicitly: the client may remain partially or fully clothed if preferred, the client may stop the session at any time, the practitioner steps out of the room while the client undresses and dresses, the client is draped continuously with only the worked area uncovered, and the practitioner does not work under the drape. State variations exist; California Business and Professions Code Section 4609 and similar statutes in most states criminalize improper exposure. Naming the protocol here both informs the client and documents the standard the practitioner committed to.
Step 5: State the sexual misconduct policy (NCBTMB Standard III.J and state criminal codes)
The sexual misconduct policy is non-negotiable. NCBTMB Standards of Practice Standard VI prohibits sexual contact, sexual harassment, and sexual exploitation under any circumstance and requires immediate termination of the therapeutic relationship if either party initiates sexual conduct. State criminal codes in every state make sexual contact during a massage a criminal offense; California Penal Code Section 647 and equivalents in other states impose criminal penalties on practitioners who engage in such contact. The consent form should state plainly: no sexual contact of any kind is permitted during the session, the practitioner will end the session immediately if sexual conduct is initiated by either party, the practitioner reports sexual misconduct allegations to the state licensing board, and the client may report concerns to the state board at any time. Provide the state board reporting URL or phone number in the form.
Step 6: Capture pressure-and-comfort consent (light or medium or deep, lotion vs oil, areas to avoid)
Pressure preferences and modality choices are clinical decisions that the client controls. Capture the clients preferred pressure level (light, medium, deep, varied across the session), preferred lubricant (lotion, oil, or none), known allergies to specific products, scent preferences (unscented, essential oil acceptable, no scent), and a list of areas the client wants worked or avoided (head, face, scalp, abdomen, glutes, feet, hands). Some clients have body-image or trauma-history reasons to restrict certain areas; the form provides a written record that these were discussed and agreed. The practitioner reaffirms verbally before each session that the preferences from the form still apply or have changed. The client retains the right to update pressure or restrict areas during the session at any time. Document the conversation in the session notes after the session.
Step 7: Set the cancellation, no-show, and fee structure
Cancellation and no-show policies prevent revenue loss and set expectations. Standard solo-LMT cancellation windows: 24 hours notice for free cancellation, 50 percent fee for less than 24 hours notice, full fee for no-show. Some practitioners use a stricter 48-hour window; some use a more lenient same-day-rescheduling policy. State the policy in writing in the consent. State the fee structure: per-session rate, package rate, mobile-visit rate if applicable, and out-of-pocket pass-through for travel or specialty supplies. State the payment methods accepted (cash, card, venmo, HSA or FSA card). State the deposit policy if a deposit is required to book. State the rescheduling rules: how many reschedules are permitted, when the cancellation fee applies, and whether late arrivals are accommodated or count as no-shows. A clear policy reduces friction at billing.
Step 8: Photo or imaging consent (if you take before-and-after photos for treatment notes)
If you take photos as part of treatment documentation (before-and-after photos for postural work, scar tissue tracking, or progress documentation), the consent must include a photo and imaging clause. State the purpose of the photos (treatment notes, progress tracking, internal documentation), the storage location (secure encrypted storage, password protected, retention period), the access rights (only the practitioner views unless the client authorizes additional access), and the disclosure rules (photos are not used for marketing without separate written consent). Capture a separate signature for the photo consent so the client can opt in or out without affecting the consent for the massage itself. If you do not take photos, state that in the consent form so there is no ambiguity. Most solo LMTs do not photograph; the clause is necessary only if you do.
Step 9: Termination and referral policy
State the conditions under which the practitioner ends the therapeutic relationship and the referral process. Standard termination triggers: the client requires care outside the practitioners scope of practice (medical, chiropractic, psychotherapy), the client violates the sexual misconduct policy, the client is consistently no-show or non-compliant with payment terms, the client requires specialty bodywork the practitioner is not trained in, or the practitioner relocates or closes the practice. State the referral process: the practitioner provides at least three names of qualified practitioners or professionals when terminating, completes any session scheduled and prepaid, returns any package balance per the package policy, and transfers session notes to the new practitioner with written authorization from the client. AMTA Code of Ethics requires referral when scope is exceeded; document that posture in the consent.
Step 10: Sign and store with audit trail (digital signature with timestamp)
Use an e-signature workflow that produces a tamper-evident audit trail with timestamp, IP address, and consent to electronic records. The federal ESIGN Act (15 USC 7001) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) adopted in 49 states make e-signed consents legally equivalent to wet-ink signatures for healthcare-adjacent practice agreements. Store the signed consent in a system that lets you retrieve it on 24-hour notice if a state board investigator, malpractice carrier, or auditor asks. Formfy, DocuSign, Adobe Acrobat Sign, and Dropbox Sign all meet this evidentiary bar. The audit trail should include: signer name, signer email, IP address, timestamp, document hash, and consent text. Solo LMTs operating outside formal HIPAA-covered status still benefit from secure storage; treat client intake records with the same encryption posture even when HIPAA technically does not apply.
Free template and downloadable PDF
Formfy ships a massage informed consent and intake template that maps one-to-one to the ten steps in this guide. The template is editable in the AI form builder: describe the practice in plain English and the builder returns a delivery-ready consent and intake form with the e-signature block and an optional deposit payment field. The PDF version is generated automatically when the client signs and stored alongside the audit trail.
See also: /faq/solo-massage-therapists-massage-informed-consent for the FAQ companion hub covering 17 of the most common solo-LMT consent and intake questions.
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Start your free trialLast verified: 2026-04-25. This page is informational; it is not legal advice. Solo LMTs should review state-board-specific requirements with the issuing board and practice-specific liability questions with counsel.