Funeral Director Resume Examples & Writing Guide
A funeral director resume gets an interview when it states your license type and state, your mortuary science education and apprenticeship, how many calls a year you have handled, what you can cover alone (arrangements, embalming, removals, cremation, preneed), and that you know the FTC Funeral Rule.
Funeral director resume example (licensed director and embalmer)
This sample is for a dual-licensed funeral director and embalmer with eight years in a family-owned firm that also operates a crematory. The name and firms are invented. If your state licenses directing and embalming separately, or you work only in arrangements, keep the layout and change what you claim.
Marguerite Devereaux
Funeral Director and Embalmer
Louisville, KY · (502) 555-0129 · m.devereaux.fd@email.com
Summary
Licensed funeral director and embalmer with 8 years in a two-location family firm handling about 320 calls a year. Leads arrangement conferences, embalms and does restorative work, runs the crematory, and files death certificates and permits. Family satisfaction survey scores averaged 4.8 out of 5 across three years, and preneed contracts written rose from 22 to 61 a year.
Experience
Funeral Director and Embalmer · Family-owned funeral home, two locations with on-site crematory (about 320 calls a year)
Feb 2021–Present
- Conducts 130 to 150 at-need arrangement conferences a year, presenting the General Price List and completing the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected in full compliance with the FTC Funeral Rule.
- Embalms and prepares 120 to 140 cases a year, including restorative work on trauma and autopsy cases and cosmetic and dressing work for open-casket services.
- Operates the on-site crematory as a certified operator, handling 90+ cremations a year with identification and chain-of-custody procedures documented at every step.
- Files death certificates, burial transit permits and disposition permits through the state electronic system, with filings completed inside the statutory deadline on every case.
- Grew preneed contracts written from 22 to 61 a year by adding a monthly community seminar and following up with families after the service.
- Carries first-call rotation one week in three, responding to residence, hospital and nursing facility removals at any hour, averaging under 60 minutes from call to arrival.
- Supervises 2 apprentices and 4 funeral attendants on service days, covering visitation setup, procession and graveside logistics.
Funeral Director · Regional funeral home group, 4 locations
Aug 2018–Jan 2021
- Directed 90 to 110 services a year across traditional burials, cremation with memorial service, graveside services and veterans honors.
- Coordinated with clergy of six faith traditions, cemeteries, crematories, florists, musicians and the local VA office, and prepared VA burial benefit paperwork for 40+ families.
- Wrote and placed obituaries, built tribute pages and managed webcasting for out-of-state families.
- Maintained preparation room compliance under the OSHA formaldehyde and bloodborne pathogen standards, with no findings at two state board inspections.
Funeral Service Apprentice · Family-owned funeral home
Jun 2016–Jul 2018
- Completed a two-year state-required apprenticeship covering 100+ embalming cases and 75+ arrangement conferences under a licensed supervisor.
- Handled removals, dressing and casketing, visitation setup, and vehicle and facility preparation for 200+ services.
Education
Associate of Applied Science, Mortuary Science (ABFSE-accredited program)
Ohio Valley College of Mortuary Science, 2016
Bachelor of Arts, Sociology
Kentucky River University, 2014
Certifications
- Funeral Director and Embalmer license, Kentucky Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, active
- National Board Examination (NBE), passed 2016
- Certified Crematory Operator, industry certification course, 2022
- OSHA bloodborne pathogen and formaldehyde training, annual
- First aid and CPR, current
Skills
What a funeral home owner or manager checks first
Funeral service hiring is licensure-driven and trust-driven. An owner is deciding whether you can be left alone with a grieving family at ten at night. Four things carry the decision.
- License. Type, state, status and whether you hold director only, embalmer only, or both. States differ, so name the board and be exact.
- What you can cover unsupervised. Arrangements, embalming, restorative work, removals, cremation operation, preneed. Owners staff around coverage.
- Volume and setting. Calls a year, number of locations, whether the firm has a crematory, whether it serves particular communities or faith traditions.
- Compliance instincts. The FTC Funeral Rule, vital records deadlines, preparation room safety and cremation identification procedures. A director who is casual about any of these is a liability.
“License, call volume and what you can run on your own. That is the whole screen. And I look for one specific thing: does the resume mention the Funeral Rule and permit filing deadlines. If it does, that person has been trusted with the front of the house, not just carrying flowers.”
