North CarolinaHB 10032025-2026 SessionHouseWALLET

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

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

Signed by Governor

AUTHORITIESBOARDSCREMATIONDEATH & DYINGEMERGING TECHNOLOGIESFEESFUNERAL SERVICESINSURANCELICENSING & CERTIFICATIONOCCUPATIONSPRESENTEDPUBLICRATIFIEDSTEMTRANSPORTATIONCHAPTEREDFUNERAL SERVICE BOARDCREMATORY AUTHORITY

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

25 provisions identified: 7 benefits, 8 costs, 10 mixed.

Stronger preneed contracts and faster payouts

All preneed funeral contracts must be written on Board forms. After full performance, the provider must issue a certificate of performance; banks and insurers must pay when they receive it. The provider must file a copy with the Board within 10 days, and for trust‑funded contracts must close the trust and file within 30 days. If a trust balance is $1,000 or less, it may be paid to a beneficiary when no estate representative exists. With your written OK, a trustee may use preneed trust funds to buy a prearrangement insurance policy; irrevocable contracts stay irrevocable. Beginning June 30, 2025, licensees must refund insurance proceeds above the contract price within 30 days and can be disciplined for fraud, false ads, or not providing goods, services, or refunds on time.

Stronger protections for preneed funeral contracts

Beginning June 30, 2025, preneed funeral contracts get tighter safeguards. Funeral homes must file yearly reports and give the Board 30 days’ notice before a sale or closure. A successor must be licensed before taking your contract, and banks and insurers must send year‑end balances or policy status. The Board can move your contract to a new licensed provider, freeze funds to protect you, and your name and address stay confidential. If the old provider kept payments, the new one can be liable to repay them, and lapsed licenses must transfer contracts fast and notify all purchasers.

Tougher discipline, fines, and hearing costs

Starting October 1, 2025, the Board can punish crimes, fraud, false ads, and similar acts with suspension, revocation, probation, or penalties up to $5,000. In any Board show‑cause hearing, respondents can be ordered to pay attorneys’ fees and hearing costs up to $5,000. The Board cannot issue or renew any license for someone convicted of a sexual offense against a minor.

Crematories: managers, technicians, and new fees

Starting October 1, 2025, every crematory must have a crematory manager; one manager may cover sites within 50 miles. If the only manager leaves, you may operate up to 30 days if you keep registered technicians on staff. Each crematory must employ at least one full‑time technician and file education certificates; you may operate up to 30 days during renewal while replacing your only technician. Licenses expire December 31; late renewals after February 1 owe a late fee, and six‑month lapses require reapplication. Fees include up to $400 to apply, $150 to renew, $150 for reinspection, and a $10 per‑cremation or hydrolysis fee due monthly by the 10th with a signed report; manager permits are $150 to apply and $40 to renew. Only permitted funeral establishments may hold a hydrolysis license, and hydrolysis must be done on the funeral home’s premises.

Preneed licenses: higher fees and $50K bond

Preneed establishment fees can be up to $400 to apply and up to $250 to renew each year, with up to a $100 late fee after February 1. Preneed sales license fees can be up to $50, with up to a $25 late fee after February 1. New or lapsed preneed establishment licensees (after January 1, 2008) must keep a surety bond of at least $50,000 for at least two years; the Board may extend or accept a $50,000 deposit. If a preneed permit is expired six months or more, you must reapply, not renew.

Tighter rules for funeral home owners

A funeral business must have a licensed owner or key officer who is actively involved. Each location needs its own permit displayed. Owners may not keep more than two chapels, and branch chapels must be within 50 miles and registered; names that suggest a crematory are limited unless you own or share one or have a licensee on site. After a change of more than 50% ownership, you must file a new application within 30 days; an estate has 180 days after a majority owner’s death.

New provisional funeral director license and fees

You can apply for a provisional funeral director license. The application fee is $500. It expires each December 31 and can be renewed up to two times. Each renewal costs $250. You must complete at least five hours of continuing education each year. If you pass the required exams within three years, you can get a full license. Applicants must also meet age, character, and education or supervised experience rules.

New permits and rules for body transport

People who remove or transport bodies must have a Board permit, and businesses must hold a business permit and show permits in vehicles. Permit holders must be at least 18, have a driver’s license, provide references, and keep at least $500,000 in professional liability insurance. Bodies must be covered and secured; no public viewing in transit and no photos or video without family or other authorizer consent. Doing this work without a permit is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Many are exempt, including licensed funeral staff, emergency responders, hospital and nursing‑home staff acting in their jobs, medical examiners, immediate family, and people transporting cremated remains.

Plan and authorize your cremation

Beginning October 1, 2025, you can sign a preneed form to authorize your own cremation. Two witnesses must sign. The form must say you have the right to authorize cremation and list equal‑right persons or say their locations are unknown. Keep a copy and give copies to the funeral home or crematory. You can cancel or transfer it any time before death.

Faster life insurance answers for funerals

Funeral providers can ask an insurer for policy details after a death with written authority. The insurer must reply within one business day with policy status, beneficiaries, loans or liens, benefits, any recent reinstatement, and claim forms. The requester must try to find beneficiaries within 100 hours and tell them they do not have to use proceeds for the funeral. If the insurer fails to respond, it can be reported to the Department. The law also lets insurers share this information for these funeral inquiries.

Easier licensing, training, and inactive status

If you hold a current funeral license in a state that reciprocates and had equal or higher standards, the Board grants you a North Carolina license after you pass the NC laws and rules exam, show good moral character, and show three straight years of practice. You need only one year of full‑time licensure to supervise a resident trainee. You can place your license on inactive status and renew it without continuing education. To reactivate, complete accredited continuing‑education hours equal to five times the years inactive. There is no reinstatement application fee.

