Free Massage Intake Form (Printable PDF, Fillable Online)
The time to find out a client has a history of blood clots, a nut-oil allergy or surgery last month is before they are face-down on the table, not after. Build a massage intake form that fits your practice below: choose the sections, add your details, then print it, save it as a PDF or download it for Word. Free, with nothing to sign up for. Or put it on your website so clients fill it in and sign it on their phone before they arrive.
Want this form in your inbox?
We'll email you a link that brings your form and settings back on any device.
In the print window choose “Save as PDF” as the printer. You can also type into the lines of the form above before printing; .
A general template, not medical or legal advice. Have it checked against your training, your insurer and your local rules. Nothing you type into the form is saved or sent anywhere.
Let clients fill in and sign this form online, before they arrive
Put your form on your website, your booking page or your Instagram bio. Clients fill it in on their phone, sign it with a finger and send you the PDF.
- No clipboard at the front desk: clients arrive with the form done, so the session starts on time.
- No monthly fee for an online intake app.
- Nothing stored on any server: the client's answers stay on their phone until they send you the PDF.
Adds an “Email it to your therapist” button for the client.
Match it to your brand.
Show the website code
Paste it into a Custom HTML block (WordPress), an Embed code element (Wix), a Code block (Squarespace) or a Custom liquid section (Shopify). Change a setting above? Copy the code again.
Quick answer: a massage intake form records who the client is, why they came and where it hurts, their health history and any condition that changes how you work, their allergies, medications and pressure preference, their consent to treatment, and their signed, dated agreement. For a client under the legal age, add the parent or guardian's details and signature. It is a general template, not medical or legal advice.
What a massage therapy intake form should include
Searching for a massage therapy intake form turns up a lot of documents that were written once, copied around and never checked against how a practice really works. A form is only useful if it asks what you need to know and the client understands what they sign. The one above starts with these sections, and you can switch most of them off:
- Client details. Name, date of birth, contact details, an emergency contact, and how they heard about you.
- Reason for the visit. The main concern, where it hurts or feels tight, how long it has been going on, previous massage experience, the pressure they prefer and any areas to avoid.
- Health history. A tick list of conditions that affect how you work, with a line for details and one for their doctor.
- Allergies, sensitivities and medications. Oils, lotions, nuts, fragrance, latex, plus anything they take.
- Insurance. Optional: payer, member ID and policyholder, for practices that bill insurance.
- Consent to treatment. That massage is for relaxation and wellness and does not replace medical care, that they can ask for less pressure or stop at any time, and that they will be draped.
- Cancellation and late arrival. The notice you need (24 hours to start with) and what happens if they are late.
- Privacy. One short paragraph on how their answers are used.
- Signatures. Client and therapist, each dated, plus a witness line if you use one, and an optional box for your own notes.
Use the "Your own wording" box for anything particular to your practice, like how package sessions expire. It prints as an "Additional terms" section just before the signatures.
Health history on a massage intake form: the fields to ask for
If you are putting together intake forms for massage therapy, the question is which health fields earn their place. These are the ones most practices include, and why:
| Field | Why therapists ask |
|---|---|
| High or low blood pressure, heart condition | Can affect pressure, positioning and how quickly the client should get up from the table. |
| Blood clots, varicose veins, blood thinners | Clotting issues are a reason therapists commonly modify the work or ask for medical clearance, and blood thinners can mean bruising. |
| Cancer, current or past | Many therapists want a note from the client's care team before working, depending on treatment and their own training. |
| Diabetes, numbness or tingling | Reduced sensation means a client may not feel when pressure is too much. |
| Osteoporosis, recent fracture | Fragile or healing bones and deep pressure do not mix. |
| Pregnancy | Positioning and pressure usually change, and some therapists need extra training or a note from the client's provider. |
| Recent surgery, injury or whiplash | Tells you which areas to avoid and whether the client should wait. |
| Skin condition, rash, open wound | Areas to work around, and a question of infection control for you and the next client. |
| Fever, cold or a contagious illness today | The usual reason to reschedule rather than treat. |
| Allergies: oils, nuts, fragrance, latex | A reaction on the table is a problem you can avoid by changing the oil, gloves or products. |
| Medications | Some, like muscle relaxants or painkillers, can mask how much pressure is too much. |
| Pressure preference and areas to avoid | Not medical, but it keeps the session on track and gives the client a voice from the start. |
You can type into any of these lines on screen before you print, which is handy for a form you pre-fill with the appointment details. The tool does not save what you type, and it does not capture signatures: clients sign the printed copy. Treat the list as a starting point; which conditions you accept, modify or decline depends on your training and local rules, and the form is there to find out, not to decide.
