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North CarolinaSB 8572025-2026 SessionSenateWALLET
AN ACT TO UPDATE THE BOARD OF FUNERAL SERVICE STATUTES AND TO AMEND VARIOUS LICENSING PROGRAMS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL STATUTES COMMISSION.
Sponsored By: Amy S. Galey (Republican)
Signed by Governor
BOARDSCOMMERCECONSUMER PROTECTIONCORPORATIONS, FOR-PROFITCREMATIONDEATH & DYINGFEESFUNERAL SERVICESHAZARDOUS SUBSTANCESHEALTH SERVICESHUMAN BLOOD & ORGANSLICENSING & CERTIFICATIONOCCUPATIONSORGAN DONATIONSPOWER OF ATTORNEYPRESENTEDPUBLICPUBLIC HEALTHRATIFIEDTRANSPORTATIONCHAPTEREDFUNERAL SERVICE BOARD
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Bill Overview
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48 provisions identified: 10 benefits, 11 costs, 27 mixed.
Bonds and security to keep licenses
New or relapsed preneed funeral establishments must post a surety bond of at least $50,000 (or deposit $50,000) for at least two years; the Board may require five years or extend if a claim is paid. If required security (bond, letter of credit, cash, or securities) lapses, the license is suspended immediately and must be surrendered within three days. When you deposit securities with the Commissioner, you must also file a power of attorney signed by a senior officer that allows the Commissioner to sell or transfer the securities to pay liabilities.
Burial associations face revocation, liquidation
The Board may revoke a burial association’s license after a hearing and order dissolution. During an appeal, the association may keep operating until the case is decided. In liquidation, the association stops taking new members, pays debts, and divides any remaining money pro rata to members. It must issue certificates of each member’s share and file a final report within 30 days after liquidation ends.
Stronger enforcement for funeral businesses
The Board can put licenses and business permits on probation, fine up to $5,000, or suspend or revoke them. It mirrors license sanctions from other states. If a funeral establishment’s permit is suspended or revoked, its preneed permit is suspended or revoked automatically. Inspectors can enter sites, review records at hospitals, and check criminal and probation records. The law allows enforcement under more than one statute at the same time. Grounds include certain crimes, fraud, false ads, illegal solicitation or commissions, and unsafe practice.
Professional employer firms: audits and bonds
Beginning Oct 1, 2026, you must file a $100,000 security for a professional employer license, plus more if your working capital is negative. You must submit an audited financial statement dated within 120 days and CEO/CFO certifications. The Commissioner may accept an older audit or the parent’s audited statements with a parent guaranty. You may use an irrevocable letter of credit or deposit cash or allowed securities instead of a surety bond. Bond issuers can cancel future coverage with 45 days’ written notice to the Commissioner. The SBI may run criminal checks and charge up to its actual cost; a certified out‑of‑state report from the last 12 months can satisfy the requirement.
Tougher discipline and deadlines for providers
Licenses and permits expire December 31. After February 1, you must pay a late fee, and if you are six months late or more, you must reapply. The Board can refuse, suspend, or revoke licenses for listed misconduct, and permit holders who give false information or skip required actions face discipline. Licensees may set reasonable facility rules and must still get any other required permits. After a fire, storm, or similar disaster, the Board can waive preparation and reposing room rules for up to two years; a court can extend to three years from the loss or one year from the order, whichever is greater. While under a waiver, you must follow the federal funeral rule and keep records available.
When these funeral rules start
Most parts of this law take effect October 1, 2026. Section 90‑210.124 is repealed on October 1, 2025. Any parts of G.S. 90‑210.25 not carried into the new law are repealed.
Ask families who is in charge first
A funeral home must first find out who has legal authority to direct the disposition before accepting remains from hospitals, nursing homes, doctors, or other officials. If it takes remains without asking, it cannot charge for any services before the remains are delivered as the authorized person directs. It may charge for removal or necessary professional services in accidental or violent deaths while the family is being notified.
Covered and secured transport of remains
Remains may not be carried in open or publicly viewable areas of a vehicle. You must cover and secure the body on a proper stretcher or secure a casket or container for transport. Emergency workers, medical examiners, hospital staff acting in their jobs, people carrying cremated remains, and people transporting an immediate family member are exempt.
No tissue harvests or referral kickbacks
Funeral facilities may not remove human tissue. Exceptions include embalming or ordinary preparation, the Chief Medical Examiner’s work, and IRB‑supervised academic research with informed consent. Licensed facilities and their staff also may not accept or offer payments for referring non‑eye tissue donors.
