Chapter 497: Funeral Directing, Embalming, and Direct Disposition
What Chapter 497 controls
Chapter 497 is the statutory source for who may practice and what the licensed activities are. It defines funeral directing as arranging, directing, or supervising a funeral and making burial or cremation arrangements; embalming as chemical preservation or restoration of a dead human body; and direct disposition as cremation or burial without a funeral service, memorial service, or viewing. A direct disposer may arrange direct disposition but may not embalm or direct a funeral.
License boundaries
- Individual licenses include funeral director, embalmer, combined funeral director/embalmer, direct disposer, preneed sales agent, and monument builder.
- Facility licenses include funeral establishment, direct disposition establishment, cinerator facility, monument establishment, and preneed licensee.
- A funeral establishment must have a licensed person in charge; a direct disposition establishment must have a licensed direct disposer in charge. A crematory is separately licensed as a cinerator facility and is not automatically covered by a funeral establishment license.
- Interns and apprentices must be registered and supervised; they cannot practice independently.
The legally authorized person
Chapter 497 sets a priority list for who may authorize disposition and sign releases, beginning with the spouse and moving through adult children, parents, adult siblings, and other listed persons. A written designation by the decedent can matter, but do not assume any relative who appears is the LAP; the statutory order and documentation control.
Worked example
A direct disposition establishment is asked to cremate a body after a two-hour viewing at the establishment and a graveside service. The direct disposer should decline to arrange that package as a direct disposition. The viewing and service take the arrangement outside the direct-disposition definition; the family must use a licensed funeral establishment and funeral director. The cremation still requires a separately licensed cinerator facility unless the establishment also holds that license.
Traps
- Equating direct disposition with cremation. Direct disposition includes direct burial and requires no funeral service, memorial service, or viewing.
- Assuming a funeral establishment license authorizes cremation. Cinerator facility licensure is separate.
- Treating the person who pays as automatically the LAP. Payment and legal authority differ.
- Letting an unlicensed employee embalm or arrange funerals.