Reimburse Crematory Authority members expenses

Through October 1, 2025, Crematory Authority members can be paid per diem and necessary travel and subsistence costs under state rules. The Board of Funeral Service must pay any eligible expenses that were incurred on or before October 1, 2025 and remain unpaid.

Stronger enforcement powers for Funeral Board

Beginning June 30, 2025, the Board can administer oaths and issue subpoenas during investigations. Board staff or county officials can serve these papers like court papers. Disobeying a Board subpoena is a misdemeanor and can lead to fines or jail. The Board can also ask a superior court to stop violations with restraining orders or injunctions. Cases can be filed where the act happened, where the defendant lives, or in Wake County.

Criminal checks for crematory licenses

Beginning October 1, 2025, applicants for a crematory license must consent to state and national criminal history checks. The rule also applies to reinstatement after a license has been expired three or more years. Fingerprints go to the SBI and FBI. You may use a private vendor at your own cost. Refusing the check can lead to denial.

Fewer insurance rules for funeral plans

Beginning October 1, 2025, transportation protection agreements are not treated as life insurance. Certain insurance sections no longer apply to these agreements or to preneed funeral contract sales. This changes how these plans are regulated and removes some insurance oversight from these products.

Body transporters: higher fees, tougher oversight

Individual removal and transport permit applications can cost up to $200. Business applications can cost up to $300. Permits expire each December 31. Renewals received after February 1 can add up to a $100 late fee plus an annual renewal fee up to $75. The Board can inspect transport places, vehicles, and records and can suspend, revoke, put on probation, or fine up to $5,000 for violations.

Licensees must work with a funeral home

To practice funeral directing or funeral service, you must own, be employed by, or be an agent of a licensed funeral establishment. Listed exceptions apply, such as working for a mortuary college or meeting added business‑record, consumer‑rule, fee, and insurance requirements. An affidavit is available if Hurricane Helene directly damaged or destroyed your business. You may also arrange and perform cremation work while employed by a crematory under set conditions.

New rules for cremation handling

Starting October 1, 2025, crematories must get a death certificate before cremation. Bodies must be in a cremation container, tagged for ID, and kept at 40°F or colder unless cremated within 24 hours. Crematories cannot require a casket or an urn, and must track and ship ashes with a signed receipt. Only licensed crematories may perform cremations. If a crematory offers at‑need services, it must follow the FTC Funeral Rule.

Rules for ashes and unclaimed remains

Beginning October 1, 2025, the person who authorizes cremation must state the final resting plan when known. If ashes are unclaimed 30 days after certified‑mail notice, the crematory may release them to family or dispose of them, and the authorizing person must repay reasonable disposal costs. Crematories must follow the authorizing‑agent law and may refuse service or release during a dispute. If a dispute lasts over 30 days, a reasonable storage fee may be charged. A body is deemed abandoned after 10 days unclaimed, or after rights are waived and contact stops for five days.

Easier paths into funeral-care licenses

The Board grants a NC funeral director license to out‑of‑state directors with 10+ years of licensure who pass the NC laws and rules exam and show good moral character. Passing exam scores and a 12‑month traineeship now count for five years instead of three. Supervisors need only one year of full‑time practice, making it easier to find a supervisor. Traineeships can be renewed up to two times, with Board notice sent to your last known address; late renewals owe a late fee. The law also removes a separate statutory “good moral character” rule for funeral service licensure. The Board may issue courtesy cards so nonresident professionals can do limited in‑state tasks but not run a business.

Clearer rules for preneed and transport agreements

The law updates key definitions for preneed funeral contracts and funding. It clarifies what counts as a prearrangement and that a prearrangement insurance policy must only fund a specific preneed contract. It defines a transportation protection agreement as a separate contract for arranging preparation and travel of remains. Starting October 1, 2025, transportation protection agreements signed on or after that date are excluded from the Article’s rules.

Stricter standards and inspections for funeral homes

The Board can inspect funeral homes, embalming sites, chapels, crematories, and alkaline hydrolysis facilities and their records during normal hours. Licensees and trainees must keep a current mailing address on file. If a site fails an inspection, the Board can charge a reinspection fee set by rule. Each funeral home must keep a private, sanitary preparation room with listed equipment and ventilation. After fire, weather, or a natural disaster, the Board may suspend these room rules for up to two years; a court may extend within limits.

Licensing fees set and rules published

The Board sets and collects maximum fees for permits, renewals, trainees, courtesy cards, chapels, and other licensing services. Each paying applicant gets one free copy of the current statutes and rules. The Board must publish statutes and rules on its website and may charge others at cost for copies.

New board makeup; crematory authority ended

The Board now has nine members with updated appointment rules and term limits of three years, ending December 31, with no more than two straight full terms. The Crematory Authority ends on October 1, 2025, and its members’ terms end that day. The statute on an authorizing agent is repealed on October 1, 2025. A specific subsection (G.S. 90‑210.25(a2)(2)) is repealed on July 1, 2030.

Stronger Board enforcement and confidentiality

Beginning June 30, 2025, the Board may accept penalty offers up to $5,000 and may add up to $5,000 when placing a licensee on probation. Starting October 1, 2025, the Board can seek court orders in specified counties to stop violations and recover its costs and attorneys’ fees; failure to obey a subpoena is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Exam scores and investigative files are not public records and are protected from subpoenas, but the Board must release an applicant’s exam score on request and keep hearing notices and decisions public.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

Bill Ward
Republican • House