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Montana Funeral Service — Requirements & Free Practice

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Licenses, application pathways and examination requirements

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Mortician

License to practice mortuary science, including funeral directing and embalming; funeral director is not a separate Montana license.

Licensing authority: Montana Board of Funeral Service · Application information

Licensure through an apprenticeship program

All of the following:

Apprenticeship
Complete an apprenticeship under Title 39, Chapter 6 in the relevant occupation. MCA 37-1-148(3)(d) expressly covers morticians; subsection (2) applies the same exam and fee requirements as the educational route.
Other qualifications
Meet applicable noneducational licensing requirements and document completion; examination and score requirements are the ordinary mortician requirements.
Licensure by endorsement from another jurisdiction

All of the following:

Documentation
Official verification of all professional licenses, source jurisdiction licensing standards, completed jurisprudence paper and National Board results if recent-practice exemption is unavailable; application fee and history disclosures.
Equivalency
ARM 24.147.417 makes applicants with substantially equivalent licenses routine as to education, examination and experience; other bases may make the application nonroutine.
Experience or recent score
Under ARM 24.147.501 and the Board checklist, five of the last seven years of active practice may excuse recent National Board scores; otherwise pass the National Board Examination within five years of application. This waiver is an applicant condition, not removal of either currently offered NBE division.
Jurisprudence
Pass the Montana open-book jurisprudence examination with at least 75%.
License held
Current active license in good standing from a jurisdiction with substantially equivalent qualifications for combined funeral directing and embalming; the Board considers actual qualifications and experience if standards are deficient under MCA 37-1-304.
Other jurisdiction examinations
The application asks about other-jurisdiction licensing examinations; they are evidence of qualifications, not Montana route leaves.
Initial licensure by examination

All of the following:

Documents
Completed application and fee; official educational evidence, examination results, internship completion proof and professional-license verifications; explain affirmative history answers.
Education
ABFSE-accredited associate degree in funeral service or mortuary science, with graduation within five years preceding application under amended ARM 24.147.507; foreign-trained transcripts require Board-approved equivalency evaluation.
Examination timing
National Board Examination and Montana jurisprudence examination must have been passed within five years preceding the application under amended ARM 24.147.507.
Internship
Complete a one-year internship or equivalent. The adopted 2024 rule requires at least 2,000 supervised hours, at least 25 funeral arrangements/directing cases and 25 embalmed bodies, completed in 12–36 months.
Military education
Relevant military training, service and education are evaluated under MCA 37-1-145; this condition does not replace the examination leaves.
Minimum age
At least 18 years old; good moral character.
Score
Montana jurisprudence score at least 75%; the Board paper requires 19 correct answers out of 25.
Reactivation of an expired license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Requirements
Submit completed renewal form, current renewal fee and late penalty fee; satisfy applicable accrued educational and certification requirements under MCA 37-1-141.
Time window
Within two years after the renewal date.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-10-10.

Conversion from inactive to active license
Montana Board of Funeral Service Jurisprudence Exam (practice unavailable)
Implementation difference
The May 4, 2026 mortician form expressly carries the examination requirement.
Inactive duration
The jurisprudence examination is triggered only after more than five years inactive under ARM 24.147.502(3)(c); shorter inactivity does not require it.
Requirements
Written conversion request, applicable fee, jurisdictional license verifications and relevant continuing-education evidence under the rule.
Reactivation of a lapsed license
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Requirements
Submit completed renewal form, current renewal fee and late penalty fee; satisfy applicable accrued educational and certification requirements under MCA 37-1-141.
Time window
Within 45 days after the renewal date.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-10-10.

License renewal
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
Late renewal
The 2026 timely-renewal fee abatement announced by the Board does not waive normal renewal and late charges after July 1.
Renewal
Submit renewal form, applicable fee and required certifications/continuing education. Annual July 1 cycle, except the cemetery permit has a five-year cycle. Facility inspection and financial reports remain applicable business conditions.

Official no-examination sources

Effective from 2026-10-10.

Montana Board of Funeral Service Jurisprudence Exam

Practice scope

Inferred from the examination name; the authority has not published an examination outline.

  • MCA Title 37, Chapter 19 — Morticians and Funeral Services
  • MCA Title 37, Chapter 1, Part 3 — Uniform Professional Licensing and Regulation Procedures
  • MCA Title 33, Chapter 18 — Unfair Trade Practices
  • MCA Title 46, Chapter 4 — Investigative Procedures
  • MCA Title 50, Chapter 15, Part 4 — Death
  • MCA Title 50, Chapter 79 — Nuclear Regulation
  • MCA Title 72, Chapter 3 — UPC — Probate and Administration
  • MCA Title 75, Chapter 10, Part 10 — Infectious Waste Management Act
  • ARM Title 24, Chapter 147 — Board of Funeral Service
  • Chapter 24 - Labor and Industry
  • ARM Title 24, Chapter 101 — Business Standards Division
  • ARM Title 37, Chapter 8 — Records and Statistics
  • ARM Title 37, Chapter 116 — Dead Human Bodies
Examination sources

National Board Exam Arts

Provider
The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards (The Conference); computer-based exam administered by Pearson at Pearson Professional Centers
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination, administered, paid for, scheduled and scored separately from the NBE-Sciences section; a basic calculator is built into the exam software
Exam questions
170 multiple-choice questions: 150 scored and 20 non-scored pretest questions
Time limit
170 minutes for the exam (the appointment also includes a 3-minute non-disclosure agreement, a 3-minute release-of-results screen and a 7-minute tutorial)
Passing score
Scaled score of 75 (pass/fail)
Exam fee
$285 per section
Examination outline
  • I. Funeral Arranging and Directing (51 of 150 scored items; 34% of the NBE-Arts blueprint) (34%)
  • II. Funeral Service Marketing/Merchandising (21 of 150 scored items; 14% of the NBE-Arts blueprint) (14%)
  • III. Funeral Service Counseling (19 of 150 scored items; 13% of the NBE-Arts blueprint) (13%)
  • IV. Legal and Regulatory Compliance (35 of 150 scored items; 23% of the NBE-Arts blueprint) (23%)
  • V. Cemetery/Crematory/Other Dispositions (24 of 150 scored items; 16% of the NBE-Arts blueprint) (16%)
Examination sources

National Board Exam Sciences

Provider
The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards (The Conference); computer-based exam administered by Pearson at Pearson Professional Centers
Format
Computer-based multiple-choice examination, administered, paid for, scheduled and scored separately from the NBE-Arts section; a basic calculator is built into the exam software
Exam questions
170 multiple-choice questions: 150 scored and 20 non-scored pretest questions
Time limit
170 minutes for the exam (the appointment also includes a 3-minute non-disclosure agreement, a 3-minute release-of-results screen and a 7-minute tutorial)
Passing score
Scaled score of 75 (pass/fail)
Exam fee
$285 per section
Examination outline
  • I. Embalming (62 of 150 scored items; 41% of the NBE-Sciences blueprint) (41%)
  • II. Restorative Art (34 of 150 scored items; 23% of the NBE-Sciences blueprint) (23%)
  • III. Other Preparation of the Deceased (28 of 150 scored items; 19% of the NBE-Sciences blueprint) (19%)
  • IV. Funeral Service Sciences (26 of 150 scored items; 17% of the NBE-Sciences blueprint) (17%)
Examination sources