Continuing Education

A. Funeral service licensees, funeral directors, or embalmers shall be required to have completed a minimum of five hours per year of continuing education offered by a board-approved sponsor for licensure renewal in courses that emphasize the ethics, standards of practice, preneed contracts and funding, or federal or state laws and regulations governing the profession of funeral service.

1. One hour per year shall cover compliance with laws and regulations governing the profession or preneed funeral arrangements. At least one hour of continuing education in preneed funeral arrangements must be completed every three years. The one-hour requirement on compliance with laws and regulations may be met once every two years by attendance at a meeting of the board or at a committee of the board or an informal conference or formal hearing.

2. One hour of the five hours required for annual renewal may be satisfied through delivery of professional services, without compensation, to low-income individuals receiving health services through a local health department or a free clinic organized in whole or primarily for the delivery of those services. One hour of continuing education may be credited for one hour of providing such volunteer services, as documented by the health department or free clinic. For the purposes of continuing education credit for volunteer service, an approved sponsor shall be a local health department or free clinic.

B. Courses must be directly related to the scope of practice of funeral service. Courses for which the principal purpose is to promote, sell, or offer goods, products, or services to funeral homes are not acceptable for the purpose of credit toward renewal.

C. The board may grant an extension for good cause of up to one year for the completion of continuing education requirements upon written request from the licensee prior to the renewal date. Such extension shall not relieve the licensee of the continuing education requirement.

D. The board may grant an exemption for all or part of the continuing education requirements for one renewal cycle due to circumstances determined by the board to be beyond the control of the licensee.

E. A licensee shall be exempt from the continuing education requirements for the first renewal following the date of initial licensure by examination in Virginia.

A. Unless disqualified by action of the board, courses offered by the following providers are approved for continuing education credit:

1. Local, state, or federal government agencies;

2. Regionally accredited colleges and universities; or

3. Board-recognized national, regional, state, and local associations or organizations as follows:

a. National Funeral Directors Association and state chapters;

b. National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association and state chapters;

c. Association of Independent Funeral Homes of Virginia;

d. Cremation Association of North America;

e. American Board of Funeral Service Education;

f. International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards;

g. Virginia Morticians Association; and

h. Other similar associations or organizations as approved by action of the board.

B. Course providers not listed in subsection A of this section may apply for approval by the board as continuing education providers.

1. To be considered for board approval, a continuing education provider shall submit 60 days prior to offering a continuing education course:

a. Documentation of an instructional plan and course objectives for the continuing education course that meets the criteria set forth in 18VAC65-20-151 B;

b. A syllabus of the course to be offered with the credentials of the course instructors, a description of each session, including number of continuing education hours; and

c. The continuing education provider fee set forth under 18VAC65-20-70.

2. Board approval of continuing education providers under this subsection shall expire on July 1 of each year and may be renewed upon resubmission of documentation on courses and instructors and the provider fee as required by the board.

3. Renewed approval of a continuing education provider may be granted without submission of an additional course review fee if the provider submits a statement that courses and instructors offered for the coming year will not change from the previous year. If there will be additions or alterations to the continuing education offerings of a provider, resubmission of course documentation and an additional course review fee is required.

4. If additional courses are submitted for board approval beyond those courses submitted with an initial or renewal application, the continuing education provider shall remit the fee for review under 18VAC65-20-70.

C. Continuing education providers approved under subsection A or B of this section shall:

1. Maintain and provide to the board upon request documentation of the course titles and objectives and of licensee attendance and completion of courses for a period of two years;

2. Monitor attendance at classroom or similar educational experiences for compliance with law and regulations; and

3. Provide a certificate of completion for licensees who successfully complete a course.

A. All licensees with active status are required to maintain original documentation of continuing education for a period of two years after the corresponding annual renewal period.

B. After the end of each renewal period, the board may conduct a random audit of licensees to verify compliance with the requirement for that renewal period.

C. Upon request, a licensee shall provide documentation within 14 days as follows:

1. Official transcripts showing credit hours earned from an accredited institution; or

2. Certificates of completion from approved providers.

D. Compliance with continuing education requirements, including the subject and purpose of the courses as prescribed in 18VAC65-20-151 B, the maintenance of records and the relevance of the courses to the category of licensure is the responsibility of the licensee. The board may request additional information if such compliance is not clear from the transcripts or certificates.

E. Continuing education hours required by disciplinary order shall not be used to satisfy renewal requirements.