PHOENIX — State regulators and the Arizona Department of Public Safety told ABC15 on Tuesday that they have received approval from the FBI to start issuing fingerprint clearance cards to massage therapists.
Licenses for new therapists have been on hold for more than two months while the state awaited approval from the FBI.
Recent graduates of massage therapy schools complain the delay has kept them from working. The state has only been able to process license renewals since January 1.
“The only people more grateful that this issue has been resolved than the applicants is the state board licensing staff,” said Tom Augherton, executive director of the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy, the state agency that issues licenses.
The change comes less than two weeks after ABC15 first reported that new licenses were being held up because of bureaucratic red tape.
The hold on new licenses happened after a new state law that requires massage therapists to obtain fingerprint clearance cards. The fingerprint clearance cards provide for more thorough criminal background checks.
But DPS, the agency that issues fingerprint-clearance cards, said it needed approval from the FBI before it could start issuing cards.
The FBI has still not answered questions from ABC15 about why there was a delay in approval.
Information on how to obtain fingerprint-clearance cards is available on the state Massage Board’s website.
