Historical Context: Alabama Board of Funeral Services

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The Historical Context for the Alabama Board of Funeral Services has been posted from the Records Disposition Authority (RDA) approved by the State Records Commission on April 16, 2025. The RDA establishes disposition requirements by designating records as either temporary records which may be destroyed after a specified retention period, or permanent records, which must be preserved in perpetuity. The complete RDAs for close to 175 agencies can be found on the Alabama Department of Archives and History website.

Funeral and burial practices are as old as humanity itself. Archeologists believe that the oldest known intentional human burial, discovered in Qafzeh, Israel, dates from approximately 120,000 years ago, while paleoanthropologists have found evidence of deliberate burials by pre-human hominids dating to more than 240,000 years ago.[1] Prehistoric peoples buried their dead with grave goods such as beads or other adornments, weaponry, natural minerals and pigments, and other cultural or ceremonial objects specific to their communities.[2] Over time, cultures throughout the world developed their own unique and complex rituals about death, including bodily preservation, elaborate ceremonies, and designated burial structures or locations.[3]

Early American colonists primarily commemorated deaths by hosting services in their homes. Surviving loved ones memorialized the deceased with communal meals and commemorative gifts.[4] Carpenters and furniture makers acted as the earliest undertakers. They built coffins on request, delivered coffins to the homes of the deceased, and sometimes brought bodies to their final resting places.[5] As American cities became more crowded, many localities created designated burial spaces outside of city limits, spurring the Rural Cemetery Movement.[6] Undertakers increasingly offered transportation for both the living and the dead due to the increased distance between homes and burial grounds. In time, undertakers began offering expanded services, including fully arranging funeral proceedings on behalf of families and providing merchandise such as flowers, burial clothes, or mourning wear. This trend gave rise to the profession now known as funeral directing.[7]

As funeral directing developed into a unique profession, practitioners began offering embalming services. While the history of embalming dates back to Ancient Egypt, modern arterial embalming was revolutionized in eighteenth-century Europe.[8] The Civil War popularized embalming in the United States. Embalming slowed decomposition in the bodies of soldiers killed far from home, allowing families to bury their loved ones in their hometown cemeteries or family burial grounds.[9] The death of President Abraham Lincoln further popularized the practice, as thousands viewed his embalmed body during a two-week funeral procession from Washington D.C. to his burial place in Springfield, Illinois.[10] The prevalence of embalming further increased the public’s use of funeral directors and moved funeral rites out of the home.

In 1894, Alabama became one of the first states to regulate embalming.[11] Alabama Act 1894-63 established the Board of Embalming. The Board, composed of five practical embalmers appointed by the Governor, evaluated qualifications of embalmers. Under the regulations of the Board, embalmers applied for a lifetime license and paid yearly renewal fees.[12] All embalmers practicing in the state had to submit to examination by the Board to ensure they had a thorough knowledge of embalming practices, human anatomy, and sanitary standards for handling bodies to prevent the spread of disease. During the first decades of the twentieth century, legislators granted the Board additional power to enforce their mandate, including by implementing penalties for practicing without a license and permitting the Board to hear charges against embalmers for “incompetency, immorality, drunkenness or any offense involving moral turpitude.”[13]

Alabama started regulating the sale of funerary goods prior to a client’s death in the late 1920s. Now known as “preneed services” or “prearrangements,” the mechanism allowed individuals or their families to pay for burial plots, funeral merchandise, or funeral services ahead of time. The Legislature initially considered prearrangements a form of life insurance, so in 1927, it charged the Bureau of Insurance with registering prearrangement providers.[14] In 1932, the Legislature revamped initial efforts at regulation.[15] Alabama Act 1932-32 required sales agents to register with the Bureau and set minimal financial standards providers must meet. Additionally, the new act required that providers maintain stocks of caskets, hearses, and embalming supplies, among other materials, within sixty miles of the location where providers issued contracts.[16] While initially enforced by the Bureau of Insurance, the Board of Funeral Service assumed responsibility for enforcing sufficient supply stores in funeral establishments upon its creation.[17]

For three quarters of a century, the Board of Embalming operated with little change. However, it only oversaw embalmers; funeral directors and funeral establishments were not required to receive a license to conduct business. On the national stage, funeral industry practices came under fire in 1964 after an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection highlighted unethical behavior towards consumers by many funeral directors. Investigators’ final report urged funeral industry regulations. The FTC implemented its own funeral industry regulations in 1984; in the meantime, states filled the regulatory gap.[18]

