Continuing Education
These rules are effective as of January 1, 2023.
Per the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Licensing Code, Illinois requires licensed funeral directors and embalmers to obtain 24 hours of continuing education every two-year licensing period. The current licensing period ends May 31, 2025.
Continuing Education Breakdown
The continuing education required for an Illinois-licensed funeral director and embalmer to renew their license is as follows:
- 6 Hours Interactive Funeral Directing Credits
- 6 Hours Interactive Embalming Credits
- 12 Hours General Elective Credits
- Sexual Harassment Prevention Training
Totaling 24 hours, these credits must be completed prior to renewing your license.
- Interactive continuing education means "classroom courses or CE that uses interactive learning methodologies that simulate the classroom learning process by employing computer software, other technology or administrative systems that provide significant, ongoing, interactive feedback to the learning regarding his or her learning process." Twelve CE hours must be interactive. You may gain interactive hours by taking any IFDA webinar or attending IFDA events.
- The remaining twelve general elective hours may be earned through home-study or by taking webinars that do not utilize interactive technologies (aka non-interactive CE). IFDA home-study materials can be purchased in the Online Store.
- General Elective hours can be made up of extra funeral directing or embalming hours in addition to courses designated general elective. General elective credit, however, CANNOT be used to fulfill funeral directing and embalming hour requirements.
- As of January 1, 2020, all professional licenses require completion of a one-hour sexual harassment prevention training to renew their licenses through IDFPR. A licensee may count this hour towards meeting the minimum credit hours required for continuing education. IFDA offers sexual harassment prevention training quarterly.
- Up to 6 hours of insurance continuing education credits can be earned, and they count towards the general elective requirement.
- For continuing education credits to be valid, they must be provided by an approved Illinois CE sponsor.
- You will need to keep a record of your completed CE. All necessary CE for each licensing period will need to be completed before renewing your license. License renewal takes place via IDFPR's website.
- If you have a grandfathered funeral director's license and are not an embalmer, your CE requirements are 12 hours per renewal period, and only 3 of those hours may be insurance courses.
- Licensees who properly received the 40-year exemption as set forth in Section 5-15 of the Code, are exempt from CE requirements, including the sexual harassment prevention training. This is an IDFPR-wide rule and is not specific to funeral directors.
Keeping Track of your CE Hours
- You will need to keep a record of all continuing education certificates you receive.
- All CE taken through IFDA is documented in your profile under View CE History. You may view, print, and email your CE transcript from this screen.
- Additionally, as a member benefit, you may add journal entries to your IFDA profile to keep track of CE earned from sources other than IFDA. However, this does not count as submitting CE to IDFPR. Select "Add Entry" under Professional Development. Adding CE entries to your Professional Development Journal does not certify or approve it in any way, and is simply to organize and keep track of your CE hours. IDFPR is the regulating body for funeral directors and embalmers in the state of Illinois, and all CE requires their approval. IFDA is not responsible for the legitimacy of any CE not provided by IFDA.
