§842. Minimum qualifications for license

A. Qualifications for a funeral director license. Any applicant is qualified for license as funeral director if he meets all of the following requirements:

(1) Is at least eighteen years of age.

(2) Has obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent.

(3) Is found by the board to be of good moral character and temperate habits.

(4) Has successfully completed a minimum of thirty semester hours in an accredited college or university as evidenced by a certified copy of the transcript of the college or university. The minimum subject hours shall include twenty-one semester hours of the basic freshman courses, which include but are not limited to the following: English, mathematics, bookkeeping, accounting, business mathematics, psychology, history, science, business administration, biology, economics, chemistry, and marketing or such other minimum hours as the law may provide. Remedial classes and courses such as music, the arts, physical education, and sports shall not be considered as accepted courses.

(5) Has served an internship in the state of Louisiana for a period of not less than nine months, or thirty-nine weeks, and not more than twenty-four months, or one hundred four weeks, has actively assisted in at least thirty funerals, and has completed at least one thousand five hundred sixty contact hours during the internship period. A funeral director intern may receive credit for up to two-thirds of the internship requirement prior to the completion of thirty semester hours.

(6) Has paid the application fee required by R.S. 37:845.

(7) Passes satisfactorily an examination conducted by the board relative to the practice of the profession of funeral directing as defined in R.S. 37:831.

B. Qualifications for an embalmer and funeral director license. Any applicant is qualified for license as an embalmer and funeral director if he meets all of the following requirements:

(1) Meets the requirements set forth in Paragraphs (A)(1), (2), (3), and (6) of this Section for funeral directors.

(2) Has successfully completed a full course in the science of embalming and the profession of funeral directing at an accredited school recognized by the board.

(3) Passes satisfactorily an examination conducted by the board relative to the practice of the science of embalming and the profession of funeral directing as defined in R.S. 37:831.

(4) Has served an internship in the state of Louisiana for a period of not less than nine months, or thirty-nine weeks, and not more than twenty-four months, or one hundred four weeks, actively assisted in at least thirty embalming operations and thirty funerals and completed at least one thousand five hundred sixty contact hours during the internship period. An embalmer and funeral director intern may receive credit for up to two-thirds of the internship requirement prior to graduating from an accredited school recognized by the board.

C. Licensure by endorsement. Any applicant is qualified for license as an embalmer and funeral director or funeral director by endorsement in this state if he meets all of the following requirements:

(1) Holds a license in good standing issued by another state, province, or jurisdiction recognized by the board that is substantially equivalent to the requirements of this state and who meets the requirements of this Chapter.

(2) Meets all of the requirements of Paragraphs (A)(1), (2), (3), and (6) of this Section for an embalmer and funeral director or funeral director license.

(3) Has worked for a period of not less than three months within the state of Louisiana under the authority of a temporary license.

D. Qualifications for an embalmer and funeral director temporary license. Any applicant is qualified for an embalmer and funeral director temporary license by endorsement in this state if he meets the requirements of Paragraphs (A)(1), (2), (3), and (6) of this Section and furnishes the board with all of the following:

(1) Proof that he holds a valid embalmer and funeral director license in good standing from another state, province, or jurisdiction recognized by the board. The board may waive this requirement in those cases where the recognized state, province, or jurisdiction does not license embalmers or funeral directors.

(2) Proof that he has graduated from an accredited program in mortuary science recognized by the board.

(3) Proof that he has passed a nationally recognized examination.

(4) Proof that he has practiced the science of embalming and the profession of funeral directing for a period of not less than one year during the prior three-year period.

(5) Proof in the form of a statement that all of the following are true:

(a) No proceeding has been instituted against the applicant for the cancellation, suspension, or revocation of the license in the state, province, or jurisdiction that issued the license.

(b) No prosecution is pending against the applicant in a state or federal court for an offense that, under the laws of this state, is a felony or is a misdemeanor related to the science of embalming or the profession of funeral directing.

(c) The qualifications made in the application for licensure in this state are correct.

E. Qualifications for a funeral director temporary license. Any applicant is qualified for a funeral director temporary license by endorsement in this state if he meets the requirements of Paragraphs (A)(1), (2), (3), and (6) of this Section and furnishes the board with all of the following:

(1) Proof that he holds a valid funeral director license in good standing from another state, province, or jurisdiction recognized by the board. The board may waive this requirement in those cases where the recognized state, province, or jurisdiction does not license funeral directors.

(2) Proof that he has passed a recognized examination.

(3) Proof that he has practiced the profession of funeral directing for a period of not less than one year during the prior three-year period.

(4) Proof in the form of a statement that all of the following are true:

(a) No proceeding has been instituted against the applicant for the cancellation, suspension, or revocation of the license in the state, province, or jurisdiction that issued the license.

(b) No prosecution is pending against the applicant in a state or federal court for an offense that, under the laws of this state, is a felony or is a misdemeanor related to the science of embalming or the profession of funeral directing.

(c) The qualifications made in the application for licensure in this state are correct.

F. Any establishment where the business of funeral directing or embalming as defined in R.S. 37:831 is conducted within this state shall be duly licensed. An establishment shall be qualified to be licensed to operate as such if it meets all of the following requirements:

(1) It is managed or is to be managed by a funeral director holding a valid license, other than a temporary license, from the state of Louisiana. The funeral director shall manage the establishment on a full-time basis and funeral directing shall be his principal occupation.

(2) Embalming is performed only by an embalmer and funeral director holding a valid license from the state of Louisiana or a registered intern under the supervision of a state-licensed embalmer and funeral director.

(3)(a) It is found, after proper investigation to meet the requirements established by the board with respect to all of the following:

(i) Licensed personnel, including those working under the authority of a temporary license.

(ii) Registered interns.

(iii) Embalming facilities for the sanitation, disinfection, and preparation of a human body.

(iv) Adequate buildings.

(v) Display rooms for displaying funeral merchandise consisting of, but not limited to a minimum of six adult caskets of a variety of styles and quality.

(vi) Other necessary facilities, furnishings, and equipment to adequately serve the public.

(b) The embalming facilities and display rooms described in this Paragraph are required in every funeral establishment that is not a branch establishment.

(4) Furnishes such further information as the board may require regarding its qualifications and operations.

(5) Makes payment to the board of the fee required by R.S. 37:845.

G. Licenses issued pursuant to Subsection F of this Section shall be for a specific name and location, and amended from time to time to show any change of name or location upon the payment of a charge equaling a license renewal fee.

H. Every license issued hereunder shall be signed by the president and secretary of the board, and bear the imprint of the board's seal. The board shall register each license holder as being duly licensed for the purpose covered by such license.

Acts 1958, No. 28, §1; Acts 1963, No. 12, §1; Acts 1966, No. 19, §1, eff. June 15, 1966 at 10:30 A.M.; Acts 1974, No. 3, §2; Acts 1977, No. 283, §2; Acts 1990, No. 415, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Acts 2010, No. 372, §1; Acts 2014, No. 264, §1; Acts 2015, No. 25, §1.