North CarolinaHB 10032025-2026 SessionHouseWALLET

AN ACT TO MODIFY THE LAWS OF FUNERAL SERVICE AND CREMATION.

Sponsored By: Brenden H. Jones (Republican), Mike Colvin (Democratic), Charles W. Miller (Republican), A. Reece Pyrtle, Jr. (Republican)

Signed by Governor

AUTHORITIESBOARDSCREMATIONDEATH & DYINGEMERGING TECHNOLOGIESFEESFUNERAL SERVICESINSURANCELICENSING & CERTIFICATIONOCCUPATIONSPRESENTEDPUBLICRATIFIEDSTEMTRANSPORTATIONCHAPTEREDFUNERAL SERVICE BOARDCREMATORY AUTHORITY

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

23 provisions identified: 5 benefits, 6 costs, 12 mixed.

Tougher penalties for funeral licensees

The Board expands reasons to deny, suspend, or revoke licenses. Grounds include certain guilty pleas or convictions, loss of a license in another state, unsafe practice, failing to refund excess insurance within 30 days, not delivering contracted goods or services, not answering the Board, poor supervision, or ignoring a lawful disposition order. The Board may accept an offer in compromise and fine up to $5,000 instead of other discipline.

Faster life insurance answers for funerals

Beginning August 8, 2025, licensed funeral providers can ask life insurers for policy details to help arrange payment. Insurers must answer within one business day and say if a policy exists, list beneficiaries, disclose loans or liens, state the benefit amount, note any reinstatement in the last 24 months, and provide a claim form. Requests must include the right authorizations or a death notice, and group affiliation if it is group life. Insurers that do not respond on time can be penalized.

New fees and rules for crematories

Beginning October 1, 2025, crematories and alkaline hydrolysis sites must pay set fees: $400 to apply, $150 to renew each year, $75 for late renewals, $150 for reinspections, and $10 per cremation or reduction. Per‑cremation fees are due monthly by the 10th with a signed report listing each decedent, dates, counts, and totals; late reports can cost $75 per month. Managers pay $150 to apply and $40 to renew. Only funeral establishments with a valid establishment permit may perform alkaline hydrolysis, and only on their premises. File a new application within 30 days after a change of ownership over 50% or any legal change that shifts majority control; if you fail an inspection, you must pay a reinspection fee.

New licensing and training for funeral workers

Passing exam scores now stay valid for five years. Supervisors need only one year of licensed practice and may supervise up to two trainees. Trainees must file monthly work reports; renewals are limited to two one‑year terms; late reports can cost up to $50, and active‑duty trainees do not pay late fees. A provisional funeral director license is available ($500 to apply; $250 to renew, up to two renewals) with at least five hours of CE each year. You may keep an inactive license without CE; to reactivate, complete CE equal to five times the inactive years. To reinstate a forfeited license, either show full‑time practice out of state with equivalent CE or complete NC CE equal to five times the forfeiture years, and pay delinquent and reinstatement fees. The Board offers at least eight hours of CE each year and may charge up to $50 per course; some long‑tenured licensees and members of the NC General Assembly get CE waivers. The Board must license qualified out‑of‑state practitioners by reciprocity and may issue courtesy cards for limited nonresident work. Embalmers who use an embalming facility must register it with the Board.

New cremation forms and safety rules

Only a licensed crematory may cremate remains. Beginning October 1, 2025, a crematory must have a Board‑approved authorization form signed by the right person before cremation, and a signed death certificate with key facts. Funeral homes and crematories must keep bodies at 40°F or colder unless final disposition happens within 24 hours. Staff must attach durable ID tags to the body and, before burial or cremation, include full ID details or place them inside the urn. If crime or violence may be involved, embalming or cremation may not proceed without permission from the Medical Examiner. The law replaces older authorizing‑agent rules on October 1, 2025.