License, mortuary science and apprenticeship: how to list them
Funeral service is licensed state by state, and the requirements differ in real ways: some states issue one combined license, some license directing and embalming separately, and apprenticeship lengths vary. Write exactly what you hold.
Funeral Director and Embalmer license, Kentucky Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, active, renewed 2026. National Board Examination passed 2016. Two-year apprenticeship completed 2018. Continuing education current.
Funeral Director license, Ohio, active since 2022. National Board Examination Arts section passed 2021. Not licensed to embalm; works with two staff embalmers and can handle dressing, cosmetics and casketing.
Funeral service apprentice, registered with the state board since January 2025. Mortuary science associate degree (ABFSE-accredited) completed December 2024. National Board Examination Sciences section passed; Arts section scheduled March 2026. 62 embalming cases and 40 arrangement conferences logged toward licensure.
Licensed funeral director and embalmer in Indiana since 2019, active. Reciprocity application filed with the Tennessee board in July 2026 with National Board scores transferred. Available to work as an apprentice-level assistant while the application is processed.
Funeral director resume summary examples
Licensed funeral director and embalmer with 8 years in a two-location firm handling about 320 calls a year. Leads 140 arrangement conferences and 130 embalming cases annually, operates the crematory, and files all permits inside statutory deadlines. Family satisfaction scores averaged 4.8 out of 5 over three years.
Funeral director with 6 years, licensed in Ohio, specializing in arrangement conferences and family care. Directs 110 services a year across burial, cremation and memorial formats, works with clergy of several faith traditions, and grew preneed contracts written from 18 to 55 a year.
Licensed embalmer with 9 years running a preparation room for a firm handling 400 calls a year. Completes 220 cases annually, including trauma, autopsy and extended-delay cases requiring restorative art, and maintains full OSHA formaldehyde and bloodborne pathogen compliance with no inspection findings.
Licensed funeral director with 12 years, 4 as location manager of a firm doing 260 calls a year. Manages 6 staff, the vehicle fleet and vendor contracts, holds price lists and Funeral Rule documentation current, and raised the firm's cremation service package attachment from 31% to 58%.
Mortuary science graduate (ABFSE-accredited program, December 2025) and registered apprentice. Has logged 62 embalming cases and 40 arrangement conferences under supervision, handles removals and first calls, and passed the National Board Examination Sciences section. Available for on-call rotations and weekend services.
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Funeral director job description bullets, rewritten
| Generic duty | Rewritten |
|---|---|
| Met with families to plan funeral services. | Conducted 130 to 150 at-need arrangement conferences a year, presenting the General Price List and completing the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected on every case. |
| Performed embalming and preparation. | Embalmed and prepared 120 to 140 cases a year, including restorative work on trauma and post-autopsy cases and cosmetic and dressing work for open-casket viewing. |
| Handled paperwork for deaths. | Filed death certificates, burial transit and disposition permits through the state electronic system, with every filing completed inside the statutory deadline. |
| Directed funeral services. | Directed 90 to 110 services a year across traditional burial, cremation memorials, graveside services and veterans honors, coordinating clergy, cemetery, florists and musicians. |
| Assisted with cremation. | Operated the on-site crematory as a certified operator for 90+ cremations a year with identification and chain-of-custody documented at every transfer. |
| Sold preneed plans. | Grew preneed contracts written from 22 to 61 a year through monthly community seminars and follow-up with families after services. |
| Was on call for removals. | Carried first-call rotation one week in three, responding to residence, hospital and facility removals at any hour, averaging under 60 minutes from call to arrival. |
| Supervised staff. | Supervised 2 apprentices and 4 funeral attendants on service days, covering visitation setup, procession routing and graveside logistics. |
Funeral director skills for a resume
- Family service: at-need arrangement conferences, preneed sales and contracts, aftercare and grief support referral
- Technical: embalming, arterial and cavity treatment, restorative art, cosmetics, dressing and casketing, cremation operation
- Logistics: first calls and removals, transfers, vehicle and facility preparation, visitation and chapel setup, procession and graveside direction
- Documentation: death certificates, burial transit and disposition permits, electronic death registration, VA benefits paperwork, Social Security notification
- Compliance: FTC Funeral Rule and price lists, cremation identification procedures, OSHA formaldehyde and bloodborne pathogen standards, state board inspection readiness
- Community: obituary writing, tribute pages and webcasting, clergy and cemetery relationships, work across faith traditions and cultural practices
- Software: Passare, SRS Computing, Osiris, FuneralTech and similar case management systems
The human skills here are the job, not an add-on, so give them evidence. "Family satisfaction survey scores averaged 4.8 out of 5 across three years" or "served 40 families a year from three faith communities with services conducted in their traditions" says more than "compassionate and empathetic".
