Massage intake forms: what to ask and why
5 min read . Updated 18 August 2026
A good intake form finds the things that change your treatment plan without turning into a medical questionnaire. What to include, what to leave out, and where the professional boundary sits.
In short
Ask what changes your treatment: recent surgery or injury, blood pressure, blood thinners, pregnancy, skin conditions and areas to avoid. Consent to touch belongs in writing. Diagnosis does not belong anywhere.
Ask what changes the session
An intake form is not a medical history for its own sake. Every question should earn its place by changing something you would otherwise do - the pressure, the position, an area you avoid, or whether you treat at all today.
That test keeps the form short, which is the difference between a client answering carefully and a client tapping through it.
- Recent surgery or injury, and how recent
- Blood pressure, high or low
- Blood thinners or daily aspirin
- Pregnancy, and which trimester
- Diabetes, and whether neuropathy is present
- Skin conditions, open wounds or recent tattoos
- Areas they do not want worked on
Consent to touch, in writing
Massage is the treatment in this category where consent is most obviously about the body rather than the outcome, and it is worth stating explicitly.
Useful consent wording covers what the treatment involves, draping, that the client may ask you to stop or adjust at any point without explanation, and that they may end the session entirely.
Writing that down protects both parties. It sets a norm that speaking up is expected rather than awkward.
Where the boundary is
An intake form should not read as though you are diagnosing. You are gathering what you need to work safely, not forming a clinical opinion, and wording that implies otherwise creates an expectation you do not want.
Two things to leave out unless you specifically need them: anything framed as clinical assessment, and detail collected because it is interesting rather than because it changes the session.
If a client discloses something that needs medical attention, the right move is to say so and refer, and to note that you did.
Before the appointment, not on the table
Ten minutes of paperwork out of a sixty minute booking is a tenth of what the client paid for, and they notice.
Sending the intake with the booking confirmation means you read it before they arrive, the session starts on time, and a client with recent surgery is something you knew rather than something you discover.
Common questions
Do I need a new intake form for every visit?
Not a full one, but a short check for anything that has changed. Injuries and medications change between appointments, and that is exactly what you need to know.
Should a massage intake include SOAP notes?
They are different documents with different purposes. Intake is what the client tells you before treatment; SOAP notes are your clinical record afterwards.
Is a massage intake form covered by HIPAA?
Generally not, unless you are a covered entity billing insurance. For most independent therapists these are business records. Confirm your own position.
How do I handle a client who wants an area avoided but will not say why?
Record the request and honour it. You do not need a reason, and asking for one undermines the point of giving them the control.
This is general information for professionals, not legal or medical advice. Check the rules that apply where you work.