Become a funeral director in California without embalming

What it takes, step by step

1. Be 18 or older with no disqualifying acts or crimes.

   Sources for step 1

   • Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7619
   • California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau

2. Hold an associate of arts or science degree, its equivalent, or a higher degree, in any field.

   Sources for step 2

   • Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7619
   • California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau

3. Apply to the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau ($190 application and exam fee, plus proof of Live Scan fingerprints) and pass the funeral director exam on signs of death, the laws on preparation, burial and disposal, and local health rules. The license costs $380, lasts one year, and renews for $380 a year.

   Sources for step 3

   • Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7622
   • California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau

4. Work for, or own, a licensed funeral establishment.

   Sources for step 4

   • California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau
   • Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7616.2

Does a funeral home need an embalmer?

No law read requires one. A funeral establishment must always employ a licensed funeral director as manager, and needs either a storage room for remains or a preparation room.

Licensed in another state?

No endorsement route is needed: the requirements are an associate degree and the exam, with no in-state training, so out-of-state applicants qualify the same way.

Good to know

• Embalmer is a separate license: two years' apprenticeship (supervised work in a funeral home; the state sets who supervises) assisting in at least 100 embalmings, an accredited mortuary-science program, and the NBE Sciences exam (the NBE, the national licensing exam set by The Conference (the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards), in two sections, Arts and Sciences; The Conference, National Board Exam).

  Sources

  • Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7643
  • Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7646

• Apart from two exceptions in the law (accredited mortuary-science programs teaching embalming, and the case in Section 7609), only a licensed funeral director may run a preparation room. The law does not require a funeral director to embalm.

  Sources

  • Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §7616

Check with the board

Rules change. Confirm the current licensing requirements with the board before you enroll.

California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau

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