Florida Statutes 497.372 – Funeral directing; conduct constituting practice of funeral directing
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(1) The practice of funeral directing shall be construed to consist of the following functions, which may be performed only by a licensed funeral director:
(a) Selling or offering to sell funeral services, embalming, cremation, or other services relating to the final disposition of human remains, including the removal of such remains from the state, on an at-need basis.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 497.372
- Board: means the Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Cemetery: means a place dedicated to and used or intended to be used for the permanent interment of human remains or cremated remains. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Centralized embalming facility: means a facility in which embalming takes place that operates independently of a funeral establishment licensee and that offers embalming services to funeral directors for a fee. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Cremation: means any mechanical or thermal process whereby a dead human body is reduced to ashes and bone fragments. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Director: means the director of the Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Final disposition: means the final disposal of a dead human body by earth interment, aboveground interment, cremation, burial at sea, anatomical donation, or delivery to a medical institution for lawful dissection if the medical institution or entity receiving the anatomical donation assumes responsibility for disposition after use pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Funeral director: means any person licensed under this chapter to practice funeral directing in this state. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Funeral establishment: means a facility licensed under this chapter where a funeral director or embalmer practices funeral directing or embalming. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- individual: includes both natural persons and legal entities. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Licensee: means the person or entity holding any license or other authorization issued under this chapter, except where expressly indicated otherwise. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- merchandise: means any personal property offered or sold by any person for use in connection with the final disposition, memorialization, interment, entombment, or inurnment of human remains or cremated remains, including, but not limited to, caskets, outer burial containers, alternative containers, cremation containers, cremation interment containers, urns, monuments, private mausoleums, flowers, benches, vases, acknowledgment cards, register books, memory folders, prayer cards, and clothing. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Person: when used without qualification such as "natural" or "individual" includes both natural persons and legal entities. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Practice of funeral directing: means the performance by a licensed funeral director of any of those functions authorized by…. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Preneed: means any arrangement or method, of which the provider of funeral merchandise or services has actual knowledge, whereby any person agrees to furnish funeral merchandise or service in the future. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Processing: means the reduction of identifiable bone fragments after the completion of the cremation process to unidentifiable bone fragments by manual means. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- Refrigeration facility: means a facility that is operated independently of a funeral establishment, crematory, or direct disposal establishment, that maintains space and equipment for the storage and refrigeration of dead human bodies, and that offers its service to funeral directors, funeral establishments, direct disposers, direct disposal establishments, or crematories for a fee. See Florida Statutes 497.005
- service: means any service offered or provided in connection with the final disposition, memorialization, interment, entombment, or inurnment of human remains or cremated remains. See Florida Statutes 497.005
(b) Planning or arranging, on an at-need basis, the details of funeral services, embalming, cremation, or other services relating to the final disposition of human remains, and establishing the type of services to be rendered.
(c) Making, negotiating, or completing the financial arrangements for funeral services, embalming, cremation, or other services relating to the final disposition of human remains, including the removal of such remains from the state, on an at-need basis, except that nonlicensed personnel may assist the funeral director in performing such tasks.
(d) Directing, being in charge or apparent charge of, or supervising, directly or indirectly, a visitation or viewing. Such functions shall not require that a licensed funeral director be physically present throughout the visitation or viewing, provided that the funeral director is readily available by telephone for consultation.
(e) Directing, being in charge or apparent charge of, or supervising, directly or indirectly, any funeral service held in a funeral establishment, cemetery, or elsewhere.
(f) Directing, being in charge or apparent charge of, or supervising, directly or indirectly, any memorial service if such memorial service is sold or arranged by a licensee.
(g) Using in connection with one’s name or employment the words or terms “funeral director,” “funeral establishment,” “undertaker,” “mortician,” or any other word, term, title, or picture, or combination of any of the above, that when considered in the context in which used would imply that such person is engaged in the practice of funeral directing or that such person is holding herself or himself out to the public as being engaged in the practice of funeral directing; provided, however, that nothing in this paragraph shall prevent using the name of any owner, officer, or corporate director of a funeral establishment, who is not a licensee, in connection with the name of the funeral establishment with which such individual is affiliated, so long as such individual’s affiliation is properly specified.
(h) Managing or supervising the operation of a funeral establishment, except for administrative matters such as budgeting, accounting and personnel, maintenance of buildings, equipment and grounds, and routine clerical and recordkeeping functions.
(2) A funeral director may not engage in the practice of funeral directing except through affiliation with a funeral establishment licensed under this chapter. The board shall adopt by rule criteria for determining whether such an affiliation exists through the funeral director’s ownership of, employment by, or contractual relationship with, a funeral establishment. This subsection does not prohibit a funeral director from being designated the licensed funeral director in charge of a cineration facility.
(3) The practice of funeral directing shall not be construed to consist of the following functions:
(a) The phoning-in, faxing, or electronic transmission of obituary notices; ordering of flowers or merchandise; delivery of death certificates to attending physicians; or clerical preparation and processing of death certificates, insurance forms, and any clerical tasks that record the information compiled by the funeral director or that are incidental to any of the functions specified above.
(b) Furnishing standard printed price lists and other disclosure information to the public by telephone or by providing such lists to persons making inquiry.
(c) Removing or transporting human remains from the place of death, or removing or transporting human remains from or to a funeral establishment, centralized embalming facility, refrigeration facility, cemetery, crematory, medical examiner’s office, common carrier, or other locations as authorized and provided by law.
(d) Arranging, coordinating, or employing licensed removal services, licensed refrigeration facilities, or licensed centralized embalming facilities.
(e) Any aspect of making preneed funeral arrangements or entering into preneed contracts.
(f) Any functions normally performed by cemetery or crematory personnel.