Fla. Stat. § 497.380 — Florida Code / Title XXXIII / Chapter 497 / Part III / Section 497.380
497.380 Funeral establishment; licensure; display of license.
Status: in_force

(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 establishment and a preparation room equipped with necessary ventilation and drainage and containing necessary instruments for embalming dead human bodies or shall make arrangements for a preparation room as established by rule.

(2) Each licensed funeral establishment may operate a visitation chapel at a separate location within the county in which the funeral establishment is located. A visitation chapel must be a facility of not less than 500 square feet and not more than 700 square feet and may be operated only when a licensed funeral director is present at the facility. A visitation chapel may be used only for visitation of a deceased human body and may not be used for any other activity permitted by this chapter.

(3) No person may conduct, maintain, manage, or operate a funeral establishment unless a funeral establishment operating license has been issued under this chapter for that funeral establishment.

(4) Application for a funeral establishment license shall be made on forms and pursuant to procedures specified by rule, shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee not to exceed $300 as set by licensing authority rule, and shall include the name of the licensed funeral director who is in charge of that establishment. The applicant shall be required to make disclosure of the applicant’s criminal records, if any, as required by s. 497.142. The applicant shall submit fingerprints in accordance with s. 497.142. A duly completed application accompanied by the required fees shall be approved and the license issued if the proposed funeral establishment has passed an inspection pursuant to rule of the licensing authority, the licensing authority determines the applicant is of good character and has no demonstrated history of lack of trustworthiness or integrity in business or professional matters, and the applicant otherwise is in compliance with all applicable requirements of this chapter.

(5) A funeral establishment license shall be renewable biennially pursuant to procedures, and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee not to exceed $500, as set by licensing authority rule. The licensing authority may also establish by rule a delinquency fee not to exceed $50 per day.

(6) The practice of embalming done at a funeral establishment shall only be practiced by an embalmer licensed under this chapter.

(7) Each licensed funeral establishment shall have a funeral director in charge and shall have a licensed funeral director reasonably available to the public during normal business hours for the establishment. The funeral director in charge is responsible for ensuring that the facility, its operation, and all persons employed in the facility comply with all applicable state and federal laws and rules. A funeral director in charge, with appropriate, active licenses, may serve as a funeral director in charge for not more than a total of two of the following: funeral establishments, centralized embalming facilities, direct disposal establishments, or cinerator facilities, as long as the two locations are not more than 75 miles apart as measured in a straight line. The funeral director in charge must hold an active, valid funeral director license and an active, valid embalmer license, or combination license as a funeral director and an embalmer. However, a funeral director may serve as funeral director in charge without an embalmer license or combination license if the establishment does not have an embalming room on site or may continue as the funeral director in charge without an embalmer or combination license if, as of September 30, 2010: (a) The funeral establishment and the funeral director both have active, valid licenses. (b) The funeral director is currently the full-time funeral director in charge of the funeral establishment. (c) The name of the funeral director was included, as required in subsection (4), in the funeral establishment’s most recent application for issuance or renewal of its license or was included in the establishment’s report of change provided under paragraph (12)(c).

(8) The issuance of a license to operate a funeral establishment to a person or entity who is not individually licensed as a funeral director does not entitle the person to practice funeral directing.

(9) Each funeral establishment located at a specific address shall be deemed to be a separate entity and shall require separate licensing and compliance with the requirements of this chapter. A funeral establishment may not be operated at the same location as any other funeral establishment or direct disposal establishment unless such establishments were licensed as colocated establishments on October 1, 1993.

(10) Every funeral establishment licensed under this chapter shall at all times be subject to the inspection of all its buildings, grounds, and vehicles used in the conduct of its business, by the department or any of its designated representatives or agents, or local or Department of Health inspectors. The licensing authority shall by rule establish requirements for inspection of funeral establishments.

(11) The licensing authority shall set by rule an annual inspection fee not to exceed $300, payable upon application for licensure and upon each renewal of such license.

(12)(a) A change in ownership of a funeral establishment shall be promptly reported pursuant to procedures established by rule and shall require the relicensure of the funeral establishment, including reinspection and payment of applicable fees. (b) A change in location of a funeral establishment shall be promptly reported to the licensing authority pursuant to procedures established by rule. Operations by the licensee at a new location may not commence until an inspection by the licensing authority of the facilities, pursuant to rules of the licensing authority, has been conducted and passed at the new location. (c) A change in the funeral director in charge of a funeral establishment shall be promptly reported pursuant to procedures established by rule.

(13) Each application for a funeral establishment license shall identify every person with the ability to direct the management or policies of the establishment and must identify every person having more than a 10-percent ownership interest in the establishment or the business or corporation which owns the establishment. The licensing authority may deny, suspend, or revoke the license if any person identified in the application has been or thereafter is disciplined by a regulatory agency in any jurisdiction for any offense that would constitute a violation of this chapter. The licensing authority may deny, suspend, or revoke the license if any person identified in the application has ever been convicted or found guilty of, or entered a plea of nolo contendere to, regardless of adjudication, a crime in any jurisdiction that directly relates to the ability to operate a funeral establishment.

(14) Each funeral establishment must display at the public entrance the name of the establishment and the name of the full-time funeral director in charge. A funeral establishment must transact its business under the name by which it is licensed.

(15)(a) A funeral establishment and each funeral director and, if applicable, embalmer employed at the establishment must display their current licenses in a conspicuous place within the establishment in such a manner as to make the licenses visible to the public and to facilitate inspection by the licensing authority. If a licensee is simultaneously employed at more than one location, the licensee may display a copy of the license in lieu of the original. (b) Each licensee shall permanently affix a photograph taken of the licensee within the previous 6 years to each displayed license issued to that licensee as a funeral director or embalmer.

History: ss. 1, 5, ch. 79-231; s. 338, ch. 81-259; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; s. 1, ch. 89-8; s. 46, ch. 89-162; s. 24, ch. 89-374; s. 21, ch. 91-137; ss. 23, 122, ch. 93-399; s. 72, ch. 94-119; s. 4, ch. 96-355; s. 7, ch. 98-298; s. 85, ch. 2004-301; s. 33, ch. 2005-155; s. 22, ch. 2010-125; s. 6, ch. 2019-140.