Boards must post licensing criteria
Beginning Oct 1, 2026, occupational and State agency licensing boards must post on their websites the exact criteria and documents needed for licensure‑recognition. This makes it easier to see what you must submit.
Higher fines for funeral rule violations
The Board may fine a violator up to $5,000 for each violation. It may accept a settlement or also place the licensee on probation. Penalty money goes to the Civil Penalty and Forfeiture Fund.
No fast-track licensing for insurance pros
People licensed under the Insurance Code cannot use the neighboring‑state licensure‑recognition shortcut. This rule applies to applications filed on or after October 1, 2025.
New fees for funeral licensing
The Board can charge up to set caps. Examples: individual transport permit $200; business application $300; annual transport renewal $75; late renewal $100; continuing‑education registration $50; trainee work‑report late fee $50; provisional directing application $500; provisional renewal $250. Preneed establishments pay up to $400 to apply (nonrefundable, credited to first year) and up to $250 each year by Dec 31; renewing after Feb 1 can add up to $100 late fee. Preneed sales licenses cost up to $50 to apply and up to $50 to renew; renewing after Feb 1 can add up to $25. For each preneed sale, pay the Board up to $20 and file the contract within 10 days (30 days in a county under a declared emergency).
Permits not transferable at sale
Funeral establishment permits do not transfer. A buyer must file a new permit application at least 30 days before a sale or acquisition closes. A legal‑structure change counts as an ownership change only if a majority of owners or officers changes. If a majority owner dies, the estate has 180 days to apply for a new permit.
Stronger Board oversight and penalties
The State Board of Funeral Service now runs licensing and oversight statewide. Applicants must use Board forms, sign under oath, pay fees, and consent to state and national background checks; business owners and officers must also consent. Inspectors must hold a current funeral service license. Inspections occur during or near business hours, and you must provide requested information; the Board may charge reinspection fees for violations. In discipline cases, the Board may recover up to $5,000 in attorneys’ fees per hearing and may accept civil penalties up to $5,000 instead of revoking or refusing renewal.
Tougher licensing for out-of-state insurers
Foreign and alien insurers must meet stricter entry rules. They file a certified charter and a sworn financial statement, pay the application fee, meet capital and investment rules, and appoint the Insurance Commissioner to receive legal papers. The Department of Insurance must adopt implementing rules by January 1, 2027.
Clear rules for cremation and ashes
Providers cannot force you to buy a casket for reduction or a permanent urn. Simultaneous reductions are banned, with narrow written exceptions for fetuses or infants from the same birth. Licensees must release remains only to the person named on the form and get a signed receipt; after delivery, in‑state transport needs no permit, and scattering is allowed in set places. Remains cannot be mixed or placed together without written permission; families can consent to shared containers designed for more than one person. If the agent does not claim or direct within 30 days after certified notice, the provider may release to family or dispose under the law, and the agent must cover reasonable costs; providers are protected when relying on a valid authorization and may hold remains during disputes and charge storage after 30 days. Only family, invitees, and officials may view the chamber during processing under safety rules. Older forms signed before October 1, 2003 are not covered unless approved in writing.
Cremation and hydrolysis consent rules
Before any cremation or alkaline hydrolysis, the facility must have a Board form signed by an authorizing agent. The form must name the remains, list death date and place, name the facility and agent, note the type of reduction, warn about pacemakers, and name who will receive the reduced remains. If the decedent signed a preneed reduction form, providers must follow it and are not liable for doing so. Anyone who signs the authorization promises the facts are true and can be personally liable for false statements. Unembalmed remains must be kept at 40°F or colder unless reduction starts within 24 hours. Providers must follow federal price and disclosure rules for at‑need reduction services.
Rights and duties for reduction authorizations
A licensed funeral director who signs the form must confirm the decedent’s identity, time and date of death, facility details, and implant information, and is not responsible for other statements unless they knew they were false. Once a valid authorization is signed, a reduction provider may proceed. The authorizing agent may cancel in writing any time before the reduction starts. You may sign a preneed authorization for your own reduction, keep a copy, send one to the chosen provider, and cancel or transfer it before death. Preneed forms for alkaline hydrolysis must say whether your survivors may cancel it and who may do so.
New paths to funeral licenses
To be fully licensed, you must be at least 18, of good moral character, complete required education, finish a 12‑month traineeship within three years, and pass exams within five years. The law adds a provisional funeral director license that can be renewed only twice and must convert to a full license within three years by passing required exams (except pathology). The Board accepts training from equipment makers, CANA, or similar Board‑approved programs for reduction technicians.
