Funeral Attendant

License required in 3 states

78th most burdensome licensing requirements among moderate-income occupations

91st most heavily regulated occupation among moderate-income occupations

What They Do

Funeral attendants or funeral home assistants perform a variety of tasks during a funeral, such as placing the casket in the parlor or chapel prior to service; arranging floral offerings or lights around the casket; directing or escorting mourners; closing the casket; and issuing and storing funeral equipment.


Three states require a license to work as a funeral attendant: Kansas, Maine and Massachusetts. Only Massachusetts requires any education or experience (a one-credit-hour course), while only Kansas requires an exam. The three states require an average of $124 in fees. These requirements are 78th most burdensome of the 102 occupations studied here. Because so few states license funeral attendants, the occupation ranks as the 91st most widely and onerously licensed.

License to Work

The data and information here come from IJ’s License to Work report, released in November 2017.

States Ranked by Average Licensing Burden for 102 Lower-Income Occupations

More Burdensome Less Burdensom
Based on data released in November 2017

State Licensing Requirements

Select a chart to view:
1 Massachusetts 3 $70 7 1 credit hours 0 12 0
2 Kansas 3 $200 0 1 12 17
3 Maine 3 $101 0 0 0 0