MBLEx Practice Test: Free Massage Therapy Licensing Exam Questions

250 practice questions for the MBLEx (Massage & Bodywork Licensing Examination), the licensing exam most US states use for massage therapists. They follow the MBLEx Content Outline, weighted the way the real exam is: Client Assessment, Reassessment and Treatment Planning (17%), Ethics, Boundaries, Laws and Regulations (16%), Benefits and Effects of Soft Tissue Manipulation (15%), Guidelines for Professional Practice (15%), Pathology, Contraindications, Areas of Caution and Special Populations (14%), Kinesiology (12%) and Anatomy and Physiology (11%). Many are moments from the treatment room: the warm, swollen calf after a long flight, the third-trimester client who feels dizzy on her back, the friend who wants to become a regular. Each is tagged to its outline topic, so your score report shows exactly where you miss, and every answer explains why the best choice is best and names its public source.

The real test: 100 multiple-choice questions in 110 minutes at a Pearson VUE test center, in English or Spanish, and you must answer all 100 in time. Results are pass or fail; the FSMTB publishes no passing number. It covers 7 content areas, with client assessment and treatment planning the largest at 17%. Our practice test is full length, 100 questions in 110 minutes, split by the content areas like the outline, passing at 70% (70 of 100).

Here: 250 questions. Our own practice questions, built on the MBLEx Content Outline and the 2026 MBLEx Candidate Handbook and written from public sources (OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology, NIH MedlinePlus, CDC, OSHA, HHS, the FSMTB Model Practice Act, the NCBTMB and AMTA codes and standard massage therapy texts), with every answer's source named. Topics are the outline's 7 content areas. Not FSMTB's test questions. Free.

What's on the test

"On the test" is the rough share of a 100-question test for each topic, following the exam's published weights.

10 sample questions

1. Which layer of the skin holds the blood vessels, nerve endings, hair follicles and sweat glands?

   • A.Dermis
   • B.Stratum corneum
   • C.Hypodermis, the fatty layer that anchors skin to muscle
   • D.Epidermis
   Show answer

   A. Dermis

   MB-1 · 1. Anatomy and Physiology

2. What is the smallest contracting unit of a muscle fiber?

   • A.Epimysium
   • B.Sarcomere
   • C.Fascicle
   • D.Myofibril
   Show answer

   B. Sarcomere

   MB-29 · 2. Kinesiology

3. Which condition is an autoimmune disease that attacks the lining of the joints, often in both hands at once?

   • A.Bursitis from repetitive kneeling
   • B.Gout
   • C.Rheumatoid arthritis
   • D.Osteoarthritis
   Show answer

   C. Rheumatoid arthritis

   MB-59 · 3. Pathology, Contraindications, Areas of Caution, Special Populations

4. Which change is a common physiological effect of a relaxing Swedish massage?

   • A.Higher cortisol that lasts into the next day
   • B.Lower heart rate
   • C.Faster breathing
   • D.Higher blood pressure for several hours
   Show answer

   B. Lower heart rate

   MB-94 · 4. Benefits and Effects of Soft Tissue Manipulation

5. When should the health history intake be completed?

   • A.At the third visit, once trust is built with the client
   • B.Before the first session begins
   • C.After the first session
   • D.Only if the client has a medical condition
   Show answer

   B. Before the first session begins

   MB-131 · 5. Client Assessment, Reassessment and Treatment Planning

6. A therapist realizes a client's condition is beyond their training. What is the ethical choice?

   • A.Try new techniques from a video
   • B.Tell the client the condition is not real so they stop worrying
   • C.Keep treating so the client doesn't leave
   • D.Refer the client to an appropriate provider
   Show answer

   D. Refer the client to an appropriate provider

   MB-173 · 6. Ethics, Boundaries, Laws and Regulations

7. How high should a massage table usually be set for general Swedish work?

   • A.As high as the therapist's chest
   • B.At the height of the therapist's elbows for every technique
   • C.About the height of the therapist's knuckles or fingertips with arms at their sides
   • D.As low as it will go
   Show answer

   C. About the height of the therapist's knuckles or fingertips with arms at their sides

   MB-213 · 7. Guidelines for Professional Practice

8. Into which vessel does the thoracic duct empty most of the body's lymph?

   • A.The left subclavian vein, near the left internal jugular
   • B.The right subclavian vein, which drains the left leg and abdomen
   • C.The right atrium of the heart
   • D.The inferior vena cava below the kidneys
   Show answer

   A. The left subclavian vein, near the left internal jugular

   MB-2 · 1. Anatomy and Physiology

9. Which connective tissue layer wraps an entire muscle?

   • A.Epimysium
   • B.Perimysium
   • C.Endomysium
   • D.Periosteum, the wrap that blends into the tendon
   Show answer

   A. Epimysium

   MB-30 · 2. Kinesiology

10. Carpal tunnel syndrome compresses which nerve?

    • A.Radial nerve
    • B.Musculocutaneous nerve
    • C.Ulnar nerve
    • D.Median nerve
    Show answer

    D. Median nerve

    MB-60 · 3. Pathology, Contraindications, Areas of Caution, Special Populations

What the study guide does

• Short study rounds and flip cards.
• A practice test built like the real one: 100 questions, 70 to pass.
• Pass Meter: your chance of passing if you sat the test today, worked out from your own answers.
• An explanation for every answer.