Apprentice, intern and new graduate resumes
Funeral homes hire apprentices constantly because the licensure path requires supervised time. What an owner wants to know is whether you can be around families and whether you will hold up to the hours.
- Log and state your case counts. Embalming cases assisted, arrangement conferences observed or led, removals handled, services worked. Nobody expects these to be large; they expect them to be counted.
- Name your program and its accreditation, your National Board Examination status by section, and your apprentice registration with the state board.
- List any funeral attendant, livery or receptionist work at a firm, with the number of services.
- Include work that shows composure with the public in hard moments: hospital, hospice, nursing home, emergency services, clergy, social work, customer service.
- State your availability plainly: nights, weekends, on-call rotation, holidays. This trade runs on it.
- Add a driver's license, a clean record and comfort driving a coach or lead car.
Tone, format and the mistake most funeral resumes make
The common mistake is filling the page with sentiment. Two paragraphs about honoring life and serving with dignity tells an owner nothing they cannot assume, and it pushes the useful facts to page two. Write plainly and let the numbers show that you carry the work well.
- One page under 10 years, two after that if you have management or multi-location history.
- Put your license block near the top, immediately after the summary.
- Give call volume and location count for every firm, since that is the reader's yardstick.
- No photo, no date of birth in the US. In the UK the equivalent role is usually a funeral director or funeral arranger with a different qualification route, and a CV there follows the same rules.
- Postings appear under funeral director, mortician, funeral service manager, licensed embalmer and funeral arranger. Use the posting's title in your headline.
- Say plainly that you accept on-call rotation and weekend work. Availability is often the deciding factor between two licensed candidates.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a funeral director resume?
State your license type, state and status in the first lines, then your call volume and what you can cover unsupervised. Give each job bullets with numbers: arrangement conferences, embalming cases, services directed, preneed contracts, permit filings. Add a credentials block with your mortuary science degree, National Board results and apprenticeship. One page under 10 years.
What skills should a funeral director put on a resume?
Arrangement conferences and preneed, embalming and restorative art if licensed, cremation operation, removals and first calls, death certificate and permit filing, FTC Funeral Rule compliance, service direction, clergy and cemetery coordination, and the case management software your firm uses.
Should the resume say funeral director or mortician?
Both terms are searched about equally, but use whichever the posting uses, since screening software matches on the exact phrase. In practice mortician is the older informal term, while state boards and job postings usually say funeral director, embalmer, or funeral director and embalmer.
What is a funeral director's job description for a resume?
Meeting families to arrange services, presenting price lists under the Funeral Rule, coordinating clergy, cemeteries, crematories and vendors, handling removals and transfers, embalming and preparation where licensed, filing death certificates and permits, directing visitations and services, and following up with aftercare.
How do I write a funeral service apprentice resume?
Count everything you have logged: embalming cases assisted, arrangements observed or led, removals, services worked. Name your ABFSE-accredited program, your National Board Examination status by section, and your apprentice registration. Add prior work that shows composure with the public, and state your availability for nights and weekends.
Do I need a license to be a funeral director?
Yes, in every US state, though the requirements differ. Most states require an associate degree in mortuary science from an accredited program, passing the National Board Examination or a state exam, and a supervised apprenticeship. Some states license directing and embalming separately. Check your state board's current requirements.
How long should a funeral director resume be?
One page for the first decade, two once you have managed locations or run a preparation room for a high-volume firm. Keep the license block and call volume on page one; those are what a reader checks before anything else.
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How this page was made: a first draft was written with AI assistance from cvplex's example library, then edited and fact-checked by the cvplex Careers Team. Examples are fictional composites; numbers are illustrative. Report an error via the editorial policy page.