Do You Need a License for Reiki in New York?

This is unclear. New York defines massage therapy as stroking, kneading, tapping and vibrating the muscles with the hands or vibrators to improve muscle tone and circulation. Read literally, still hand placements that do none of those things sit outside that wording.

However, the list of exempt persons has no entry for Reiki or energy work, and the Office of the Professions lists polarity therapy, acupressure, shiatsu, reflexology, craniosacral massage, amma and tui na as massage techniques. The state has published no guidance on Reiki itself. If you touch clients, keep it to light, still hand placement with no rubbing or pressure, or ask the State Board for Massage Therapy for written guidance.

Yes. The massage definition requires hands-on stroking, kneading, tapping or vibrating, so no-touch and distance work fall outside it. The medicine definition is broad, though. It covers diagnosing, treating, operating or prescribing for any disease, pain, injury, deformity or physical condition, so avoid saying you treat pain or any physical condition.

No. Only a licensed or authorized person may practice massage therapy in New York, and that rule has no payment element. The medicine definition has none either, so free sessions fall under the same rules as paid ones.

Only licensees may use the titles masseur, masseuse or massage therapist, and a business may not advertise massage services unless a licensed person performs them. The Office of the Professions adds that practitioners using general titles such as massage therapy or bodywork should be licensed massage therapists, so leave out bodywork as well.

Do not offer to diagnose, treat or prescribe for disease, pain, injury or physical conditions. Practicing a licensed profession without a license is a crime in New York.

Write to the State Board for Massage Therapy at the New York State Education Department's Office of the Professions. Describe exactly what you do, including whether and how you touch clients, and ask whether it falls within the practice of massage therapy.