The International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards is pleased to share a strategic initiative that will streamline its examination program. The board of directors is ever mindful of the need to review programs and policies to help make the examination’s role in the licensure process as efficient as possible for those who can demonstrate the minimum competency skills required to safely serve the public. In that spirit, The Conference will consolidate the State Board Exam (SBE) program and the National Board Exam (NBE) program beginning January 1, 2023. All candidates for licensure will take the NBE Arts and/or NBE Sciences based on eligibility requirements set forth by their regulatory board/agency or their ABFSE accredited program.

The Conference will continue to report the exam statistics separately for graduates of an ABFSE accredited program from those with other education. There will simply be one exam program; NBE Arts and/or NBE Sciences. It is important to note that the current exam eligibility process will not change. ABFSE accredited programs will continue to submit verified graduates as eligible for the exam, and licensing boards will continue to deem candidates eligible based on individual state licensure requirements. The cost of the exams will remain the same as will the application process. The impact to SBE candidates who will be taking the NBE Arts exam after January 1, 2023 will be minimal in that they will now complete 170 items (150 scored and 20 pretest) on their exam form.

The simplification of the exam program will reduce confusion in the exam process and help promote overall ease of licensure mobility. The Conference board of directors, with input from its membership, continuously reviews the exam program and policies in an effort to support the needs of funeral service licensure boards. We look forward to communicating more details as they become available.  Please visit our website for the most up to date announcements and the Frequently Asked Questions page.