Misconception: Funeral Directors don't need a lot of education or training.

Every state’s funeral service requirements are different.  Some states require more education for funeral service providers than others. For example, Colorado is one state with very minimal requirements. There is no state governing board to license or regulate funeral directors or embalmers. To practice as a funeral director or embalmer in Colorado, you must only be employed by a licensed funeral home.  On the other hand, in Minnesota, for example, a funeral director must be licensed; in order to be licensed, you need a Bachelor of Science degree graduation from an accredited school of mortuary science.

In Wisconsin, the funeral service industry is governed and regulated by the State of Wisconsin Funeral Directors Examining Board and the Department of Safety & Professional Services.  In addition, the Wisconsin State Statutes contain an entire chapter of statutes governing the funeral industry.  Wisconsin is one of the most highly regulated states related to funeral service. A high school diploma, or equivalent, is required as well as completion of 2 academic years in a recognized college or university including six semester hours of English and speech, 15 hours of natural science, 13 hours in business studies, 12 hours of social sciences and 14 hours in electives, plus an additional 9 months or more of instruction in prescribed courses in funeral service education.

In addition, an apprenticeship, which generally lasts from one to two years, must be served.  This apprenticeship is served at a funeral home and must be served one year before or after mortuary school, and you must have one year of college completed. You will need to find a licensed funeral director willing to sponsor you, and during the apprenticeship, you will work under the supervision of a licensed funeral director. You will shadow the funeral director and participate in work in a real funeral home.  At the conclusion of the apprenticeship, an apprentice must have completed a total of 25 embalmings, with no more than 9 embalmings in any one quarter of the apprenticeship.

And last but not least, passing the National Board Examination and the State Licensing Examination is required before a funeral director license can be issued.  The National Board Exams of the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards consists of two exams: one in the Arts of Funeral Service and one in the Sciences of Funeral Service.  The Wisconsin State Licensing Exam covers the statutes, laws and administrative codes that apply to funeral directors and funeral establishments.

Once licensed, a funeral director must participate in continuing education and is required to complete 15 hours of approved continuing education every two years.  This requirement must be met in order to renew his/her funeral director license every two years.   Wisconsin is very specific as to subject areas and number of hours to be completed in each subject area.  At least 3 hours must be completed in grief counseling or communication; 3 hours in professional conducts, business ethics or legal aspects specifically related to funeral services; 3 hours in business management concepts related specifically to the delivery of funeral services to a consumer and 3 hours in the technical or practical aspects of the funeral profession.  Wisconsin is also very specific as to the type of continuing education.  No more than 7 hours may be acquired through in-service continuing education programs sponsored by a funeral establishment. No more than 2 hours may be acquired for presentation of any continuing education program by a funeral director. No more than 10 hours may be acquired through participation in non-contact home study programs.

Online Funeral Degrees:

There are a few schools that offer online degrees in funeral service/mortuary science.  Note that students in these programs will be able to complete most of their coursework online for an associate's degree; however, they will be required to attend some on-campus requirements which are usually only a few weeks. In order to get licensed, these students will also need to complete additional requirements, such as an apprenticeship and passing of the National Board Exams and possibly a State Board Exam, depending on in which state they want to work after graduation.

Conclusion:

As you can see, a funeral director in Wisconsin is required to meet some very stringent education, examination and licensing requirements.  I am proud to be a member of this well-educated, highly-regulated funeral service professionals in this state.

Note:  This is the first article in a series of articles about “Things You Didn’t Know About Your Funeral Director”.

Posted: June 2, 2017