Title XXXIII, Regulation of Trade, Commerce, Investments, and Solicitations

(1) A cemetery company may not establish a cemetery, or operate a cemetery if already established, without providing for the future care and maintenance of the cemetery, for which a care and maintenance trust fund shall be established, to be known as “the care and maintenance tru…

Withdrawals from the care and maintenance trust fund shall be used solely for the care and maintenance of the cemetery, including maintenance of monuments, which maintenance may not be deemed to include the cleaning, refinishing, repairing, or replacement of monuments; for reason…

(1) The board shall adopt rules, with the approval of the department, to administer ss. 497.267 and 497.268, including, but not limited to:(a) Reporting requirements for a cemetery licensed under this chapter, including the requirement that specific reports be made on forms desig…

(1) Each cemetery company shall set aside and deposit in its care and maintenance trust fund the following percentages or amounts for all sums received from sales of burial rights:(a) For burial rights, 10 percent of all payments received; however, for sales made after September …

On or before April 1 of each year, the trustee shall furnish adequate financial reports that record the fair market value with respect to the care and maintenance trust fund utilizing forms and procedures specified by rule. However, the department may require the trustee to make …

1(1) No land in a licensed cemetery may be sold, mortgaged, leased, or encumbered without prior approval of the licensing authority pursuant to procedures specified by rule. Such approval shall not be given unless it be shown that such approval would be in the public interest. Th…

(1) All newly constructed and significantly altered or renovated mausoleums and columbaria must, in addition to complying with applicable building codes, conform to the standards adopted under this section.(2) The licensing authority shall adopt, by no later than July 1, 1999, ru…

(1) A cemetery company shall start construction of that section of a mausoleum, columbarium, or bank of belowground crypts in which sales, contracts for sales, reservations for sales, or agreements for sales are being made within 4 years after the date of the first such sale or 5…

(1) Within the boundaries of the cemetery lands it owns, a cemetery company may perform the following functions:(a) The exclusive care and maintenance of the cemetery.(b) The exclusive interment, entombment, or inurnment of human remains, including the exclusive right to open, pr…

(1) A standard adult grave space shall measure at least 42 inches in width and 96 inches in length, except for preinstalled vaults in designated areas. For interments, except cremated remains, the covering soil shall measure no less than 12 inches from the top of the outer burial…

(1) A record shall be kept of every burial in the cemetery of a cemetery company, showing the date of burial and the name of the person buried, together with lot, plot, and space in which the burial was made. All financial records of the cemetery company shall be available at its…

(1) Any person purchasing a burial right, belowground crypt, grave space, mausoleum, columbarium, ossuary, or scattering garden for the interment, entombment, inurnment, or other disposition of human remains may, at the person’s option, permanently record the purchase of the buri…

Other than the fees for the sale of burial rights, burial merchandise, and burial services, no other fee may be directly or indirectly charged, contracted for, or received by a cemetery company as a condition for a customer to use any burial right, burial merchandise, or burial s…

(1) No cemetery company may charge a fee for the installation of a monument purchased or obtained from and to be installed by a person or firm other than the cemetery company or its agents.(2) To verify that a monument is installed on the proper grave in accordance with cemetery …

(1) No person authorized to sell grave space may tie the purchase of any grave space to the purchase of a monument from or through the seller of any other designated person or corporation.(2)(a) Noncemetery licensed persons and firms shall have the right to sell monuments and to …

(1)(a) No person shall receive compensation to act as a third party to the sale or transfer of three or more burial rights in a 12-month period unless the person pays a license fee as determined by licensing authority rule but not to exceed $250 and is licensed with the departmen…

A licensee offering to provide burial rights, merchandise, or services to the public shall:(1) Provide by telephone, upon request, accurate information regarding the retail prices of burial merchandise and services offered for sale by the licensee.(2) Fully disclose all regularly…

(1) This section applies to all cemetery companies licensed pursuant to this chapter that offer for sale or sell personal property or services which may be used in a cemetery in connection with the burial of human remains or the commemoration of the memory of a deceased human bei…

(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a county or municipality which has within its jurisdiction an abandoned cemetery or a cemetery that has not been reasonably maintained for a period in excess of 6 months may, upon notice to the department, take such action…

(1) A licensee shall be considered inactive upon the acceptance of the surrender of its license by the department or upon the nonreceipt by the department of the license renewal fees required by s. 497.265.(2) A cemetery licensee licensed to engage in preneed sales shall cease al…

(1) For purposes of this section, all owners of burial rights in any cemetery licensed under the provisions of this chapter shall have the legal duty to keep the cemetery companies informed in writing of their residence addresses. Cemetery companies shall notify their present bur…

(1) All cemeteries in excess of 5 acres located in this state that are exempt from the provisions of this chapter shall be required to file a report of identification with the department and pay a $25 fee. The department shall maintain such reports as public records. Such report …

