                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

REFUSAL, SUSPENSION, OR REVOCATION OF LICENSE, REGISTRATION, OR COURTESY CARD
(§ 54.1-2806)

A. As used in this section, &#8220;license&#8221; shall include any license,
registration, or courtesy card issued by the Board.

B. The Board may refuse to admit a candidate to any examination, refuse to issue
a license to any applicant and may suspend a license for a stated period or
indefinitely, or revoke any license or censure or reprimand any licensee or
place him on probation for such time as it may designate for any of the
following causes:

   1. Conviction of any felony or any crime involving moral turpitude;

   2. Unprofessional conduct that is likely to defraud or to deceive the public
   or clients;

   3. Misrepresentation or fraud in the conduct of the funeral service
   profession, or in obtaining or renewing a license;

   4. False or misleading advertising or solicitation;

   5. Solicitation at-need or any preneed solicitation using in-person
   communication by the licensee, his agents, assistants or employees; however,
   general advertising and preneed solicitation, other than in-person
   communication, shall be allowed;

   6. Employment by the licensee of persons known as &#8220;cappers&#8221; or
   &#8220;steerers,&#8221; or &#8220;solicitors,&#8221; or other such persons to
   obtain the services of a holder of a license for the practice of funeral
   service;

   7. Employment directly or indirectly of any agent, employee or other person,
   on part or full time, or on a commission, for the purpose of calling upon
   individuals or institutions by whose influence dead human bodies may be turned
   over to a particular funeral establishment;

   8. Direct or indirect payment or offer of payment of a commission to others by
   the licensee, his agents, or employees for the purpose of securing business;

   9. Use of alcohol or drugs to the extent that such use renders him unsafe to
   practice his licensed activity;

   10. Aiding or abetting an unlicensed person to practice within the funeral
   service profession;

   11. Using profane, indecent, or obscene language within the immediate hearing
   of the family or relatives of a deceased, whose body has not yet been interred
   or otherwise disposed of;

   12. Solicitation or acceptance by a licensee of any commission or bonus or
   rebate in consideration of recommending or causing a dead human body to be
   disposed of in any crematory, mausoleum, or cemetery;

   13. Violation of any statute, ordinance, or regulation affecting the handling,
   custody, care, or transportation of dead human bodies;

   14. Refusing to surrender promptly the custody of a dead human body upon the
   express order of the person lawfully entitled to custody;

   15. Knowingly making any false statement on a certificate of death;

   16. Violation of any provisions of Chapter 7 (&#xA7; 32.1-249 et seq.) of
   Title 32.1;

   17. Failure to comply with &#xA7; 54.1-2812, and to keep on file an itemized
   statement of funeral expenses in accordance with Board regulations;

   18. Knowingly disposing of parts of human remains, including viscera, that are
   received with the body by the funeral establishment, in a manner different
   from that used for final disposition of the body, unless the persons
   authorizing the method of final disposition give written permission that the
   body parts may be disposed of in a manner different from that used to dispose
   of the body;

   19. Violating or failing to comply with Federal Trade Commission rules
   regulating funeral industry practices;

   20. Violating or cooperating with others to violate any provision of Chapter 1
   (&#xA7; 54.1-100 et seq.), Chapter 24 (&#xA7; 54.1-2400 et seq.), this
   chapter, or the regulations of the Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers or
   the Board of Health;

   21. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements as set forth in &#xA7;
   54.1-2817 for registered funeral service interns;

   22. Failure to provide proper and adequate supervision and training
   instruction to registered funeral service interns as required by regulations
   of the Board;

   23. Violating any statute or regulation of the Board regarding the
   confidentiality of information pertaining to the deceased or the family of the
   deceased or permitting access to the body in a manner that is contrary to the
   lawful instructions of the next-of-kin of the deceased;

   24. Failure to include, as part of the general price list for funeral
   services, a disclosure statement notifying the next of kin that certain
   funeral services may be provided off-premises by other funeral service
   providers;

   25. Disciplinary action against a license, certificate, or registration issued
   by another state, the District of Columbia, or territory or possession of the
   United States;

   26. Failure to ensure that a dead human body is maintained in refrigeration at
   no more than approximately 40 degrees Fahrenheit or embalmed if it is to be
   stored for more than 48 hours prior to disposition. A dead human body shall be
   maintained in refrigeration and shall not be embalmed in the absence of
   express permission by a next of kin of the deceased or a court order; and

   27. Mental or physical incapacity to practice his profession with safety to
   the public.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 54-260.50, 54-260.59; 1956, c. 220; 1972, c. 797, §
54-260.74; 1979, c. 720; 1981, c. 258; 1986, c. 91; 1988, c. 765; 1989, c. 684;
1990, c. 363; 1996, c. 142; 2003, c. 505; 2006, c. 56; 2010, c. 324; 2015, c.
534; 2020, c. 885.