Florida Administrative Code

An established adult grave space is one that was established in a garden designated for ground burials clearly shown in a Plan of Development provided to the Department prior to October 1, 2005 and which was surveyed and pinned with appropriate markers placed prior to October 1, …

(1) A developed area in a cemetery is a garden or other specifically defined area in which there is an established adult grave space as defined in Rule 69K-6.0015, F.A.C., or established after October 1, 2005. (2) For the purposes of this rule, the following will be considered a …

Every licensed cemetery shall be maintained in a reasonable condition as defined in Section 497.005(11), F.S. Rulemaking Authority 497.103(1)(n), (5)(a), 497.161(1)(c), 497.262 FS. Law Implemented 497.262, 497.266, 497.267 FS. History-Amended 5-10-76, Formerly 3D-30.21, 3D-30.021…

(1) Any by-laws which had been submitted to the Department of Banking and Finance and approved prior to the effective date of Chapter 93-389, Laws of Florida (September 30, 1999), shall remain in full force and effect so long as such by-laws do not conflict with the provisions of…

All burial records referenced in Section 497.276, F.S., and those contracts under the jurisdiction of the Department and the Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services which have not been audited by the Department must be filed and kept in a secure manner. For purposes of …

The following records shall be made available to the Department for the purposes of examinations or inspections: (1) Cemetery License and/or Preneed License; (2) Price Disclosure List; (3) Advertising file as in Rule 69K-9.001, F.A.C.; (4) By-Laws and Rules and Regulations; (5) F…

(1) Account receivable records pertaining to each individual purchaser shall be assigned the same serial number as shown on the purchaser's contract and shall be maintained in numerical sequence. The name of the purchaser or beneficiary, deferred payment price, date and amount of…

(1) A licensed entity shall prepare and provide accurate work papers to the Department for the purpose of an examination. (2) Work papers provided by the company shall include at least the following information for each contract: (a) Sequentially ordered contract number; (b) Cont…

(1) Written contracts on all sales must be made between the cemetery company or preneed license and the purchaser which contracts shall state the sales prices, terms and other pertinent information relative to the transaction. Such contracts shall be serially numbered and filed b…

Inspection of cemeteries will be performed by the Department as often as necessary but not less than once per year. Such inspections shall involve the following: (1) Maintenance of the grounds and mausoleums; (2) Verification of licenses and notices; (3) Safekeeping of records; (…

(1) A cemetery shall not perform a burial, interment, entombment, or inurnment, until it has received proper authorization. Such authorization shall consist of the following: (a) An original completed burial transit permit; (b) An authorization, in writing, on forms precribed by …

Each cemetery company shall ensure that all interments, except cremated remains, shall be covered by no less than twelve inches of soil or sod where physically possible. The family or next of kin, with prior approval of the cemetery, may authorize that the 12 inch minimum coverag…

(1) Caskets. (a) Acceptable materials for an identification tag for a casket shall include only the following: 1. Plastic. 2. Non-corrosive metal. 3. Encased in plastic. 4. Plasticized paper used with laser printer or permanent marker pen. 5. Weatherproof adhesive labels used wit…

(1) The cemetery company is obligated to pay into the Care and Maintenance Trust Fund ten percent (10%) of the purchase price of burial rights as outlined in Section 497.268, F.S. (2) Ten percent (10%) of the down payment and ten percent (10%) of each payment allocated to burial …

(1) Definitions As used in this rule the following definitions apply: (a) "Board" refers to the Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services. (b) "Division" refers to the Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services. (c) "Care and maintenance trust fund accounting ye…

The percentages required to be deposited in the care and maintenance fund for crypts commonly known as turf tops, lawn crypts, Westministers, and similar types, shall be computed in the same manner and at the same rate as a mausoleum if the crypt is above or partially above the n…

(1) As provided by Section 497.272, F.S., a cemetery may furnish the Board with a performance bond whenever such cemetery contemplates the sale of spaces in a section of a mausoleum or bank of below-ground crypts prior to the construction of such facilities. Such bond shall be in…

