2018 Delaware Code
Title 24 - Professions and Occupations
CHAPTER 31. FUNERAL SERVICES
Subchapter III Other Provisions
§ 3117. Funeral establishment permit; circumstances for termination and continuation.
(a) Upon completion of an application provided by the Board, payment of the appropriate fee, and fulfillment of all standards set by the Board by regulation, the Board shall issue a funeral establishment permit when the applicant provides evidence, verified by oath, that the establishment meets all of the following requirements:
(1) Funeral services shall be conducted from a building that meets the requirements of a funeral establishment as defined in § 3101 of this title.
(2) The funeral establishment shall have in charge full time therein a person licensed in accordance with this chapter; provided, however, that this paragraph shall not apply to funeral establishments maintained, operated, or conducted prior to September 6, 1972.
(3) The property on which the funeral establishment is located shall be properly zoned by the local zoning authority.
(4) The funeral establishment has acquired all appropriate business licenses issued by the State Division of Revenue.
(b) No person shall conduct, maintain, manage, or operate a funeral establishment unless a permit for each such establishment has been issued by the Board. Violation of this subsection shall constitute grounds for discipline. A funeral establishment permit shall be conspicuously displayed in said funeral establishment. When funeral services are held in any private residence, church, or lodge hall, no permit shall be required, provided that the funeral director of record at said funeral services is operating from a firm with an already-existing funeral establishment permit.
(c) All funeral establishment permits shall be renewed biennially in a manner determined by the Division, and shall be accompanied by a fee determined by the Division pursuant to § 3110 of this title. All permits shall list the name of the licensed full-time funeral director in charge of the establishment.
(d) The applicant to whom the establishment permit has been issued shall not permit the unauthorized practice of funeral services, personally or by agents, on or off the premises of said funeral establishment.
(e) In the event of the death, disability, or circumstance that prevents the direct supervision and management by the funeral director of the funeral establishment, said permit is void, except under the occurrence of at least 1 of the following conditions:
(1) Where a funeral establishment has been operated by a funeral director under the director's license, the director's estate may continue the funeral establishment under the supervision and management of a licensed funeral director of this State until such time as the estate may be settled, but for no more than 2 years after the date of the decedent's death.
(2) Where a funeral establishment has been operated by a corporation, said corporation may continue operating and assume all responsibilities of the funeral establishment, provided that an officer of the corporation is a licensed funeral director of this State. Any change in officers of the corporation shall be reported to the Board.
(f) The Board is authorized to suspend or revoke a permit, after notice and hearing, for failure to comply with this statute or any lawful regulation applicable to funeral establishments.
(g) A funeral establishment with multiple branch locations in Delaware operated under the same trade name or owned by the same owner or owners is required to maintain an embalming area in at least 1 of its Delaware locations, and the embalming area shall be disclosed on the appropriate establishment licenses. Nothing in this chapter shall grant permission for the transfer, on a regular basis, of decedents back and forth across state boundaries for the purposes of centralized embalming.
66 Del. Laws, c. 225, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 72 Del. Laws, c. 209, § 20; 73 Del. Laws, c. 203, §§ 1, 2; 80 Del. Laws, c. 194, § 3.