Renewals, inactive status, reinstatement rules
Licenses expire December 31. Renew by February 1 or the license is forfeited; late applications face extra fees. The Board can reinstate a forfeited license if you complete required continuing education and pay all delinquent renewal fees and a reinstatement fee; no extra traineeship is required. Service members may get waivers when they apply within six months of leaving service. You may place your license on inactive status and renew it yearly without continuing education. To go active, you must complete accredited continuing education equal to five times the number of years inactive; the reinstatement application fee is waived.
New safety rules for cremation and hydrolysis
The law sets clear health and safety rules for cremation and alkaline hydrolysis (“reduction”). Before reduction, the provider must have a signed death certificate (or a medical examiner authorization when required) and wait 24 hours, unless a written waiver applies or the death was from a listed dangerous disease. For deaths outside North Carolina, the provider must obtain the other jurisdiction’s burial‑transit or disposal permit. Facilities must use closable, labeled containers, keep remains enclosed in approved equipment, remove recoverable residue, separate and dispose of liquid waste, and maintain equipment to Board standards. Providers may not reduce remains with hazardous implants; hydrolysis may proceed with pacemakers or defibrillators only if the equipment maker allows it. Each facility must keep a holding area on site and follow all public‑health and environmental laws and Board processing rules.
Safe storage and refrigeration of remains
When not in transit or at a service, remains must be stored at a funeral home, licensed reduction facility, or embalming facility. Unembalmed remains must be refrigerated at 40°F or colder, unless final disposition will occur within 24 hours of the facility taking custody. This rule applies to funeral establishments and reduction facilities.
Stronger identification and records for remains
Providers must give and keep signed receipts when they take in remains and when they release reduced remains, and keep required forms and disposal records for three years. After each reduction, the provider must issue a certificate of reduction. The Board may inspect these records. Reduced remains must be packaged in the chosen container or urn, shipped only with traceable delivery and a signed receipt, and any overflow must go in a separate container. Licensees must also place durable identification tags with key facts (such as name, date of death, Social Security number, and burial site) on the body and inside the urn before burial or entombment.
Stronger rules for preneed funeral money
Anyone selling preneed funeral contracts must hold a Board license. Money paid must be deposited in a trust or used to buy a prearrangement insurance policy within five business days. A seller can keep up to 10% only if disclosed in writing first and must credit it at death if no substitution. Sellers cannot put buyer funds into their own or others’ accounts before the required deposit or insurance purchase. Annual reports are due by March 31, with late fees up to $25 per late certificate and $150 per late annual report, and a reinspection fee up to $100 if inspection is missed or failed. Trusts and contracts can be moved, but the Board, banks, insurers, and buyers must get notices within set time frames, and successors and substitutes have duties and liability for retained funds. Banks and insurers must share account or policy status each year and give information to the Board on request. Definitions are updated to make who and what is covered clearer.
Rules for funeral traineeships
Trainees must be at least 18, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and name a qualified supervisor. A 12‑month traineeship is required and must be finished within time limits; credit older than three years before the exam does not count, with extensions for active deployment. Trainees file monthly electronic work reports, and supervisors file competency affidavits within 30 days when a trainee leaves. Director trainees must assist with at least 25 funerals; embalmer trainees with at least 25 embalmings; funeral service trainees must meet both counts. Trainees may go inactive but must still renew and pay fees; the three‑year clock keeps running. The Board may require meetings and may discipline trainees and set reinstatement conditions. Students in accredited NC mortuary schools may train on supervised practices and schools may obtain remains for instruction.
Updated licensing for funeral workers
To practice as a funeral director or funeral service licensee, you must be tied to a permitted funeral establishment or work at an accredited mortuary school within a Board‑approved program. To become an embalmer, you must be 18, have good moral character, hold an ABFSE‑accredited associate degree, complete 12 months of traineeship within the last 3 years, and pass required exams within the last 5 years. If you are licensed in a reciprocating state, you can get a North Carolina license by passing the NC law exam, showing good moral character, proving 3 straight years of practice, and paying fees.
Clear funeral and cremation definitions
The law defines “human remains” and adds terms like “alkaline hydrolysis” and “reduction,” which includes cremation and hydrolysis. It clarifies what counts as a funeral establishment, chapel, embalming, and more. Exam topics now include reduction facility operations. Any establishment that runs an embalming facility must register it with the Board.
