Missouri’s preneed seller and provider license renewals expire October 31st of each year, and many funeral directors approach this deadline like they would their tax return: if it is in the mail by Halloween I’m good.  But, dozens of Missouri funeral directors found otherwise this past year when they were summoned to appear before the Board for selling or servicing contracts while the license(s) had lapsed.  The Division staff has taken the position that seller and provider licenses must be renewed prior to October 31st.   The staff contends that the renewals have to be received with sufficient time to permit their review and approval prior to the deadline.

The State Board updated their website this past week to include an automated request for replacement renewal forms and the PDF schedules that may be prepared by the seller’s funding agents.

Besides the timeliness of the renewal filing, funeral homes were also summoned to appear before the State Board for incomplete filings.  More than one funeral home contended that it had included all of its renewals in a filing, only to have the Division misplace one of the renewals.  To avoid this situation, and to document the timeliness of the renewal filing, we would recommend that sellers and providers mail their renewals by October 1st, and include a cover letter that sets out: the applicable seller/provider names and license numbers; each renewal form included; each check that is included; and the date deposited to mail.  The renewal document packet should be sent certified mail to the State Board’s physical address (not the PO Box address):

Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors

3605 Missouri Boulevard

Jefferson City, MO 65102-0423