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No. You may either get an Associate of Arts in Mortuary Science degree or complete 2 years in an accredited college. For complete information about education requirements, visit professional development requirements. If you aren't sure you have completed the proper courses, send us a photocopy of your transcript for evaluation.
5 hours per year, which must include at least 1 hour of OSHA/WISHA training. For more information, visit professional development requirements.
We no longer pre-approve professional development. Finding appropriate professional development is the licensee's responsibility.
No. Many funeral homes will contact the Washington State Funeral Directors Association job referral service. You may phone them for details at 253.941.3370 or fax 253.276.1110.
Prearranging your funeral, burial, or cremation, may ease the burden on your survivors in a time of grief. Funeral homes and cemeteries that sell prearrangement funeral service contracts are licensed to do so by the Department of Licensing. When you purchase a contract, they are required to deposit or invest a percentage of the money you pay in an insured account to protect your investment. In addition, we monitor the status of prearrangement trust funds.
No, there is no state law or rule regarding the appropriate level of cemetery maintenance.
Yes, cemeteries are allowed by law to create their own rules for the operation of the cemetery, including rules regarding the planting of trees, bushes, and flowers. You should always check first with cemetery management before planting anything on a grave.
You can preauthorize cremation of your own remains with a written document you have signed in the presence of a witness directly with a funeral establishment. If you don't make prearrangements, a cremation may be authorized after your death by the following (in the order given):
If the funeral home or cemetery is unable to locate the next of kin after making a good faith effort to find them, the most responsible person available may authorize a cremation or alternate disposition. (Visit RCW 68.50.160.)
You may scatter cremated remains on:
Don't drop or throw the urn containing the cremated remains. Scatter only the contents. Pour the cremated remains out of the container and dispose of the container separately. There is usually a second identification label and/or a numbered metal disc inside the container. Keep this and dispose of it separately with the container.
Embalming isn't required, but all human remains must be either embalmed or refrigerated upon receipt unless disposition of the body has been made. Remains can't be embalmed without authorization from a family member or representative of the deceased (visit RCW 18.39.215). If refrigerated, human remains may only be removed from refrigeration for 24 hours or less to perform the activities listed in WAC 246-500-030(2)(e). Otherwise, the remains must remain in refrigeration until final disposition or transport.
Only if you create a cemetery on that property, following all the licensing requirements. It is a misdemeanor to bury any human remains anywhere except inside a cemetery or a building dedicated exclusively for religious purposes. This doesn't apply to scattering or burial of cremated remains (RCW 68.50.130).
A fetus of less than 20 weeks gestation isn't considered by the law to be human remains, and may be buried on private property. However, a fetus of 20 weeks or more gestation is considered to be human remains and must be disposed of in a lawful manner according to state health laws.
All of the items below as listed in WAC 308-48-030:
All of the items below as listed in WAC 308-47-020: