The Alabama Board of Funeral Services rules govern every funeral director, embalmer, apprentice, and funeral establishment operating in the state. The board licenses practitioners and facilities, inspects funeral homes at least once a year, enforces preneed funeral contract requirements, investigates consumer complaints, and can fine, suspend, or revoke a license when the rules are broken. Its authority comes from Title 34, Chapter 13 of the Alabama Code, with operational detail in Chapter 395-X of the Alabama Administrative Code.
Who Needs a License
Three individual licenses sit at the heart of the board’s work: funeral director, embalmer, and apprentice. A licensed funeral director must be in actual charge of every funeral, memorial, or committal service conducted for hire in Alabama.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-13-111 – License Required, Inspections, Transfer of License, Change of Ownership
Funeral Directors
Under Section 34-13-72, an applicant must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or lawfully present, complete an apprenticeship under a board-licensed funeral director, and graduate from an accredited mortuary or funeral service program (or hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited school). Applicants pass an examination covering funeral directing, service management, cremation, counseling, and Alabama funeral law, and the board may accept a passing score on a recognized national exam instead. A fingerprint-based criminal background check through ALEA and the FBI is required, and two licensed embalmers or funeral directors must provide character affidavits.2Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-70
Embalmers
The embalmer track under Section 34-13-92 mirrors the director track on age, citizenship, character, and apprenticeship. The distinguishing requirement is a graduation certificate from an accredited embalming or mortuary science program approved by the board, and the exam covers embalming technique, restorative art, pathology, anatomy, chemistry, and preparing unembalmed remains for cremation or other disposition. The examination fee is set at actual cost, capped at $50 above what it costs the board to prepare and administer.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-13-92 – Qualifications of Applicants
Apprentices
Both licensing paths run through an apprenticeship. An apprentice must be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and pass a fingerprint background check. The application fee is capped at $50.4Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-130 The apprenticeship must be served in Alabama under a licensee of the corresponding type.
Apprentice certifications renew annually, not on the two-year cycle used for full licenses. Lapsed certifications can be reactivated by the board, but no more than twice during the entire apprenticeship. The board can suspend an apprentice certificate for failing to average at least 30 hours per week of apprenticeship duties, being on duty while impaired, or soliciting business for a funeral director or embalmer.5Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-131
Funeral Home Permits and Inspections
No funeral home may open or operate without a license from the board, and every branch location must be separately licensed. Moving a funeral home to a new location requires a new license, and any change in ownership must be reported to the board immediately along with a $250 application fee.1Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-13-111 – License Required, Inspections, Transfer of License, Change of Ownership Facilities used for preparing, caring for, or disposing of human remains must meet the board’s standards for embalming room equipment, ventilation, refrigeration, chemical storage, and sanitation.
The board conducts at least one unannounced inspection of every funeral establishment and branch each year. The annual inspection fee is capped at $100 and is due within 45 days after the inspection; missing that window triggers a late penalty. New licensees pay a separate initial inspection fee of up to $150, and any reinspection prompted by a failed first inspection costs up to $150 as well.6Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-111 Inspectors check the embalming room, refrigeration, chemical storage, ventilation, and sanitation against the board’s facility standards, and review required documentation such as embalming authorizations and contracts.
Renewal Cycle and Continuing Education
Licenses for funeral directors, embalmers, and funeral establishments run on a two-year cycle. All licenses expire on October 1 of the renewal year, and the renewal application and fee must reach the board by September 1, thirty days before expiration. The maximum renewal fee is $500 per license.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-13-53 – Renewal of Licenses, Continuing Education, Records A renewal received between September 1 and October 1 is past due and carries a late penalty. A license not renewed by October 1 is expired, and reactivation requires board approval.8Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Code 395-X-2-.02 – Renewal of License
The board may require at least eight hours of approved continuing education per two-year period as a condition of renewal. Approved courses come from accredited schools, professional associations, or other providers the board recognizes, and the board audits compliance.7Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-13-53 – Renewal of Licenses, Continuing Education, Records Apprentice certifications, again, renew every year on October 1.
