The Arkansas State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors licenses the people and businesses that provide funeral services in Arkansas, sets the training and examination standards they must meet, regulates prepaid funeral contracts, and investigates consumer complaints against licensees. It operates within the State Insurance Department. Its authority comes from two parts of Arkansas law: Title 23 creates the Board, and Title 17, Chapter 29 sets the licensing rules.
What the Board Regulates
The Board’s full name in statute is the Arkansas State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries, and Burial Services. It issues individual licenses to embalmers and funeral directors, issues establishment permits to funeral homes, crematories, and transport services, enforces professional conduct standards, and handles complaints from the public.
The Board has nine members. The Insurance Commissioner or a designated deputy sits as one voting member, and the Governor appoints the other eight, subject to Senate confirmation, to staggered five-year terms.1Justia. Arkansas Code 23-61-1102 – Creation of Board – Members Those eight seats are split between funeral service licensees, perpetual care cemetery owners, burial association professionals, a consumer representative, and an elderly community representative. Enforcement in the field runs through an inspector employed by the Department of Commerce, who can enter any funeral establishment, crematory, or transport service to check compliance.2Justia. Arkansas Code 23-61-1106 – Inspector of the State Board
Becoming a Licensed Embalmer
To qualify for an embalmer license, you must be at least eighteen and hold a high school diploma or equivalent.3Justia. Arkansas Code 17-29-301 – Embalmers – Qualifications You also need to graduate from a mortuary science program accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education, or one otherwise approved by the Board.
After the academic program, you serve a twelve-month registered apprenticeship in Arkansas under the direct personal supervision of a licensed Arkansas embalmer. During that year, you submit at least fifty embalming case reports to the Board.
Three exams follow. You must pass both parts of the National Board Examination, covering funeral service Arts (arranging, directing, counseling, legal compliance) and Sciences (embalming, restorative art, preparation), and you must pass the Arkansas Laws, Rules, and Regulations exam. The minimum passing score on each is seventy-five percent.
Becoming a Licensed Funeral Director
Funeral director applicants also must be at least eighteen and hold a high school diploma or equivalent, and they undergo a criminal background check through the Division of Arkansas State Police.4Justia. Arkansas Code 17-29-302 – Funeral Directors – Qualifications – Definition The apprenticeship runs eighteen months, and during that time you must actively assist in arranging at least fifty funeral services under the direct supervision of a licensed Arkansas funeral director.
Graduating from an accredited mortuary science program cuts the apprenticeship by six months, leaving twelve. Funeral director applicants take the same National Board Examination and Arkansas-specific exam as embalmers, with the same seventy-five percent minimum. The Board offers these exams at least twice a year.
Moving an Out-of-State License to Arkansas
If you already hold a valid embalmer or funeral director license in another state, a U.S. territory, or a Canadian province, you can apply for an Arkansas license without repeating the full apprenticeship.5Justia. Arkansas Code 17-29-310 – License Requirements for Out-of-State Licenses Your application must include a certified statement from the examining board of the jurisdiction where you are currently licensed, showing how your license was originally issued.
Once the Board has the application and fee, it may issue a temporary working number good for one year. Within that year, you need to pass an Arkansas proficiency exam on state funeral service laws and rules. If the Board is satisfied with your performance, it issues a permanent license upon payment of the prescribed fees. Miss the testing requirements and the temporary number is revoked; you have to start over with a new application and fee.
Funeral Establishment Licenses
Any business offering funeral services in Arkansas must hold an establishment license. There are four types, and only one of them can deal directly with families.
- Type A, Full-Service Funeral Firm. The only type permitted to make arrangements directly with the public. A Type A firm must employ at least one full-time licensed funeral director who has been licensed for at least five years and who actively supervises staff. It must have a display room with at least five caskets, or a branch within forty miles that meets that requirement. Any on-site embalming must be done by or under the direct supervision of a licensed embalmer. Type A firms must carry at least $1,000,000 in general liability insurance and show proof at licensure and each renewal.6Justia. Arkansas Code 17-29-304 – Funeral Establishment – Requirements7Code of Arkansas Rules. 17 CAR 30-202 – Funeral Establishment Type A – Full-Service Funeral Firm
- Type B, Mortuary Service Firm. Acts as an agent of a Type A firm and cannot make arrangements with the public. Handles embalming, preparation, sheltering, and direct disposition at a Type A firm’s request. The manager must hold both an embalmer and a funeral director license with at least five years of experience. No casket display room required.
