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Funeral director licensing · Massachusetts

Funeral director licensing in Massachusetts

Apart from the surviving spouse of a licensed funeral director, every Massachusetts funeral director must also be a registered embalmer: a two-year apprenticeship in which you personally embalm 50 bodies, a mortuary-science associate degree and the Board exam.

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Massachusetts

Embalming required

The usual route to the license · License: Type 6 funeral director and embalmer (Type 3 to run a home)

Education

Mortuary-science associate degree (ABFSE-accredited or equivalent); high school diploma

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Required experience

At least 2-year apprenticeship, 30+ hours a week: embalm 50 bodies, attend 25 family conferences2 yr or more

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Exams

The Board's exam (subjects and pass mark not stated in the law we read)

Sources for exams
Embalming

Embalming school course plus 50 embalmings during the apprenticeship

Sources for embalming

What it takes, step by step

School. An ABFSE (the American Board of Funeral Service Education, which accredits funeral service and mortuary science programs; ABFSE accredited programs)-accredited associate degree in mortuary science (or a Board-accepted equivalent). The statute also requires a nine-month embalming school course for embalmers. Neither allows a funeral-directing-only program.

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  1. Register as an apprentice embalmer: high school diploma, full-time work (30+ hours a week) for one business that runs a licensed funeral home, and OSHA bloodborne-pathogens training.

    Sources for step 1

  2. Serve at least two years as an apprentice under a Type 3, personally embalming at least 50 bodies and attending at least 25 funeral or pre-need conferences with families.

    Sources for step 2

  3. Earn an associate degree in mortuary science from an ABFSE-accredited program (or what the Board accepts as equivalent).

    Sources for step 3

  4. Pass the Board's exam and register as a Type 6. A Type 6 may direct funerals only while holding a funeral director license from a city or town and working as an employee of a licensed funeral home.

    Sources for step 4

  5. To be in charge of a home (Type 3), a Type 6 must also own at least 10% of the business that runs it.

    Sources for step 5

Does a funeral home need an embalmer?

Yes, in practice. A funeral business must have a registered and licensed funeral director in charge, and every funeral director must be a registered embalmer unless they are the surviving spouse of a licensed funeral director. Every home also needs a preparation room equipped for embalming.

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Licensed in another state?

Someone licensed in another state can take the Massachusetts exam without the apprenticeship (supervised work in a funeral home; the state sets who supervises) only if that license is in funeral directing and embalming, substantially equal to Massachusetts's, and they hold a mortuary-science associate degree. A license without embalming does not qualify.

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Good to know

  • A Funeral Home Assistant registration needs no embalming: a high school diploma, OSHA training, and either a mortuary-science associate degree or Board-approved training in public health, ergonomics, and funeral law and ethics. Assistants may help with dressing and casketing but may not embalm or arrange or direct funerals, and the time does not count toward Type 3 or Type 6 without special Board approval.

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  • The statute's only exception to the embalmer requirement for funeral directors is a surviving spouse of a licensed funeral director.

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Check with the board

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

Massachusetts Board of Registration in Embalming and Funeral Directing

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 Massachusetts’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.