Becoming a funeral director in the United States means satisfying funeral director licensing requirements set by the state where you intend to practice: a degree from an accredited mortuary science program, a supervised apprenticeship, passage of the National Board Examination, and in most states a separate jurisprudence exam on local funeral service law. Once issued, the license has to be renewed on a recurring cycle with continuing education, and it carries ongoing federal and state compliance obligations that keep applying for as long as you practice.
The Degree That Starts the Clock
Formal education comes first. The credential has to come from a program accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education, which currently accredits 58 programs nationwide offering either an associate or a bachelor’s degree in mortuary science or funeral service education.1American Board of Funeral Service Education. Accredited Programs of Funeral Service – ABFSE Directory The associate degree is the common entry point. Some states require a bachelor’s degree or additional college coursework beyond the mortuary science program itself.2American Board of Funeral Service Education. Frequently Asked Questions
Coursework splits between the sciences and the arts. On the science side: embalming, anatomy, microbiology, pathology, and chemistry. On the arts side: funeral arranging, grief counseling, funeral service law, business management, and the cultural and sociological dimensions of death rituals. Restorative art sits between the two. Both halves show up on the national exam later, so a graduate who coasted through one section usually feels it on test day.
Apprenticeship or Residency
A degree alone will not get you licensed. Every state layers a supervised apprenticeship or residency on top, typically running one to three years depending on the jurisdiction and whether you hold a mortuary science degree. Graduates of accredited programs often qualify for a shorter period.3O*NET OnLine. License – Funeral Director Apprentice A licensed funeral director has to supervise you directly throughout.
During the apprenticeship you prepare remains, meet with families, and work the operational side of the funeral home. States also set case minimums. These typically range from 25 to 100 embalmings or directed funerals, depending on the license type and the state. The supervising director signs off on each case report. Those signed reports are what the licensing board eventually reviews, so losing or sloppily documenting them creates real problems at application time.
Director License, Embalmer License, or Both
One decision shapes the rest of the process. In some states, funeral directing and embalming are covered by a single combined license. In others, the two are separate credentials with different coursework emphases, different exam sections, and different case report requirements.
Where the licenses are split, a funeral director credential leans on the arts section of the National Board Exam, case reports for directing funerals, and the arrangement and coordination side of the work. An embalmer credential leans on the science section, documented embalming cases, and technical preservation skills. If you want to do both in a split-license state, you satisfy both tracks, which usually means both exam sections and a higher total case count. Decide early. Switching tracks partway through can add months because the case documentation does not transfer cleanly between them.
Passing the Exams
The core credentialing exam is the National Board Examination, administered by the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards.4The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards. National Board Exam It has two sections. Arts covers funeral arranging, business management, counseling, ethics, and the history and sociology of funeral service. Sciences covers embalming, restorative art, microbiology, pathology, chemistry, and anatomy. Your license type determines whether you take one section or both.
Most states also require a separate jurisprudence exam on that state’s funeral service laws, regulations, and ethics codes. The jurisprudence exam covers things like how quickly a death certificate must be filed, when embalming consent is needed, and what paperwork a cremation requires in that state. Passing the NBE but not the state exam leaves you unlicensed. The two scores are independent, but you need both.
Submitting the License Application
Once the degree, apprenticeship, and exams are behind you, the actual license application goes to the state funeral service licensing board. Applications are handled through online portals or by mail. The board will want official transcripts sent directly from your accredited program, certified apprenticeship case reports signed by your supervisor, identification documents, and your NBE score report.
Application fees generally fall between $100 and $600 depending on the state. The board runs a background check, which includes a fingerprinting appointment with an approved vendor. If your paperwork is complete and your background check comes back clean, processing typically runs four to eight weeks. Once the board approves you, it issues a license number and physical certificate that has to be displayed at your place of employment.
Keeping the License Active
A funeral director’s license is not permanent. States renew on a one-year or two-year cycle, and renewal requires proof of continuing education credits. CE hours range from roughly 6 to 24 per renewal period. Approved coursework usually has to cover a mix of mortuary science updates, ethics, business practices, and changes in state and federal funeral service law.
