NC Funeral Juris key terms

A license issued by the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service authorizing a fixed location to provide funeral services, embalming, or cremation arrangements. It must be renewed and displayed, and each location is licensed separately.

A credential issued by the Board permitting a person to arrange and direct funerals, sign contracts, and supervise funeral services. Obtaining it requires meeting education, apprenticeship, and examination requirements set in statute and rule.

A Board-issued credential authorizing a person to disinfect, preserve, and restore human remains by chemical and surgical procedures. It requires completion of an accredited embalming program, supervised training, and passing examinations.

A person registered with the Board who is completing the required period of supervised practical training toward funeral director licensure. The apprentice may perform duties only under the direct supervision of a licensed funeral director.

A person registered with the Board who is gaining supervised embalming experience under a licensed embalmer before licensure. Case records and supervision requirements apply, and the apprentice may not embalm independently.

The North Carolina state agency created in Chapter 90 that licenses funeral directors, embalmers, establishments, and preneed sellers, adopts administrative rules, and disciplines licensees for violations.

An agreement to furnish funeral merchandise or services at a future date in exchange for payment made before death. North Carolina law prescribes required disclosures, funding, and cancellation rights for these contracts.

Authorization from the Board required before a person or business may sell preneed funeral contracts. It obligates the seller to maintain records, fund contracts as required, and submit to examination.

The statutory requirement that a portion of money paid on a preneed contract be deposited into a trust account so funds are available to provide the contracted services later. Deposit timing and percentages are set by law.

The administrative activities supporting preneed contracts, including recordkeeping, trust deposits and withdrawals, reporting to the Board, and handling of cancellations, transfers, and assignments of contracts.

A Board-issued authorization for a facility and its equipment to cremate human remains. The operator must meet construction, recordkeeping, and inspection standards and may not cremate without proper authorization.

The signed permission from the person with legal right to control disposition, plus required permits, allowing a crematory to cremate specific remains. The crematory must verify identity and confirm no objection or legal hold exists.

Documentation maintained by a crematory identifying the deceased, the authorizing party, dates of receipt and cremation, the identity tag number, and disposition of the ashes. Records are subject to Board inspection.

A disposition method that reduces human remains to bone fragments using water, heat, and alkali in a sealed vessel rather than flame. North Carolina regulates it alongside cremation, with licensing and authorization requirements.

The Board's power to enter and examine licensed establishments, crematories, and preneed records, and to investigate complaints. Findings can lead to disciplinary action, license suspension, or revocation.

Sanctions the Board may impose on a licensee, such as reprimand, probation, suspension, revocation, or civil penalty, after notice and hearing for violations of statutes or rules.

The number of approved education hours a licensee must complete during each renewal cycle to keep a license active. Records of completion must be retained and produced on request.

The periodic process by which a licensee or establishment pays fees and certifies continuing compliance to keep a credential in force. Practicing on an expired license is a violation subject to discipline.

The release of a decedent from one facility or licensee to another, requiring written authorization and a signed receipt documenting who took custody and when.

The documented, unbroken record of who has possession of human remains from the place of death through final disposition. It relies on identification tags and signed receipts at each handoff.

The individual legally entitled to control the final disposition of remains, determined by a statutory priority list beginning with a surviving spouse and proceeding through other relatives and designated agents.

An itemized written price list a provider must give to consumers showing the cost of each service and item offered, so families can compare and select only what they want.

A printed schedule of the provider's current prices for services, merchandise, and containers that must be offered to anyone inquiring in person about funeral arrangements.

Written permission from the person with right of disposition before embalming is performed, except where law or rule requires embalming for public health or transportation reasons.

A record completed for each embalming documenting the decedent's identity, date and time of the procedure, chemicals used, the embalmer's name, and any unusual conditions encountered.

Injection of preservative chemical solution into the arterial system to disinfect and preserve tissue, usually paired with drainage of blood and fluid from the venous system.

Direct injection of concentrated preservative fluid into the thoracic and abdominal cavities to treat organs that arterial injection does not adequately preserve.

Techniques using wax, cosmetics, suturing, and tissue building to reconstruct or disguise injuries and restore natural appearance for viewing.

Infection-control practices treating all human blood and body fluids as potentially infectious, using gloves, gowns, eye protection, and safe sharps handling during preparation and transfer.

The written plan an establishment must maintain to reduce employee exposure to bloodborne pathogens, covering protective equipment, training, and post-exposure procedures.

The official legal record of death, completed by a physician, medical examiner, or other authorized certifier, stating cause and manner of death and required before final disposition.

A document authorizing movement and final disposition of human remains, issued by the local registrar after the death certificate is filed and required before burial, cremation, or transport out of state.

The final placement of a body by burial, entombment, cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, or donation, carried out according to the authority of the person with right of disposition.

Behavior by a licensee that violates standards of practice or public trust, such as fraud, misrepresentation, negligence, or practicing while impaired. It is grounds for Board discipline.

Limits on how licensees may advertise and contact the public, prohibiting false or misleading claims and improper inducements to secure funeral business.

The individual responsible for the day-to-day operation of a licensed funeral establishment, ensuring compliance with statutes and rules and serving as the Board's contact for that location.