In Alabama, legislators first introduced a bill to create a board regulating funeral directors and funeral establishments in 1973.[19] The initial bill failed due to concerns about the stringency of proposed regulations, but a revised version passed during the next legislative session with the support of the Alabama Funeral Directors and Morticians Association.[20] Alabama Act 1975-214 replaced the Board of Embalming with the Board of Funeral Service and granted the new agency oversight over funeral establishments, funeral directors, and embalmers. In addition to requiring examinations prior to licensure, the law required funeral directors and embalmers to complete a two-year apprenticeship and embalmers to complete an embalming course approved by the Board. The act enabled the Board to inspect funeral establishments prior to licensure and conduct supplemental investigations as needed.[21]

Under its new mandate, the Board has continued to evolve to meet changing needs within the funeral profession. In 1976, the Legislature authorized the Board to issue eye enucleation licenses.[22] Embalmers once performed eye enucleation procedures, removing eyeballs from deceased donors for transplant to a living recipient, but in time, this practice gradually fell under the purview of medical professionals. As such, the Board stopped offering eye enucleation licenses in 2011.[23]

Another change to agency operations arose with the growing acceptance of cremation. Faced with rising costs of funeral services, many Alabamians began exploring alternate options, leading to a rise in individuals opting for cremation after their passing. While cremation has ancient roots, dating back to at least 3,000 B.C.E., the first known cremation by a funeral provider in the United States happened in 1876.[24] Early proponents of cremation promoted the practice as more sanitary and able to alleviate space concerns in urban areas. Dedicated crematories gained a foothold in cities throughout the country, particularly in the densely populated Northeast, but most of the nation still opted for in-ground burial.[25] Most Americans preferred casketed burial and did not embrace cremation until the mid-to-late twentieth century.[26]

As more Alabamians opted for cremation, the state recognized the need to regulate cremation activities. Alabama Act 2002-239 established standards for cremation, including requiring that crematories reside on the premises of a licensed funeral establishment and that establishments certify that all individuals performing cremations receive proper training. The law required establishments to submit annual reports documenting the number of cremations performed in each crematory and the ultimate disposition of remains.[27]

Also in 2002, legislators revamped regulations on preneed providers. Preneed providers received a certificate of authority from the Department of Insurance prior to entering into contracts with consumers and were subject to financial oversight by the Department. The new act required preneed sales agents to register with the Department of Insurance and certify that an active certificate holder sponsored their registration.[28]

In the new millennium, the Board of Funeral Service advocated for and implemented new regulations on licensees under their purview. In 2011, the agency adopted new standards for mortuary services.[29] Mortuary services exclusively contract with other public-facing funeral establishments to perform services such as cremation or embalming. Although held to high professional standards, mortuary services do not have to meet the public interaction standards required of funeral establishments. Alabama Act 2011-623 also implemented educational requirements for funeral directors. The law required funeral directors to have graduated from a Board-approved program before applying for licensure.[30] Later, in 2014, new legislation required all individual licensees to complete eight hours of continuing education courses before each licensure renewal period.[31] Additional legislation in 2017 initiated licensure for cremationists and formal registration of crematories, strengthening the agency’s regulatory capabilities.[32]

In 2023, legislation radically reshaped the Board and its purview. The Alabama Preneed Funeral and Cemetery Act of 2023 transferred responsibility for regulating preneed contract providers and sales agents from the Department of Insurance to the Board. The Act renamed the Board of Funeral Service as the Board of Funeral Services, recognizing the agency’s increased responsibilities; added new members to the composition of the Board; and created a subcommittee of the Board devoted to guiding preneed services regulation within the state. The Act also transferred to the Board regulation of endowment care cemeteries.[33] This legislation consolidated the regulation of all aspects of the funeral industry into a single state agency.

Funeral practices continue to change as advances in technology or shifts in tradition and cultural viewpoints give rise to new ways of memorializing the dead. As American attitudes towards death continue to shift, individuals increasingly look towards alternate methods of disposal for their earthly remains, including through “green burials” or the preservation of cremated remains in jewelry.[34] In the face of a changing funerary landscape, the Board of Funeral Services ensures professionalism, safety, and respect in the death industry.

[1] Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, “Qafzeh: Oldest Intentional Burial,” updated January 3, 2024, https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/burial/qafzeh-oldest-intentional-burial; Kristen Romney, “A mysterious human species may have been the first to bury their dead,” National Geographic, June 5, 2023, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/earliest-human-burial-homo-naledi-berger.