Preneed Funeral Contract Rules
Selling a preneed funeral contract in Alabama requires a certificate of authority from the board, and every sale must be documented with a written contract signed by both the seller and the purchaser. A transaction without a signed written contract is voidable at the buyer’s option, and the seller must refund the full amount paid plus interest within 30 days of notice.9Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-190
Money collected under a preneed contract must be deposited into a trust or funded through life insurance or an annuity. Trust deposits are due within 30 days after the end of the calendar month in which the contract is paid in full. Those funds may never be loaned to the certificate holder, its affiliates, or anyone in the funeral or cemetery business. Trust funds are shielded from the certificate holder’s creditors, though the purchaser and the board can still bring claims against them.10Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-231
A purchaser can cancel a preneed contract within 30 days of signing and get a full refund, minus the value of any merchandise or services already delivered. Cancellation after that 30-day window is still allowed at any time, but the refund is governed by the contract terms.11Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-233 Read the cancellation clause before signing.
Federal Rules That Also Apply
The board’s rules are not the only ones a funeral home has to follow. Two federal frameworks apply on top of state law, and complaints about them go to federal agencies, not the board.
The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule requires providers to give consumers accurate, itemized price information before they commit to buying anything. Funeral homes must offer a General Price List, a Casket Price List, an Outer Burial Container Price List, and an itemized Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected.12Federal Trade Commission. Complying With the Funeral Rule The rule also bars misrepresenting that embalming is legally required, charging for unauthorized embalming, requiring a casket for direct cremation, and tying the purchase of one item to another. Violations can draw federal civil penalties of up to $53,088 each, as adjusted in January 2025, and the figure adjusts for inflation annually.13Federal Trade Commission. FTC Publishes Inflation-Adjusted Civil Penalty Amounts for 2025
Funeral homes that embalm also fall under two OSHA standards. The formaldehyde standard (29 CFR 1910.1048) sets an eight-hour exposure limit of 0.75 parts per million and a 15-minute short-term limit of 2 parts per million, with initial monitoring required to determine whether any worker’s exposure hits those thresholds.14eCFR. 29 CFR 1910.1048 The bloodborne pathogens standard (29 CFR 1910.1030) requires a written Exposure Control Plan, updated annually to reflect safer devices, along with personal protective equipment and a sharps injury log.15Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Bloodborne Pathogens – Standards
Filing a Complaint
Anyone who believes a licensed funeral service provider has violated Alabama law or board regulations can file a complaint. The board takes formal written complaints and offers an online complaint form on its website; oral complaints may be investigated if the information is detailed enough.16Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Consumer Complaints Attach whatever you have: contracts, receipts, correspondence, photographs. Common grounds for board action include improper handling of remains, fraudulent billing, misrepresentation of services, and preneed contract violations. Complaints outside the board’s jurisdiction may be referred to other consumer protection agencies.
Discipline and Appeals
When a complaint warrants investigation, the board can issue subpoenas, compel testimony, and demand business records. Matters involving criminal conduct or financial fraud can be referred to the Alabama Attorney General’s Office or law enforcement, and misuse of preneed funds is particularly likely to draw a referral.
Under Section 34-13-56, the board can refuse to issue or renew a license, place a license on probation, suspend it, or revoke it, and it can impose administrative fines for each violation. Grounds include conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude (including any offense requiring sex offender registration), unprofessional conduct, and any violation of the funeral service chapter or board rules.17Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 34-13-56 – Grounds for Revocation, Suspension, or Refusal to Issue or Renew Licenses, Hearing, Fines “Unprofessional conduct” is defined broadly and covers violations of Alabama law affecting the handling, custody, care, or transportation of human remains. Minor issues such as record-keeping lapses may bring a warning or corrective action plan, while gross negligence or fraud can lead to suspension or revocation.
A licensee or applicant facing denial, probation, suspension, or revocation has the right to a public hearing before the board. The written request must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the board’s action, and the board must then give at least 20 days’ notice of the hearing by certified mail.18Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-56
If the hearing goes against the licensee, the next step is the Circuit Court of Montgomery County. The appeal must be filed within 30 days of the board’s order and perfected by posting a bond for costs. The court reviews the board’s record without taking new evidence, except in cases of fraud or misconduct by someone involved in the board’s process. It will set aside the board’s decision if it was based on an error of law, unsupported by the weight of the evidence, or arbitrary and capricious, and it remands the case to the board with instructions rather than deciding it outright.19Alabama Board of Funeral Service. Alabama Board of Funeral Service Statutes – Section 34-13-31