(1) Each preneed licensee shall, prior to July 1st of each year, compile a list which includes the wholesale purchase price for each item of merchandise which the preneed license will provide for the subsequent twelve month period. The listed price shall be used to determine the …

(1) For purposes of merchandise trust funds, under the provisions of the Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services Act prior to implementation of Chapter 93-399, Laws of Florida, a merchandise trust fund is in the nature of a master account ("the Fund") used for investment purpose…

At the time of withdrawal a preneed licensee shall take reasonable steps to evaluate the income derived from that particular contract. A preneed licensee may not use any formula to make the evaluation if such formula is used as a guise to make unauthorized withdrawals or results …

Rulemaking Authority 497.103, 497.461, 497.462 FS. Law Implemented 497.458(1), 497.459, 497.460, 497.461, 497.462 FS. History-New 3-20-91, Formerly 3D-30.037, Amended 10-25-95, 5-27-98, Formerly 3F-7.009, Amended 2-9-16, Repealed 10-6-19.

(1) All preneed licensees shall ensure that any entity that served as trustee beginning January 1, 2017, or thereafter for the preneed licensee's preneed trust, pursuant to Sections 497.458(1) and (2), F.S., shall, by no later than April 1st of the following calendar year, file a…

(1) A preneed licensee which chooses to utilize a surety bond in lieu of maintaining a trust must file a report of outstanding liabilities of merchandise and services to be covered under the surety bond to accompany the application as provided for in Rule 69K-7.012, F.A.C. This r…

Rulemaking Authority 497.103, 497.462 FS. Law Implemented 497.462, 497.463 FS. History-New 3-20-91, Formerly 3D-30.036, Amended 10-25-95, 7-22-97, 6-21-01, Formerly 3F-7.011, Amended 2-9-16, Repealed 7-17-18.

Rulemaking Authority 497.103, 497.461(4) FS. Law Implemented 497.461, 497.462 FS. History-New 3-20-91, Formerly 3D-30.039, Amended 10-25-95, 7-22-97, 8-2-01, Formerly 3F-7.012, Amended 2-9-16, Repealed 10-6-19.

(1) Pursuant to Section 497.283, F.S., manufacturers of permanent outer burial receptacles shall be permitted to utilize the alternative form of security in connection with the sale of permanent outer burial receptacles sold to cemetery companies and funeral establishments in Flo…

A buyer of preneed merchandise or services who does not receive such services or merchandise due to the economic failure, closing, or bankruptcy of the preneed licensee which has submitted a surety bond to the Department in lieu of utilizing a preneed trust fund may file a claim …

(1) Any trust company or a state or national bank holding trust powers or a savings and loan association holding trust powers shall be considered a trustee qualified to serve as a trustee of a preneed trust under Section 497.458 or 497.464, F.S., or a pre-construction trust under…

(1) Each trustee serving pursuant to a trust agreement approved by the Board shall be responsible for the administration of the trust and the investment of its assets in a manner consistent with Chapter 497, F.S. (2) The duties and responsibilities of the trustee shall not be sha…

(1) All payments paid toward any preneed funeral or burial service or merchandise contract shall be trusted pursuant to Section 497.458 or 497.464, F.S., unless such merchandise or service is sold by a cemetery company and such merchandise is delivered or such service performed w…

(1) An "old Chapter 497, F.S., merchandise trust" is defined as a trust created and approved on or before September 30, 1993, pursuant to Chapter 72-78, Laws of Florida, or as thereafter amended, for the deposit of proceeds from preneed contracts for burial services or related me…

Rulemaking Authority 497.103 FS. Law Implemented 497.460, 497.464(7) FS. History-New 4-9-97, Formerly 3F-7.022, Repealed 2-10-25.

