24 States Force Funeral Directors to Get an Embalming License They Will Rarely Use

In 24 U.S. states, you cannot obtain a funeral director license without also being licensed as an embalmer -- even though the national cremation rate has surpassed 60% and is projected to reach 82% by 2045. This means aspiring funeral directors must complete a full mortuary science degree (typically 2-4 years), including extensive coursework in embalming chemistry, restorative art, and cadaver practicum, to perform a skill most will use on a shrinking minority of cases. The structural reason this persists is regulatory capture: state funeral boards are dominated by incumbents who trained under the old model and view embalming as inseparable from professional identity. Georgia is only now considering SB 239 (2026) to separate the two licenses, joining 26 states that have already done so. For workers, the bundled requirement inflates the cost and time to enter the profession by 1-2 years, directly contributing to the staffing shortage at a time when 60% of funeral directors are nearing retirement.