Massage intake form PDF: how to save or print it
- Choose the adult or minor form and the sections you want.
- Type in your practice name and details. They appear at the top of the form.
- Click Print / Save as PDF. In the print window, set the destination to "Save as PDF" and save the file.
- For a blank printable massage intake form, leave the client lines empty. To pre-fill one, type into the lines first.
- Want to change the wording by hand? Click Download Word and edit the file in Word or Google Docs.
Come back with the same settings every time using Copy settings link. The link stores your practice name and options, never anything typed into a client's lines.
New clients and returning clients: how often to fill it in
Most practices have a new client complete the whole form once. After that, a returning client usually confirms at each visit that nothing has changed, and repeats the form after a set period or whenever something does change: a pregnancy, a new medication, a surgery, an injury. A quick "anything new since last time?" at the start of a session catches most of it. If your insurer or licensing body sets its own rule, follow that.
Intake form for a minor: what changes for under-18s
Pick "Minor" in the tool and the title becomes "Client Under 18" (or whatever legal age you set). The form adds a parent or legal guardian block with name, relationship and contact details, consent wording signed by the parent or guardian, an optional signature for the minor, and a line that the parent or guardian stays in the room for the whole session, which you can switch off.
Check your local rules first. Whether you can treat a minor, at what age, and with what consent depends on where you work and on your employer or insurer. A signed form does not make a treatment allowed.
Intake form, consent and SOAP notes: how they fit together
The intake form is the first record for a new client: who they are, why they came, their health history and their consent. SOAP notes are the record of every session after it: what the client reported, what you found, your assessment and your plan. A good intake form makes the first SOAP note easier to write, because the pressure preference, the areas to avoid and the health flags are already on paper.
Keeping the answers where you can find them
A signed form in a folder is hard to use on a busy Thursday. OwnDesk Massage is practice software for the day after the form is signed. Each client record holds contact details, date of birth, pressure preference, focus areas, health history, contraindications and allergies, insurance payer and member ID, whether the intake form is signed and how they found you. Open a client's treatment history and the health alerts come first: allergies, contraindications and areas to avoid, ahead of the pain scores from every visit.
It also writes SOAP notes with pain before and after on a 0–10 scale, keeps a day schedule per therapist, and sells session packs and memberships, as a one-time payment. To be clear about what it does not do: it does not capture signatures (you sign the printed form on paper, or tick "Signed off" in the app), it has no online intake for clients, no online booking and no reminders, it keeps records on one computer with no cloud sync, and it is not a certified EHR. The signed paper copy stays in your own files.
Put an online massage intake form on your website
Most clients book from their phone, so let them do the paperwork from their phone too. Instead of a clipboard at the front desk, clients fill in the form before they arrive, sign it with a finger and send you the PDF. It costs nothing, and there is no monthly fee like an online intake app.
- Set up the form above: adult or minor, your practice details, the sections you want.
- In Let clients fill in and sign this form online, add the email where clients should send the signed form and pick your brand color.
- Click Copy code for your website and paste it into an HTML or embed block: Custom HTML in WordPress, Embed code in Wix, a Code block in Squarespace, a Custom liquid section in Shopify.
- No website, or no time to edit it? Click Copy link for clients and put the link on your booking page, in your Instagram bio or in the message that confirms the appointment.
What your client sees: your practice name at the top, the same sections as your printed form, a signature box and a Save as PDF button, plus an Email it to your therapist button if you added your email. The form checks that the name and signature are there before it saves. Answers and signatures stay on the client's device until they send the PDF: nothing is stored on a server by us. Check that your local rules and your insurer accept e-signed forms before you rely on them.
Add the form builder to a blog or directory
Frequently asked questions
Is this massage intake form free?
What should a massage intake form include?
What health history questions should a massage therapy intake form ask?
Which health conditions are contraindications for massage?
Do clients fill in the intake form every visit?
Is an intake form the same as a consent form?
Do I need a different form for a minor?
How do I save the massage intake form as a PDF?
Can clients fill in and sign the form online?
Can I put this intake form on my website?
Does using this form make my practice HIPAA compliant?
Does OwnDesk Massage store intake forms?
Keep health alerts in front of you at every session
OwnDesk Massage keeps each client's health history, contraindications, allergies and areas to avoid on their record, shows the alerts first in their treatment history, and writes your SOAP notes. Instant download, one payment, on your own computer.