Virginia has already enacted the Interstate Massage Compact and remains an important leader in advancing safe, accountable license mobility for the massage therapy profession.
On March 21, 2025, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed the Interstate Massage Compact into law, making the Commonwealth the 4th state to adopt this groundbreaking multistate licensure pathway. The legislation was sponsored by Jackie Hope Glass, whose leadership and commitment to public protection helped move the bill forward with strong bipartisan support.
Virginia’s adoption of IMpact represents a clear commitment to:
With this law in place, licensed massage therapists in Virginia are one step closer to practicing across participating states without repeated, costly, or time-consuming relicensure processes. The compact will become active once seven states have enacted it.
Despite Virginia’s successful adoption of IMpact, amendments are now being proposed during the 2026 legislative session that would substantially alter the compact language Virginia enacted. These amendments, introduced through HB579, are being advanced in connection with an alternative compact framework supported by the American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) in spite of 97% of their members supporting IMpact.
These proposed amendments undermine the original IMpact language passed by Virginia, create confusion for regulators, legislators, and the profession, and weaken the uniform, public-protection-focused framework that states agreed to adopt.
📢 Virginia massage therapists are encouraged to take action now:
Virginia has already said yes to IMpact. Now is the time to protect that decision and ensure the Commonwealth remains aligned with the original, regulator-led compact designed to strengthen public safety and professional mobility nationwide.