[2] Conor Feehly, “Grave Goods Reveal Beliefs About the Afterlife,” Discover Magazine, June 8, 2023, https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/grave-goods-reveal-beliefs-about-the-afterlife.

[3] Meg Greene, Rest In Peace: A History of American Cemeteries (Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2008).

[4] Kelly Goles, “Evolution of Funerary Customs and Laws,” Library of Congress, September 28, 2022, https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/09/evolution-of-american-funerary-customs-and-laws/.

[5] Chase Downs, “A Brief History of Funeral Directors,” March 23, 2021, https://gather.app/blog/a-brief-history-of-funeral-directors/.

[6] Greene, Rest In Peace: A History of American Cemeteries. The Rural Cemetery Movement saw the popularization of sprawling, landscaped cemeteries more reminiscent of public parks than traditional burial grounds. In addition to changing American attitudes towards death and burial, the Rural Cemetery Movement led to the creation of more elaborate burial monuments and carved headstones. The Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Oakland Cemetery in Birmingham, and Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery demonstrate the garden cemetery style popularized by the Rural Cemetery Movement.

[7] Goles, “Evolution of Funerary Customs and Laws.”

[8] Funeral Basics, “The Strange & Unusual History of Embalming,” accessed January 9, 2025, https://www.funeralbasics.org/the-strange-unusual-history-of-embalming/; Encyclopedia Britannica, “Development of modern embalming,” updated November 14, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/embalming/Development-of-modern-embalming. 

[9] Goles, “Evolution of Funerary Customs and Laws.”

[10] Rose Eveleth, “How Lincoln’s Assassination Launched the Funeral Industry,” Smithsonian Magazine, August 13, 2012, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-lincolns-assassination-launched-the-funeral-industry-21147558/.

[11] Goles, “Evolution of Funerary Customs and Laws;” Alabama Act 1894-63. Virginia was the first state to pass legislation regulating embalming, also in 1894.

[12] Alabama Act 1894-63.

[13] Alabama Act 1903-456; Alabama Act 1915-703.

[14] Alabama Act 1927-207.

[15] Alabama Act 1932-32.

[16] Alabama Act 1932-32.

[17] Alabama Act 1975-214.

[18] Goles, “Evolution of Funerary Customs and Laws.”

[19] United Press International, “Legislature Faced with ERA, Employee Pay Bill,” The Daily Sentinel (Scottsboro, AL), June 13, 1973.

[20] Mary Kate Stovall, “Hurtsboro Views,” The Union Springs Herald (Union Springs, AL), June 19, 1975; Alabama Act 1975-214.

[21] Alabama Act 1975-214. Alabama Act 83-746 later established annual inspections for funeral establishments.

[22] Alabama Act 1976-586.

[23] Alabama Act 2011-623. Activities relating to eye donation are now administered by the Alabama Eye Bank and the Board of Medical Examiners.

[24] Cremation Association of North America, “History of Cremation,” accessed January 10, 2025, https://www.cremationassociation.org/historyofcremation.html; Amy Elliott Bragg, “Why the First Cremation in the U.S. Was So Controversial,” Atlas Obscura, May 23, 2016, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-the-first-cremation-in-the-us-was-so-controversial.

[25] Bragg, “Why the First Cremation in the U.S. Was So Controversial.”

[26] Jason Ryan Engler, “Cremated Remains: A History,” Cremation Association of North America, May 9, 2018, https://www.cremationassociation.org/blog/cremated-remains-a-history. As of 2016, 24 percent of Alabamians opted for cremation. Nationwide, more than 50 percent of people opt for cremation.

[27] Alabama Act 2002-239.

[28] Alabama Act 2002-74.

[29] Alabama Act 2011-623.

[30] Ibid.

[31] Alabama Act 2014-302.

[32] Alabama Act 2017-433.

[33] Alabama Act 2023-94. Endowment care cemeteries are for-profit cemeteries not affiliated with a church or local government agency. They may allow consumers to pre-pay for burial plots or provide continued upkeep for plots and cemetery grounds. As of 2025, local government- and church-operated cemeteries are not subject to regulation.

[34] Paul Rand, “92: From green burials to DIY funerals, how death in America is changing with Shannon Lee Dawdy,” produced by the University of Chicago, Big Brains, May 12, 2022, podcast, https://news.uchicago.edu/green-burials-diy-funerals-how-death-america-changing.

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