Missing a renewal deadline lapses the license. A lapsed license means you cannot legally direct funerals or handle remains until it is reinstated, and reinstatement generally involves late fees plus making up any delinquent CE credits. Setting a calendar reminder well ahead of the renewal date is the simple fix.
Moving Your License to Another State
There is no national licensing compact for funeral service. Each state writes its own reciprocity or endorsement rules, and transferring a license across state lines is possible but rarely automatic. Some states grant a license by endorsement if you already hold a current license elsewhere, passed the NBE, and meet their education and experience thresholds. Others require you to pass their state jurisprudence exam, complete additional apprenticeship hours, or both.
A handful of states offer very limited reciprocity or none, which in practice means starting the process over. Call the destination state’s board before you move. The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards also maintains regulatory information for each state that is useful for comparing requirements.
Federal Rules the License Pulls You Under
Holding the license puts you under the FTC Funeral Rule, which governs funeral home consumer protections and applies to both at-need and pre-need arrangements. The anchor requirement is the General Price List. Funeral homes have to give consumers an itemized GPL disclosing the cost of every service and product, and it has to be provided before showing caskets or other merchandise. Consumers can pick and choose. You cannot condition one purchase on another, apart from a basic services fee and anything required by law.5Federal Trade Commission. Complying with the Funeral Rule
Two provisions catch licensees out more than any others. You must accept caskets purchased from third-party sellers, and you cannot charge a handling fee for doing so.5Federal Trade Commission. Complying with the Funeral Rule And federal law does not require embalming under any circumstances, so telling a family that embalming is legally required is a violation unless a specific state or local law actually mandates it for the situation at hand.
Pre-Need Contracts
If you sell pre-need contracts, the Funeral Rule applies both when the contract is signed and again after death.5Federal Trade Commission. Complying with the Funeral Rule State law adds a second layer. In most states, pre-paid funds have to go into a regulated trust or be used to buy an insurance policy, and the trustee cannot release funds to the funeral home until the services and merchandise have actually been provided. State law dictates the percentage that must be trusted, the permissible investments, and whether the contract is revocable.6Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. OTS Trust Handbook – Pre-Need Funeral and Cemetery Trusts Mishandling pre-need funds exposes a licensee to state regulatory action and potentially criminal fraud charges.
OSHA Standards in the Preparation Room
Preparation rooms are regulated workplaces. Formaldehyde, the primary chemical in embalming fluid, is a known carcinogen. OSHA’s formaldehyde standard caps employee exposure at 0.75 parts per million as an eight-hour time-weighted average, with a short-term ceiling of 2 ppm over any 15-minute period.7Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Formaldehyde Employers have to monitor exposure, and preparation rooms need ventilation capable of exchanging room air with outside air at least 12 times per hour.
The bloodborne pathogens standard runs parallel. Employers must offer the Hepatitis B vaccine, at no cost, to all employees with occupational exposure within 10 working days of initial assignment. Employees can decline in writing, but the offer has to be made and documented. Personal protective equipment, including gloves, masks, eye protection, and gowns, has to be provided at no cost and in appropriate sizes, with surgical caps and shoe covers added when gross contamination is anticipated.8Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Bloodborne Pathogens Owners carry primary compliance responsibility, but a director running the preparation room needs to recognize when the workplace falls short.
What a Violation Costs
Enforcement comes from more than one direction. State licensing boards can suspend or revoke a license for anything from practicing with a lapsed credential to mishandling remains or defrauding consumers. Family complaints drive many of these cases.
On the federal side, FTC Funeral Rule violations carry civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation, a figure the FTC adjusts periodically for inflation.5Federal Trade Commission. Complying with the Funeral Rule Each missing General Price List, each misrepresentation about embalming requirements, and each refusal to accept a third-party casket counts separately. Converting pre-need trust funds into operating revenue has drawn criminal theft prosecutions in several states. Practicing without a valid license is itself a criminal offense in most jurisdictions, typically a misdemeanor with fines and potential jail time. A single pattern of misconduct can produce simultaneous action from the licensing board, the FTC, and a state attorney general, so compliance is less about any one rule than about staying inside all of them at once.