Do You Need a License for Reiki in New Jersey?

The board has said yes for Reiki-only practice, though no statute or rule names Reiki. New Jersey defines massage and bodywork as systems of structured touch, and the board's rule adds structured touch of the soft tissues that affects energy fields of the body. The statute's exemptions do not name Reiki or energy work. The nearest one covers touch, words and directed movement to deepen awareness of movement patterns, if the work is not called massage or bodywork and the client is fully clothed.

On September 26, 2012, the board agreed to tell a Reiki Master that if he practiced solely Reiki he did not need a massage and bodywork license, and ABMP reported it was reconfirmed in 2013. That reply was given under the same energy fields wording in force today. No later statement confirming or withdrawing it was found, and energy work exemption bills from 2014 were not enacted.

Yes. The massage definition requires structured touch, so no-touch and distance energy work fall outside it. No New Jersey law names hands-off energy work.

This guide did not review the medical practice act in depth, so describe your sessions in terms of relaxation, balance and well-being.

No. The statute has no payment element, and the rule's definition refers to touch offered or provided to the public, which does not depend on being paid.

New Jersey's title rule is unusually wide. Without a license you may not use any title or designation that includes massage, bodywork, masseur, masseuse, shiatsu, acupressure, amma, tuina, chi nei tsang, nuad bo'rarn, polarity educator, polarity therapist, polarity therapy or polarity practitioner, or abbreviations such as LMT, CMT, MBT, ABT or RPP.

Polarity practitioners in particular cannot use the word polarity without a license. Call your work Reiki, and describe it in terms of relaxation, balance and well-being.

Yes. Many New Jersey municipalities have their own massage and bodywork establishment ordinances, Kinnelon among them in 2026. Check your town's code before you open a practice space.

Write to the New Jersey Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy. Its FAQ page does not mention Reiki or energy work, and its only recorded position on Reiki is the 2012 reply to one practitioner, which gave no reasons. A written answer about your own practice is the clearest record you can have.