- Type C, Crematory. Also an agent of a Type A firm. All cremations of human remains must be arranged through a licensed funeral establishment. Any entity may operate a crematory if it is licensed by the Board and complies with local building codes and environmental standards.
- Type D, Transport Service Firm. An agent of a Type A firm that handles only the transportation of human remains. The owner or manager must be at least twenty-one and approved by the Board, with three letters of reference including one from a licensed funeral establishment manager. Drivers must be at least eighteen, hold a valid Arkansas driver’s license, and have an acceptable driving record.8Code of Arkansas Rules. 17 CAR 30-215 – Funeral Establishment Type D – Transport Service Firm
Multi-location businesses may designate one full-time licensed funeral director to manage a branch establishment, but only if that manager lives within fifty miles of the branch and remains reasonably accessible. Every establishment must pass a pre-licensure inspection by a Board representative.
Renewing Your License
Both individual and establishment licenses must be renewed by December 31 each year.9Justia. Arkansas Code 17-29-306 – Renewal If you miss it, the Board charges fifty dollars per quarter per license until you complete renewal. A license that stays delinquent for thirteen months or longer requires a separate reinstatement application with additional fees.
Actively practicing licensees must complete at least six hours of approved continuing education each year, or twelve hours on a biennial cycle.10Code of Arkansas Rules. 17 CAR 30-506 – Continuing Education If you hold both an embalmer and a funeral director license and practice both, six hours still satisfies both. Credit can come from classroom instruction, live webinars, or self-guided courses with a final examination. Up to three unused hours may carry over into the next annual renewal, or six hours for a biennial renewal. Licensees who have reached age sixty-five and held a license for at least twenty consecutive years are exempt from continuing education entirely.
Inactive Status
If you need to stop practicing temporarily, you can place your license on inactive status rather than let it lapse. You have to notify the Board before your current license period expires, complete the Board’s form, and pay the fee.11Code of Arkansas Rules. 17 CAR 30-404 – License Renewals and Reinstatements Inactive status lasts one year. To reactivate within that year, you notify the Board, submit the required forms, and show proof of six hours of continuing education. Planning ahead matters, because letting a license go delinquent instead triggers the quarterly penalty and eventually the full reinstatement process.
Prepaid Funeral Contract Rules
Anyone selling prepaid funeral contracts in Arkansas must first get a permit from the State Insurance Department.12Code of Arkansas Rules. 17 CAR – Permit Requirements The application requires the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all officers, directors, managers, and anyone holding at least ten percent ownership in the seller, plus proof of authority to do business in Arkansas and a written agreement to comply with applicable state and federal law.
When a pre-need contract is funded through a trust, the seller must deposit one hundred percent of the contract proceeds into the trust account. The contract must disclose the trustee’s name, address, and phone number, when the funds will be deposited, who is responsible for taxes on trust earnings, and whether trustee fees will be deducted from earnings. If the seller cannot fulfill the contract because of financial problems, the consumer is entitled to a full refund. A purchaser may cancel or transfer a revocable, cash-funded pre-need contract at any time before it is performed and receive a refund of no less than one hundred percent of what they paid in.
Filing a Complaint and What the Board Can Do
If you have a problem with a licensed funeral professional or establishment, you can file a formal complaint. The complaint must be typed or handwritten legibly, signed, and notarized.13Arkansas Insurance Department. Embalmers and Funeral Directors Complaint Form Include the specific facts and attach any supporting documentation.
The Board sends a copy to the licensee, who must respond in writing within fifteen days. Not responding, or missing that fifteen-day window, is itself an automatic violation of Board rules.14Arkansas Insurance Department. Complaint Procedures Board staff then investigates, which may include an on-site inspection. After review, the Board’s counsel may recommend closing the complaint, resolving it through alternative means, or setting it for a formal hearing.
Following a hearing, the Board can issue a letter of reprimand or caution, place a licensee on probation, refuse to issue or renew a license, or suspend or revoke a license.15Justia. Arkansas Code 17-29-311 – Prohibited Conduct – Sanctions The statute lists eighteen grounds for discipline. They include fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining a license, conviction of certain felonies, false advertising, soliciting the recently deceased or their families, knowingly making a false statement on a death certificate, discriminating in services based on race, religion, color, or national origin, failing to meet continuing education requirements, and violating pre-need funeral contract laws. Allowing an unlicensed person to practice embalming or funeral directing is also grounds for action against the supervising licensee.