(a) No person shall engage in, or attempt to engage in, the practice or profession or business of a funeral director unless licensed to do so by the board. The board may issue licenses to funeral directors.
(b) Any person desiring to engage in the business, profession, or practice of funeral director shall make application to the board and shall accompany his or her application by a fee to be established by the board, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
(c) Commencing on October 1, 2017, in addition to the requirements of subsection (b), an applicant for a funeral director license shall submit to the board a form, sworn to by the applicant, that contains the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of the applicant, and two complete sets of fingerprints, for completion of a criminal history background check. The board shall submit the fingerprints to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency for a state criminal history record check. The fingerprints shall be forwarded by the agency to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check. Costs associated with conducting a criminal history background check shall be paid by the applicant. The board shall keep information received pursuant to this subsection confidential, except that information received and relied upon in denying the issuance of a funeral director license may be disclosed if necessary to support the denial.