Fees, siting, and reports for crematories
A crematory may locate on or next to a cemetery, on or next to a funeral home zoned commercial or industrial, or anywhere local zoning and environmental rules allow. Alkaline hydrolysis may occur only at a permitted funeral establishment. Reduction licensees must pay a $10 fee per reduction and send a signed monthly report by the 10th; late and reinspection fees can apply. A licensee that runs a cremation society must register its name with the Board before operating.
Licensing and staffing for cremation facilities
You must hold the proper license to operate a crematory or perform alkaline hydrolysis. Only a permitted funeral establishment may hold a hydrolysis license. A reduction facility must name a qualified manager and all technicians, and employ at least one full‑time technician; one person may serve as both. A manager may oversee multiple facilities within 50 miles. If the sole manager leaves, a facility may operate up to 30 days if it keeps qualified technicians and registers them.
New rules to run funeral homes
Each location must have a Board permit and use only its registered name. An owner or specified officer must hold an active funeral director or funeral service license and be engaged in daily operations; a licensed manager is required. Branches must be registered and within 50 miles of the principal site. The principal site must have a private, well‑equipped preparation room and a reposing room; only approved people may be present during preparation. After a change in majority ownership, you must file a new application within 30 days. The manager files initial permits and renewals, and applicants must list all licensees who will work there.
Permits and insurance for body transport
Businesses that transport human remains must hold a Board service permit, list employees and vehicles with the Board, display the permit in vehicles, keep at least one individually permitted employee, and carry at least $500,000 in professional liability insurance with certificates filed on time. Changes must be reported within 30 days. Some people do not need a transport permit, including common carrier employees, government employees acting on duty, out‑of‑state licensed funeral directors and their employees, and others listed in law.
Stronger enforcement and safety in funeral care
The Board can ask a court to quickly stop violations and recover its costs and lawyers’ fees. Ignoring a Board subpoena is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Unlicensed practice is a Class 2 misdemeanor; abuse or mutilation of remains is a Class 2 misdemeanor (with listed exceptions); and knowingly selling embalming fluid to an unlicensed person is a Class I felony, with fines of $100 to $500 where applicable. The Board sets a standard reduction authorization form, and no one may authorize reduction when a crime is suspected unless the medical examiner approves. The Board must consult the Chief Medical Examiner before making rules on removal, handling, or transport.
Clearer rules for PEO services
The law clarifies who counts as an assigned employee and what services are PEO work. Temporary staffing is excluded from PEO services. A person with 10% ownership is presumed to have control. It defines working capital and sets clearer duties in PEO agreements. These changes reset licensing and coverage lines for PEOs and client employers.
Families may place ashes on private land
Reduced remains may be placed on private property if the owner consents in writing and the authorizing agent directs it. If a licensee performs the placement on non‑cemetery land, the authorizing agent must give the licensee the owner’s written consent.
More ways to direct final wishes
The law lists hydrolysis and reduction as options along with burial and cremation. If you are 18 or older, you can use a preneed contract or a reduction authorization form to direct how and where your remains are handled. You can also authorize your health care agent to decide on hydrolysis by initialing that choice on the power of attorney form.
Hydrolysis now covered and recognized
Victim compensation can pay for hydrolysis as a funeral or burial expense. The $10,000 funeral/burial cap and the $45,000 overall cap still apply. Hydrolysis is also recognized in anatomical gift rules. If a body part is donated, it must be removed after death and before embalming, burial, cremation, or hydrolysis, without unnecessary mutilation.
Limited courtesy cards for nonresidents
Nonresident licensed funeral directors, embalmers, and funeral service licensees may get a “courtesy card.” It lets them remove remains from North Carolina and do limited arranging or embalming here. The card does not allow opening a business in the State. Cards generally require reciprocity, except for teaching continuing education or disaster work.
Cemetery brokers: small sellers exempt
If you sell fewer than five grave spaces a year, you remain excluded from the Cemetery Act. The law also ties definitions to the updated funeral licensing article to keep roles clear.
Funeral pros exempt from salon rules
Licensed funeral establishments and professionals are exempt from Chapter 88B (cosmetic‑art rules) while doing their professional duties. The law updates cross‑references for medical and nursing roles.
Background checks for funeral license applicants
The Board runs state and national criminal history checks for new licenses and for reinstatements after a 3‑year lapse. Applicants pay the fingerprinting or private‑vendor fee. Results are confidential, and Board staff are protected from lawsuits for good‑faith decisions based on those records.