Stronger safeguards for preneed funeral funds

When someone other than the contracting provider performs a preneed contract, the performing licensee must send the contracting licensee a copy of the certificate of performance when filed or within 10 days of payment. For trust‑funded contracts, the performing licensee must close the account, distribute proceeds per the contract, and file the certificate with the Board within 30 days. Each preneed licensee must file an annual report by March 31 with counts, types, statuses, and year‑end balances of contracts. The Board can order preneed funds frozen to protect purchasers; banks and insurers that follow the order are protected from liability.

New operating rules for funeral homes

Each location must have its own permit, show it, and name a licensed manager; a manager can oversee branches within 50 miles. Permits expire December 31; apply by January 1, pay late fees after February 1, and you cannot renew after six months of lapse. Permits are not transferable; apply at least 30 days before ownership changes, and the estate has 180 days after a majority owner’s death. You must list all licensed staff, have a licensed owner or designated officer, register branches and keep them within 50 miles, and meet preparation room supply rules; failed inspections bring reinspection fees. If a facility is destroyed by disaster, the Board can waive some facility rules for up to two years (courts can extend), and Hurricane Helene victims may use an affidavit to meet a practice condition.

New staffing and naming rules for funeral homes

Every licensed crematory must employ at least one full‑time crematory technician; if replacing the only technician at renewal, you have up to 30 days to operate while hiring. Funeral staff must post licenses where customers can see them. You cannot use words like “crematory” in a funeral home’s name unless it shares property with a licensed crematory; an owner may use those words for only one site unless each site has a crematory. Licensed facilities may not recover tissue except for narrow, consented exceptions, and no one may take payment for referring tissue donors.

Permits and insurance for body transporters

People and businesses that move bodies must get a Board permit before transporting. Individual permit holders must be 18, have a valid NC driver’s license, and carry at least $500,000 in professional‑liability insurance. You must give the Board your insurance certificate within 30 days and each year to renew, and report changes within 30 days. Bodies must be covered or secured and treated with respect; photos or videos need family consent. Some groups are exempt (for example, licensed funeral staff, emergency responders in duty, medical examiners, and people moving a relative’s or cremated remains). It is a Class 2 misdemeanor to operate without a permit, and serious misconduct can bring fines up to $5,000 or loss of the permit.

Preneed business bonds, fees, and rules

New or lapsed preneed establishments (post‑2008) must keep a surety bond of at least $50,000, usually for two years; the Board can change the term or extend it after a claim. The Board can fine up to $5,000 and broaden discipline, including for not refunding excess insurance money within 30 days. Preneed establishment application fees are capped at $400 and annual renewals at $250; sales licenses are capped at $50, with late fees after February 1 (up to $100 for establishments and $25 for sales). The Board sets fees but cannot exceed capped amounts. If a business transfers or closes, it must notify the Board, move unperformed contracts to a licensed successor, and the successor can be liable for amounts the prior firm kept. Some preneed burial insurance items and transportation protection agreements made on or after October 1, 2025 are excluded from this Article’s rules.

Stronger Board oversight and inspections

Inspectors may enter and inspect funeral homes, embalming facilities, crematories, alkaline hydrolysis sites, removal businesses, and service venues, and review related records, including some hospital or nursing‑home records. The Board can seek restraining orders and injunctions in superior court, with venue in the county of acts, the defendant’s county, or Wake County, and can recover costs and attorneys’ fees for unlicensed practice. Investigative files are confidential, but hearing notices and decisions are public. The Board has nine members under set appointment rules, and the separate Crematory Authority ends October 1, 2025.

Clear funeral prices and charge limits

Every funeral item must have a price card or brochure showing its price and what is included. Before services start, the licensee must give you a signed written statement of chosen services, extra items, and any amounts advanced. Funeral homes must ask who has legal authority before accepting remains. If they accept remains without proper authority, they cannot charge for services before delivery to the authorized person, except limited removal and necessary professional services in accidental or violent deaths.

Plan cremation and handle ashes

Beginning October 1, 2025, you can pre‑authorize your own cremation with a witnessed form, keep a copy, and change it anytime before death. Crematories must give ashes only to the person named on the form and get signed receipts. They must give receipts when they receive and when they release remains, and keep all forms for three years. You may scatter ashes after removing them from a closed container, including over water, if you follow health and environmental rules. Crematories cannot require a casket for cremation or force you to buy an urn.

