Did Colorado start requiring mortuary workers to be licensed in 2024? 

Mortuary workers in Colorado can remain unlicensed until 2027.

In 2024, Colorado passed Senate Bill 173, requiring mortuary professionals to obtain a license to operate by Jan. 1, 2027.

Under new regulations, funeral directors, mortuary workers and embalmers must have a degree in the field, have passed required exams and have at least one year of workplace learning experience. Cremationists and natural reductionists — those administering the process of turning human remains into soil or compost — must be certified by an accredited organization. 

Until this bill passed, Colorado was the only U.S. state with no licensing requirement for funeral workers. This was not always the case: the state terminated its original licensing body in 1983. 

The state began requiring funeral homes and crematories to obtain licenses in 2009. There are currently 304 businesses with active licenses across the state, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies data shows.