Bail bondsmen renew every two years
Bail bondsmen and runners renew on July 1 of even‑numbered years. They must pay the biennial fee and file documents before expiration, including proof of North Carolina residency and required qualifications. The Commissioner is not required to print renewal licenses.
Burial association claims and transfers
Burial association benefits are paid only to the funeral home that provides the service, and North Carolina homes must hold a Board permit. You must request the benefit within 30 days of death. The Board must set rules so a member’s benefits move in an orderly way to the funeral home that furnishes the funeral, with in‑state permits or recognition of out‑of‑state laws for recipients.
Permits and rules for body transporters
Anyone who transports or removes human remains must hold an individual Board permit. You must be 18, have a North Carolina driver’s license, be of good moral character, carry required vehicle liability insurance, and attest that you know the rules. Permit holders must tell the Board within 30 days if their address changes and must list each business before working for more than one transport business. Businesses must display their transport permit in every vehicle, and funeral homes must display their establishment permit and staff licenses.
Paperwork for fetal and amputated remains
Before reducing fetal remains, the provider must get a doctor’s signed statement with the date, time, and circumstances, or use hospital or official records; if none exist, the local medical examiner must be notified. When state fetal‑death reporting applies, the provider must receive the required fetal report of death. Before reducing amputated parts, the provider must get a doctor’s statement or notify the medical examiner if no doctor can be found; this does not apply when another law governs that disposal. Health‑care providers may share needed records under HIPAA.
Report preneed insurance to the Board
If a preneed trust is cashed out with the buyer’s written okay to buy prearrangement insurance, the preneed licensee must notify the Board in writing within 10 days. The notice must name the insurance company and include any other details the Board requires.
Continuing education and exams rules
Licensees must complete at least 5 hours of Board‑approved continuing education each year before renewal. Up to 5 extra hours carry over; no CE is required in your first calendar year. The Board can waive CE for illness, hardship, out‑of‑state non‑practicing licensees, long‑tenured licensees with age or service milestones, and current members of the General Assembly. The Board must offer at least 8 hours of CE each year and may charge a registration fee. The Board may also accept outside exams and hire third parties to give tests.
City cemetery powers clarified
A city may run its own cemeteries and limit burials to them. But a city cannot stop burials in cemeteries licensed by the Cemetery Commission or in church cemeteries. The law also says a cemetery includes columbariums and cremation or hydrolysis facilities.
Sponsors & Cosponsors
Sponsor
Amy S. Galey
Republican • Senate
Cosponsors
Jim Burgin
Republican • Senate
Norman W. Sanderson
Republican • Senate
Roll Call Votes
House vote • 6/30/2026
SB 857: General Statutes Commission Update Funeral Board and DOI Licensing.
Yes: 112 • No: 0 • Other: 7
Senate vote • 6/9/2026
SB 857: GSC Update Funeral Board and DOI Licensing.
Yes: 45 • No: 0 • Other: 4
Senate vote • 6/9/2026
SB 857: GSC Update Funeral Board and DOI Licensing.
Yes: 46 • No: 0 • Other: 4
Senate vote • 6/9/2026
SB 857: GSC Update Funeral Board and DOI Licensing.
Yes: 46 • No: 0 • Other: 4
Actions Timeline
Ch. SL 2026-48
7/8/2026SenateSigned by Gov. 7/7/2026
7/7/2026SenatePres. To Gov. 7/2/2026
7/2/2026SenateRatified
7/1/2026SenateOrdered Enrolled
6/30/2026HousePassed 3rd Reading
6/30/2026HousePassed 2nd Reading
6/30/2026HousePlaced On Cal For 06/30/2026
6/24/2026HouseCal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
6/24/2026HouseReptd Fav
6/24/2026HouseRe-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
6/23/2026HouseReptd Fav
6/23/2026HouseRef to the Com on Judiciary 1, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
6/15/2026HousePassed 1st Reading
6/15/2026HouseRegular Message Received From Senate
6/11/2026HouseRegular Message Sent To House
6/11/2026SenateEngrossed
6/9/2026SenatePassed 3rd Reading
6/9/2026SenatePassed 2nd Reading
6/9/2026SenateAmend Adopted A2
6/9/2026SenateAmend Adopted A1
6/9/2026SenateReptd Fav
6/8/2026SenateRe-ref Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
6/2/2026SenateReptd Fav
6/2/2026SenateRe-ref Com On Commerce and Insurance
5/20/2026Senate
Bill Text
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Filed
Latest Edition
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