Rights and payments for preneed plans

The law updates preneed terms and clarifies what is covered. With your written OK, trust funds can be used to buy a prearrangement insurance policy, but irrevocable contracts still cannot be revoked. You can write religious practices into a preneed contract, unless they conflict with cremation rules or required records. You or, after death, your beneficiary or legal representative can switch funeral providers by written notice, and trust or insurance payments must flow to the performing provider. After performance, the provider must send a certificate so the bank or insurer pays, and then file it with the Board within 10 days. Preneed contracts and solvency records filed with the Board are kept confidential.

Chapel sales and transport agreements

A funeral home may use its chapel to make arrangements and sell merchandise by photo or online as a secondary use that does not interfere with services. Chapels cannot display caskets or have a full‑time staff, business office, or preparation room. The law also defines a transportation protection agreement, sold apart from a preneed contract, to arrange transportation of remains. These agreements are not treated as preneed funeral contracts beginning October 1, 2025.

Crematory and hydrolysis business standards

The law defines alkaline hydrolysis and related terms and aligns what counts as remains. Every crematory must have a named manager; after a manager leaves, it may operate up to 30 days only if specific staffing and registration steps are met. Applicants and certain business principals must pass state and national criminal history checks and pay the costs. Crematory licensees must follow the public health statute on who may control final disposition.

Permit fees for body transport workers

Removal and transport permits expire each December 31. An individual permit application can cost up to $200 and a business permit up to $300. Renewals after February 1 add up to $100 on top of the annual renewal fee, which can be up to $75.

Stronger Board enforcement and timelines

The Board can adopt temporary rules to put this law in place quickly. Most parts take effect when signed on July 9, 2025; Part I starts October 1, 2025. The Board can issue subpoenas; ignoring one is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The Board can ask a court to stop violations and recover its costs and attorneys’ fees. In show‑cause hearings, it can recover up to $5,000 in attorneys’ fees and hearing costs from respondents.

Transport and unclaimed body rules

The Board can inspect any place where body removal or transport happens and can inspect vehicles and equipment. A body is abandoned if unclaimed for 10 days and no one in touch for five days; you must notify the Commission of Anatomy and deliver or allow removal if requested. The Board must consult the Chief Medical Examiner before setting removal and transport rules; that office may set stricter policies for bodies it controls.

New consumer rules at crematories

Beginning October 1, 2025, the crematory must issue a certificate of cremation when the process is complete, and records are open to Board inspection. Crematories are not responsible for valuables left with a body. If there is a dispute or doubt about who can authorize, a crematory may refuse to accept, cremate, or release remains until a court order. If the dispute is not resolved within 30 days, the crematory may charge a reasonable storage fee.

Rules for shipping and scattering ashes

Beginning October 1, 2025, ashes must be processed to unidentifiable particles and shipped with tracking and a signed delivery receipt to the address on the authorization, unless changed in writing. The authorizing agent must state the final disposition. If the ashes are not claimed or directed within 30 days after certified‑mail notice, the crematory may release or dispose of them, and the authorizing agent must repay reasonable disposal costs. Ashes can be placed on private land if the owner agrees in writing. Ashes may not be mixed with others or share a container, except family members in a common container with written family consent; sea, air, and cemetery scattering exceptions apply.

Updated licensing and exam transparency

The law removes the statutory “good moral character” barrier to licensure. The Board may consider a conviction for a sexual offense against a minor when deciding licenses. Exam scores are not public records, but the Board must release scores on request and say if the applicant passed. Board inspectors must hold a funeral‑service license. A specific subsection of law is repealed on July 1, 2030.

Faster life insurance info for funerals

Insurers and banks must share preneed trust or policy details with the Board on request and send year‑end balances and policy status to the contracting funeral home. Life insurers may share information with authorized inquirers to speed claims. Beginning October 1, 2025, transportation protection agreements are not treated as life insurance, which changes which insurance rules apply.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

Bill Ward
Republican • House