(1) An application for licensure as a massage therapist must be considered nonroutine in nature requiring board review and approval prior to issuance of the license if the application discloses:

(a) a total of three or more currently pending charges or past convictions of misdemeanor crimes related to the practice of massage therapy or involving violence, use or sale of drugs, fraud, deceit, or theft if the applicant was sentenced for the past convictions within the five years before the board received the application;

(b) a pending charge of any felony crime or a past conviction of any felony crime for which the applicant was either sentenced within the ten years before the date the board received the application or for which the sentence has not been fully satisfied and discharged;

(c) a pending charge of any crime or a past conviction of any crime relating to sex;

(d) that any professional license held by the applicant was disciplined or was voluntarily surrendered in another state or jurisdiction, or that the applicant's massage therapy license was denied in another state or jurisdiction;

(e) that the applicant's education program does not clearly meet the board's requirements;

(f) that the applicant passed a licensing examination other than MBLEx, NCETMB, NESL, or NCETM;

(g) that the applicant has been a respondent in a complaint for unlicensed practice of massage therapy that led to a cease and desist letter or an injunctive action; or

(h) any substantive irregularity deemed by department staff to warrant board review and approval prior to issuance of the license.

(2) Any disposition in a criminal case other than acquittal will be deemed a "conviction" for purposes of this rule without regard to the nature of the plea or whether the applicant received a suspended or deferred sentence.