Chapter 64B23-6: Practice Standards and Licensing Requirements
Where the rule chapter fits
Chapter 64B23-6, F.A.C., supplies the operational standards that fill in Chapter 497. The exam tests whether you know the difference between statutory authority and rule-level practice standards: the statute says who may be licensed and what activities are regulated; the rule chapter says how those activities must be carried out, documented, and supervised.
Core practice standards
- Preparation and sanitation: embalming must occur in a licensed establishment's preparation room that is separate from living quarters, properly ventilated, equipped, and limited to authorized personnel. Instruments and surfaces must be cleaned and disinfected; bloodborne-pathogen precautions apply.
- Identification and tracking: remains must be identified before embalming, before cremation, and before release. The establishment should use a consistent identification system, such as a wristband or tag plus a log, and reconcile it at each transfer.
- Cremation: a signed cremation authorization from the LAP, verification of identity, removal of pacemakers and hazardous items, and a written chain-of-custody record are baseline expectations. A crematory must not proceed where there is a known dispute over authority or a medical examiner's hold.
- Supervision: registered interns may perform only tasks permitted by their training and must be supervised by a licensee; an intern cannot be the person in charge.
- Records: contracts, authorizations, embalming records, cremation logs, and disclosures must be maintained and produced for inspection.
- Physical facility: adequate arrangement space, refrigeration, privacy, and security; no unlicensed branch operation.
Worked example
An inspector finds a crematory that has a signed authorization but no log entry showing which body was placed in which retort, and an employee says the wristband was removed because it interfered with the machine. The rule standards are not met: identity must be maintained through the process, and the log must reconcile the authorization, the identification, and the cremation. The absence of a consumer complaint does not cure the violation; rule violations can support discipline because they create an unacceptable risk of misidentification.
Traps
- Assuming the statute alone is enough. The rule chapter is examinable and supplies the operational how-to.
- Treating documentation as clerical. Identification and chain-of-custody records are substantive practice standards.
- Assuming one licensed location covers a second location. Branch locations require separate licensure and person-in-charge compliance.
- Ignoring supervision limits for interns.