Funeral director licensing in New York

What it takes, step by step

1. Register with the Department as a funeral-service student when you start school ($50). You must be a US citizen or permanent resident.

   Sources for step 1

   • N.Y. Pub. Health Law §3421

2. Complete at least 60 semester credits of approved mortuary-science study, or an associate degree in funeral service, at an accredited school. This includes embalming training.

   Sources for step 2

   • N.Y. Pub. Health Law §3421
   • 10 NYCRR 77.1
   • NYS DOH, funeral director FAQ
   • ABFSE Accreditation Standards 5.1, 5.5.6

3. Pass 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) (the Department accepts it in place of its own exam, whose subjects can include practical embalming).

   Sources for step 3

   • 10 NYCRR 77.2(e), (f), (k)
   • NYS DOH, funeral director FAQ

4. Serve a full-time 12-month residency at a registered New York funeral firm that handled at least 40 cases in the past year and has embalming facilities, under a licensed supervisor, with quarterly reports. The law and rules set no fixed number of embalmings or funerals.

   Sources for step 4

   • N.Y. Pub. Health Law §3421
   • 10 NYCRR 77.3
   • NYS DOH, funeral director FAQ

5. Pass the New York law exam during or after the residency (you can sit it eight months in).

   Sources for step 5

   • N.Y. Pub. Health Law §3421
   • 10 NYCRR 77.3
   • NYS DOH, funeral director FAQ

Does a funeral home need an embalmer?

There is no separate non-embalming license, so every licensed funeral director's legal scope includes embalming. A firm that trains residents must have embalming facilities.

Licensed in another state?

The Department may endorse another state's funeral director license if that state's standards are substantially equivalent, it endorses New York licenses in return, and you have practised for 3 years or more. The Department asks for 3 years as a licensed 'funeral director and embalmer'. Otherwise you serve the 12-month residency. You pass the New York law exam either way.

Good to know

• Embalming is not required by state law for a funeral; a funeral director needs the customer's specific approval to embalm.

  Sources

  • NYS DOH, funeral director FAQ

• The 'undertaker' license (care and burial by means other than embalming) still exists in the definitions, but no route to it for new applicants was found.

  Sources

  • N.Y. Pub. Health Law §3400

Check with the board

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

New York State Department of Health, Bureau of 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 New York’s law requires.

Next

• How to become a Muslim funeral director
• Open jobs at funeral services serving Muslim communities
• Muslim funeral services in New York
• Every state, at a glance