The Complete Guide to Becoming A Mortician, Undertaker, and Funeral Arranger

Chapter 1: What Does a Mortician, Undertaker, and Funeral Arranger Actually Do?

Let's start with the most important thing you need to know: this is a job, and like any job, it has a rhythm, a set of tasks, and a lot of paperwork. The title "mortician" or "funeral director" sounds mysterious, but the work itself is concrete. You are running a small business that serves families on the worst day of their lives, and you are also performing a licensed technical procedure on a human body. Both halves of that sentence are true, and both halves matter.

In the United States, the terms "mortician," "undertaker," and "funeral director" are often used interchangeably, but there are subtle differences. A mortician is specifically licensed to prepare bodies for burial or cremation — that includes embalming, restorative art, and cosmetic work. An undertaker is an older term that once meant the person who "undertook" to handle all funeral arrangements, but today it's essentially a synonym for funeral director. A funeral arranger is the person who meets with families, plans the service, handles the paperwork, and coordinates with the cemetery or crematory. In most small and mid-size funeral homes — which is where the majority of new professionals start — you will do all three jobs at once. You will be the person who answers the phone at 3 a.m. when a nursing home calls about a death, the person who goes to the hospital to take custody of the body, the person