(1) This section shall apply only to licenses issued under this part. A licensee may practice a profession or occupation regulated under this part only if the licensee has an active status license. A licensee who practices a profession without an active status license is in viola…

(1) At least 90 days before the end of a licensure cycle, the licensing authority shall:(a) Forward a licensure renewal notification to an active or inactive licensee at the licensee’s last known address of record with the licensing authority.(b) Forward a notice of pending cance…

(1) Any person desiring to be licensed as an embalmer shall apply to the licensing authority to take the licensure examination. The licensing authority shall examine each applicant who has remitted an examination fee set by rule of the licensing authority not to exceed $200 plus …

(1) The licensing authority shall issue a license by endorsement to practice embalming to an applicant who has remitted an examination fee set by rule of the licensing authority not to exceed $200 and who the licensing authority certifies:(a) Has completed the application form an…

(1)(a) Any person desiring to become an embalmer intern shall make application to the licensing authority on forms specified by rule, together with a nonrefundable fee determined by rule of the licensing authority but not to exceed $200.(b) A member of the United States Armed For…

(1) The licensing authority adopts rules establishing an embalmer apprentice program. An embalmer apprentice may perform only those tasks, functions, and duties relating to embalming which are performed under the direct supervision of an embalmer who has an active, valid license …

(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 o…

(1) Any person desiring to be licensed as a funeral director shall apply to the licensing authority to take the licensure examination. The licensing authority shall examine each applicant who has remitted an examination fee set by rule of the licensing authority not to exceed $20…

(1) The licensing authority shall issue a license by endorsement to practice funeral directing to an applicant who has remitted a fee set by rule of the licensing authority not to exceed $200 and who:(a) Has completed the application form and remitted a nonrefundable application …

(1)(a) Any person desiring to become a funeral director intern must apply to the licensing authority on forms prescribed by rule of the licensing authority, together with a nonrefundable fee set by rule of the licensing authority not to exceed $200. A member of the United States …

(1) This chapter does not prohibit a person from holding a license as an embalmer and a license as a funeral director at the same time. There may be issued and renewed by the licensing authority a combination license as both funeral director and embalmer to persons meeting the se…

(1) The internship requirements for a combination license as both funeral director and embalmer may be served concurrently pursuant to rules adopted by the licensing authority.(2)(a) An applicant who has not completed the educational credentials required for a combination license…

(1) The licensing authority shall renew a funeral director or embalmer license upon receipt of the renewal application and fee set by the licensing authority, not to exceed $500. The licensing authority may adopt rules for the renewal of a funeral director or embalmer license. Th…

(1) A funeral director or embalmer license that has become inactive may be reactivated under s. 497.378 upon application to the licensing authority. The licensing authority shall prescribe by rule continuing education requirements as a condition of reactivating a license. The con…

(1) A funeral establishment shall be a place at a specific street address or location consisting of at least 1,250 contiguous interior square feet and shall maintain or make arrangements for capacity for the refrigeration and storage of dead human bodies handled and stored by the…

(1) The licensing authority shall regulate such solicitation to protect the public from solicitation which is intimidating, overreaching, fraudulent, or misleading; which utilizes undue influence; or which takes undue advantage of a person’s ignorance or emotional vulnerability.(…

(1) Each funeral establishment, direct disposal establishment, cinerator facility, and centralized embalming facility shall record monthly on a form prescribed and furnished by the licensing authority the name of the deceased and such other information as may be required by rule …

(1) In addition to any other common law or statutory rights a legally authorized person may otherwise have, that person may authorize a funeral director or direct disposer licensed under this chapter to lawfully dispose of fetal remains in circumstances when a fetal death certifi…

(1) The disinterment and reinterment of human remains shall require the physical presence of a licensed funeral director, unless the reinterment is to be made in the same cemetery.(2) In order to ensure that any disinterment or transportation of a dead human body is conducted in …

In order to ensure that the removal, refrigeration, and embalming of all dead human bodies is conducted in a manner that properly protects the public’s health and safety, the licensing authority shall adopt rules to provide for the licensure of removal services, refrigeration fac…

(1) A person may not store or maintain human remains at any establishment or facility except an establishment or facility licensed under this chapter or a health care facility, medical examiner’s facility, morgue, or cemetery holding facility.(2) A dead human body may not be held…

It is unlawful for a licensee under this chapter to remove or embalm a dead human body when she or he has information indicating crime or violence of any sort in connection with the cause of death until permission of the medical examiner or other lawfully authorized official has …

(1) Funeral establishments may elect to maintain special, segregated bank accounts to be used in conjunction with making cash advances to vendors. The money in such accounts may be used by the funeral establishments to pay third-party vendors when such amounts must be paid before…

In order to ensure that funeral directors, embalmers, and direct disposers who are licensed in this state may be considered for licensure or registration in other jurisdictions, the licensing authority may enter into reciprocity agreements with other jurisdictions.History.—ss. 1,…