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Funeral director licensing · Rhode Island

Funeral director licensing in Rhode Island

Rhode Island issues only a combined funeral director/embalmer license: graduation from an accredited mortuary school, plus an associate degree or 60 college hours (or current enrolment in an accredited mortuary school), a registered internship of at least a year with at least 50 embalmings, and both National Board sections plus a practical exam.

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Rhode Island

Embalming required

The usual route to the license · License: Funeral director/embalmer (single combined license)

Education

Accredited mortuary school, plus an associate degree or 60 college hours (or current enrolment)

Source for education
Required experience

Internship of at least 1 year, done within 5 years: 50 embalmings in 1 year, or 25 a year if longer1 yr to 5 yr

Source for required experience
Exams

Both National Board sections (funeral director and embalmer) and a Board practical exam

Source for exams
Embalming

At least 50 embalmings in a 1-year internship, plus the embalmer portion of the national exam

Sources for embalming

What it takes, step by step

School. Graduation from an ABFSE (the American Board of Funeral Service Education, which accredits funeral service and mortuary science programs; ABFSE accredited programs)-accredited school of mortuary science. The law also asks for at least an associate degree or 60 semester hours from an approved college, or current enrolment in an ABFSE-accredited school. There is no funeral-directing-only route, because the only license includes embalming.

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  1. Be 18 or older, a US citizen or lawfully present, of good moral character, with a high school diploma or equivalent.

    Sources for step 1

  2. Graduate from an ABFSE-accredited mortuary school. Also have at least an associate degree or 60 semester hours from an approved college, or be currently enrolled in an ABFSE-accredited school.

    Sources for step 2

  3. Register with the Department of Health and serve an internship (supervised work in a funeral home; some states use this word for the apprenticeship) of at least one year (finished within five years), before, during or after mortuary school. You must assist in embalming at least 50 bodies in a one-year internship, or 25 for each year if it runs longer, and file quarterly embalming reports.

    Sources for step 3

  4. Pass both the funeral director and embalmer portions of 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), and a practical exam set by the Board.

    Sources for step 4

Does a funeral home need an embalmer?

Yes. Every licensee is a funeral director/embalmer, and the licensee in charge of each funeral establishment is a registered funeral director/embalmer. Only funeral directors/embalmers working for a licensed establishment may meet with families to arrange funerals.

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Licensed in another state?

A funeral director/embalmer licensed in good standing in another state can be licensed by endorsement, but must be a mortuary-college graduate, have passed both the funeral director and embalmer portions of the National Board exam, and pass a Rhode Island practical exam. The internship is waived. A funeral-director-only license from another state does not fit, since the license being endorsed is funeral director/embalmer.

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Good to know

  • Unlicensed people may do duties the chapter does not specifically prohibit, under a licensed funeral director/embalmer's supervision.

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Check with the board

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

Rhode Island Department of Health, Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers

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 Rhode Island’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.