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Funeral director licensing · District of Columbia

Funeral director licensing in District of Columbia

DC has one funeral director license, and it includes embalming: the initial licensing route needs mortuary school, an apprenticeship in which they embalm at least 25 bodies and direct 25 funerals, both National Board sections and an embalming practical exam.

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District of Columbia

Embalming required

The usual route to the license · License: Funeral director (includes embalmer)

Education

Mortuary school (12 months or 840 hours) or a 2-year mortuary-science associate degree

Source for education
Required experience

Apprenticeship of at least 1 year (associate degree) or 2 years (other mortuary school); 25 funerals1 yr or more

Sources for required experience
Exams

National Board Arts and Sciences, the DC law exam, and a DC embalming practical exam

Sources for exams
Embalming

Mortuary school, at least 25 embalmings as an apprentice, and an embalming practical exam

Sources for embalming

What it takes, step by step

School. An accredited mortuary-science school of at least 12 months or 840 hours, or a 2-year mortuary-science associate degree. There is no funeral-directing-only option. The written exam covers embalming, anatomy, pathology, bacteriology, chemistry and restorative art.

Sources

  1. Be at least 18 with a high-school diploma or equivalent.

    Sources for step 1

  2. Education: an accredited mortuary-science school (at least 12 months or 840 hours) or a 2-year mortuary-science associate degree.

    Sources for step 2

  3. Get an apprentice funeral director license (you must be enrolled in or have finished mortuary school).

    Sources for step 3

  4. Apprenticeship (supervised work in a funeral home; the state sets who supervises): one year for associate-degree holders, or two years for other qualifying mortuary-school graduates. You must embalm at least 25 bodies and conduct or direct at least 25 funerals, verified by a sworn affidavit from each funeral director who supervised you.

    Sources for step 4

  5. Exams: the National Board 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), Arts and Sciences; the DC law exam; and a practical demonstration before two Board members of skill in caring for, preparing and preserving human remains (the Board calls it the DC embalming practical exam).

    Sources for step 5

Does a funeral home need an embalmer?

Yes, in effect. A funeral home must be owned in part by a licensed funeral director and have a principal funeral director in charge, and in DC every funeral director license includes embalming.

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Licensed in another state?

Reciprocity needs a license from a state whose requirements are substantially equal or higher and which admits DC licensees the same way; the Board's page lists North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland only. Or the Board may waive the exam and apprenticeship if you have practiced continuously for 5 years in a substantially similar state. Either way you must know DC law.

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Good to know

  • In DC the term 'funeral director' includes 'embalmer'. There is no separate embalmer or directing-only license.

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  • A funeral-director-only license from another state (such as Virginia) may not count as 'substantially equal' for reciprocity or the 5-year waiver, since DC's license includes embalming. Ask the Board.

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Check with the board

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

DC Board of Funeral Directors (Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection)

Many Muslims would rather not embalm. Whether a Muslim may embalm someone who is not Muslim is a question for a qualified scholar. This page only shows what District of Columbia’s law requires.

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General information, not legal advice. We read the law behind each point on 23 October 2026, and each point links to the text it comes from. All our sources.