(1) A purchaser may cancel a preneed contract in accordance with the terms of the contract, statute and rules that were effective at the time the contract was written. (2) If the contract requires a greater refund than the statute or rules, the terms of the contract must be honor…

For purposes of Section 497.459(2)(b)1., F.S., a reasonable time for delivering merchandise consisting of "caskets" as defined by Section 497.005(10), F.S., and "outer burial containers" as defined by Section 497.005(50), F.S., shall be 24 hours from the time the purchaser or age…

(1) Funds received on a preneed contract must be credited to the specific contract and all calculations regarding deposits to trusts or refunds to purchasers must be based on the amount paid by the purchaser or his representative. (2) An overpayment on a preneed contract shall be…

(1) A preneed contract may be funded by a life insurance policy payable upon death of the preneed contract beneficiary, provided that no such policy may be sold if its maturity value is less than the amount of the services, merchandise or burial rights to be provided under the pr…

(1) Preneed contracts shall contain a description of merchandise purchased with sufficient information to describe the merchandise to the purchaser or any other person. The description of merchandise can be included on an addendum form to the contract, provided the addendum form …

(1) As used herein, a "processing fee" means a fee paid by a customer for services provided to process and archive a contract and related documents. (2) If a licensee or preneed licensee includes a processing fee on a preneed or at need contract, the following requirements shall …

(1) Default by the purchaser on installment sales contracts or promissory notes shall not entitle the Cemetery Company to take credit for the amount deposited to the Care and Maintenance Trust Fund, unless the amount deposited has been returned to the purchaser. (2) Installment s…

Each licensee or registrant will maintain a file of all brochures and related documents delivered to prospective customers and copies of all advertising actually printed, published, broadcast or placed on any electronic media. Rulemaking Authority 497.103, 497.276(3) FS. Law Impl…

(1) For purposes of this rule, residential solicitation shall mean: "a telephone call to, or an in-person visit at, any place a person defines as his or her home." (2) No licensee or preneed licensee, officer, director, employee, or agent shall initiate, conduct, or attempt to co…

(1) For purposes of the rule, "healthcare facilities" shall include hospitals and nursing homes. (2) The prohibitions contained in this rule shall not encompass contact made by telephone call to individuals who are residents of or patients in healthcare facilities if said contact…

Each cemetery and preneed licensee offering to provide burial rights, merchandise, or services to the public shall display in its offices for free distribution to all potential customers, and provide to all customers before the contract is signed by the purchaser, a brochure enti…

(1) Claimant - an insurance carrier, self-insurance fund, or employer seeking reimbursement from the SDTF. (2) Representative - a person representing a claimant such as an attorney or a service organization. (3) Notice of Claim - The document[s] submitted by a claimant that place…

(1) All claims, notices, legal documents, forms, affidavits, reimbursement requests, and documentation shall be submitted by mail or in person at the Tallahassee office of the SDTF. The filing date shall be the date received. (2) Documentation which is requested by the SDTF subse…

A Notice of Claim for reimbursement from the SDTF shall be filed with the SDTF, Division of Worker's Compensation, 1579 Summit Lake Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32317. The Notice of Claim may be filed by letter form and shall include the following: (1) Name and social security number o…

A Notice of Claim shall be filed by a claimant or its representative. Once a claimant is represented before the SDTF by an attorney or other representative, and then a substitute representative is employed by the claimant, the substitute representative must file, in letter form, …

(1) Statements submitted to meet the proof requirement of this rule section and Section 440.49(6)(a), F.S., shall be by deposition, as authorized by Section 440.30, F.S., or by an original affidavit. (2) Except as provided in Section 440.49(6)(a), F.S., the claimant shall submit …

The SDTF will not consider a claim ripe, or mature, for review purposes, until a Proof of Claim is filed complete with all the necessary documents required by DFS Form DFS-F1-SDF-1 (Rev. 3-09). If a Proof of Claim is placed in line for review and it is discovered that certain doc…

The SDTF will only acknowledge in writing the filing of a Notice of Claim and a Proof of Claim. Any claimant who wishes the SDTF to acknowledge other documents must provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a copy of the document for acknowledgement. Rulemaking Authority 440…