(a) Every person desiring to engage as an apprentice shall satisfy all of the following:

(1) Make application as a funeral director's apprentice or an embalmer's apprentice to the board upon a form provided by the board. The applicant shall submit to the board a form, sworn to by the applicant, that contains the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of the applicant, and two complete sets of fingerprints, for completion of a criminal history background check. The board shall submit the fingerprints to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency for a state criminal history record check. The fingerprints shall be forwarded by the agency to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check. Costs associated with conducting a criminal history background check shall be paid by the applicant. The board shall keep information received pursuant to this subsection confidential, except that information received and relied upon in denying the issuance of an apprentice certification may be disclosed if necessary to support the denial.

(2) Be over the age of 18.

(3) Hold a high school certificate or the equivalent.

(4) Be of good moral character.

(b) The application shall be verified by the oath of the applicant and be accompanied by a fee to be established by the board, not to exceed twenty dollars ($20).

(c) The executive director, whenever it appears to him or her that no reason exists for the denial of an application and that the application is regular upon its face, may issue to the applicant a certificate of apprenticeship, without submitting the application to the board. If, however, any doubt exists as to the qualifications of the applicant, the application shall be submitted to the board and may be accepted or rejected by a majority of the board.

(d) The period of apprenticeship of a funeral director's apprentice or an embalmer's apprentice shall be performed in Alabama under the supervision of a funeral director or embalmer, respectively, licensed by the board.

(e) A licensed funeral director or a licensed embalmer may supervise no more than three apprentices at any given time, unless otherwise provided for by the board.

(f) Only a licensed funeral director or licensed embalmer, whose license is in good standing, may supervise an apprentice.

(g) The regular course of apprenticeship shall be two years, but the apprentice is entitled to two weeks time off each year, without leave of absence from the board.

(h) An apprentice shall be enrolled in the funeral service program at an accredited mortuary school within one year after the original start date of his or her apprenticeship. If an apprentice is not enrolled in mortuary school within that time period, then the apprenticeship may not be renewed and the apprenticeship may not be reactivated until the apprentice provides proof of enrollment.