Title 54.1, Title 54.1. Professions and Occupations

The Board is authorized to determine the qualifications to enable any person to engage in the practice of funeral service, preneed funeral planning, funeral directing, embalming and the operation of a funeral service establishment. The Board shall promulgate regulations that esta…

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in or hold himself out as engaging in the practice of funeral services or the business of preneed funeral planning, to operate a funeral service establishment, or to act as a funeral director or embalmer or hold himself out as such…

A. As used in this section, "license" shall include any license, registration, or courtesy card issued by the Board. B. The Board may refuse to admit a candidate to any examination, refuse to issue a license to any applicant and may suspend a license for a stated period or indefi…

A. A person licensed for the practice of funeral service shall not (i) remove or embalm a body when he has information indicating the death was such that an investigation by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is required pursuant to § 32.1-283 or 32.1-285.1 or (ii) cremate …

A. In the absence of a designation under § 54.1-2825, when there is a disagreement among a decedent's next of kin concerning the arrangements for his funeral or the disposition of his remains, any of the next of kin may petition the circuit court where the decedent resided at the…

In the absence of a next of kin, a person designated to make arrangements for the decedent's burial or the disposition of his remains pursuant to § 54.1-2825, an agent named in an advance directive pursuant to § 54.1-2984, or any guardian appointed pursuant to Chapter 20 (§ 64.2-…

A. A funeral service licensee may require that a person claiming next of kin status, in accordance with the definition of next of kin in § 54.1-2800, execute a document affirming that such person is the next of kin. Upon execution of this form, the funeral service licensee is exe…

All information received by any person practicing funeral services or his agent regarding the fact that any dead body which they have received harbors an infectious disease shall be confidential, and disclosure of such information shall be grounds for disciplinary action against …

Except as otherwise provided in § 54.1-2808.2, a funeral director may dispose of the cremains of an individual by interment, entombment, inurnment, or by scattering of the cremains, if after 120 days from the date of cremation, the contracting agent has not claimed the cremains o…

A. For the purposes of this section: "Eligible dependent" means a veteran's spouse, a veteran's unmarried child younger than 21 years of age, or veteran's unmarried adult child who before the age of 21 became permanently incapable of self-support because of physical or mental dis…

A. When arrangements for funeral services have been made with a licensed funeral service establishment, funeral service licensees shall accept caskets provided by third parties in accordance with 16 C.F.R. Part 453, Funeral Industry Practices, Federal Trade Commission. B. No fune…

Any person, partnership, corporation, association, or its agents or employees who violate any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

No person shall conduct, maintain, manage or operate a funeral establishment unless a license for each such establishment has been issued by the Board. No license to operate a funeral establishment shall be issued by the Board unless each such funeral establishment has in charge,…

A funeral service establishment shall contain a preparation room equipped with a tile, cement or other waterproof floor, proper drainage and ventilation, the necessary instruments and supplies for the preparation and embalming of dead human bodies for burial, transportation or ot…

A. Upon taking custody of a dead human body, a funeral service establishment shall maintain such body in a manner that provides complete coverage of the body and that is resistant to leakage or spillage, except during embalming or preparation of an unembalmed body for final dispo…

Every person licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall furnish a written general price list and a written itemized statement of charges in connection with the care and disposition of the body of a deceased person. Individuals inquiring in person about funeral arra…

To be licensed for the practice of funeral service, a person shall (i) be at least 18 years of age; (ii) hold a high school diploma or its equivalent; (iii) have completed a funeral service internship prescribed by the Board in regulation; (iv) have graduated from a school of mor…

Each applicant for license for the practice of funeral service shall be examined in writing on: 1. Basic and health sciences including anatomy, chemistry, bacteriology, pathology, hygiene and public health; 2. Funeral service arts and sciences including embalming and restorative …

A. No crematorium, cemeterian, memorial society, or other establishment, organization, or person shall cremate a dead human body without having registered with the Board as a cremator. B. The Board shall prescribe the procedures for registration under this section. Such procedure…

All applications for examination for a license for the practice of funeral service shall be upon forms furnished by the Board. All licenses shall be issued or renewed for a period prescribed by the Board, not exceeding two years.

Prior to the expiration of a license, the Board shall provide to each person licensed to practice funeral service, embalming, or funeral directing a renewal notice to be submitted to the Board together with the prescribed fee. The Board shall provide renewal notices by mail or el…

A. The Board shall promulgate regulations governing continuing education requirements for funeral services licensees, funeral directors, and embalmers licensed by the Board. B. The Board shall approve criteria for continuing education courses, requiring no more than five hours pe…

A person desiring to become a funeral service intern shall apply on a form provided by the Board. The applicant shall attest that he holds a high school diploma or its equivalent. The Board, in its discretion, may approve an application to be a funeral service intern for an indiv…

A copy of all licenses shall be displayed in a conspicuous place in each establishment in which the licensee practices.

No dead human body shall be cremated without permission of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as required by § 32.1-309.3 and visual identification of the deceased by the next-of-kin or his representative, who may be any person designated to make arrangements for the dispos…

Nothing in this article shall be applicable to any officer of any institution operated by the Commonwealth or by any county, city or town in the performance of his duties as such.

Any crematory shall apply for and receive a registration from the Board as a registered crematory. However, this section shall not supersede or restrict the provisions of § 54.1-2814.1.

Unless such act, decision, or omission resulted from bad faith or malicious intent, any funeral service establishment, funeral service licensee, crematory, or registered crematory that receives a body following donation of organs, tissues, or eyes shall be immune from civil liabi…

A. In any case in which a funeral service provider licensed pursuant to this chapter believes that a decedent for whom funeral services are being provided is insured under an individual or group life insurance policy, the funeral service provider may request information regarding…

Any person or private business, except a common carrier engaged in interstate commerce, the Commonwealth and its agencies, or an emergency medical services agency holding a permit issued by the Commissioner of Health pursuant to § 32.1-111.6, shall apply for and receive a registr…

A. It shall be unlawful for any person residing or doing business within this Commonwealth, to make, either directly or indirectly by any means, a preneed funeral contract unless the contract: 1. Is made on forms prescribed by the Board and is written in clear, understandable lan…

This article shall not apply to the preneed sale of cemetery services or supplies regulated under Chapter 23.1 (§ 54.1-2310 et seq.) of this title.

A. Within 30 days following the receipt of any money paid pursuant to any preneed funeral contract or interest or income accrued thereon, unless such amounts are paid to fund either an annuity or an insurance policy which will be used to purchase the funeral supplies or services …

Every person selling preneed funeral contracts within this Commonwealth shall keep and maintain such records of preneed transactions, including copies of preneed contracts, as may be prescribed by the Board. All such records shall be maintained on the premises of the funeral esta…

Any money, personal property or real property paid, delivered or conveyed subject to § 54.1-2822 shall be exempt from levy, garnishment or distress.

Within thirty days following the receipt of any personal property other than money delivered pursuant to any preneed funeral contract, the person receiving it, if title thereto is transferred, or the person making such delivery, if title thereto is not transferred, shall execute …

A. Any person may designate in a signed and notarized writing, which has been accepted in writing by the person so designated, an individual who shall make arrangements and be otherwise responsible for his funeral and the disposition of his remains, including cremation, interment…