54.1-2810 - Licensure of funeral establishments.
§ 54.1-2810. Licensure of funeral establishments.
No person shall conduct, maintain, manage or operate a funeral establishmentunless a license for each such establishment has been issued by the Board. Nolicense to operate a funeral establishment shall be issued by the Boardunless each such funeral establishment has in charge, full time, a personlicensed for the practice of funeral service or a licensed funeral director.Applications for funeral establishment licenses shall be made on formsfurnished by the Board and filed by the owner or the registered agent of thecorporation with the Board.
Each funeral establishment license shall expire annually at a time prescribedby Board regulation. A license may be renewed within thirty days of itsexpiration. Upon expiration of the license, the Board shall notify eachlicensee of the provisions of this section. Renewal of a license after theexpiration of the thirty-day period shall be in the discretion of the Board.
Violations of any provisions of this chapter or any Board regulations by anyperson, or an officer, agent or employee with the knowledge or consent of anyperson operating a funeral establishment shall be considered sufficient causefor suspension or revocation of the funeral establishment license.
An operator of a funeral establishment shall not allow any person licensedfor the practice of funeral service to operate out of his funeralestablishment unless the licensee is the operator or an employee of theoperator of a licensed funeral establishment.
If the manager of the funeral service establishment is unable, for anyreason, to exercise adequate supervision, direction, management, and controlof the funeral establishment, the owner shall designate any funeral servicelicensee to serve as a temporary manager and notify the Board in writingwithin fourteen days. If such inability of the manager exceeds ninety days oris expected to exceed ninety days, a new manager shall be designated andregistered with the Board. At the conclusion of the ninety-day period fordesignation of a new manager, a funeral service establishment which hasfailed to designate a new manager shall not operate as a funeral serviceestablishment.
When licensing funeral establishments, the Board may grant a hardship waiverfrom the requirement for a full-time manager licensed for the practice offuneral service or licensed as a funeral director, allowing the operation oftwo funeral establishments having in charge one full-time person licensed forthe practice of funeral service or one licensed funeral director who divideshis time between the two funeral establishments. Prior to granting a hardshipwaiver, the Board shall find that (i) the two establishments have been inoperation for at least three years; (ii) the combined average number offuneral calls at the two establishments, as submitted in monthly reports tothe Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics of the VirginiaDepartment of Health, over the previous three years is no more thaneighty-five per year; and (iii) the distance between the two establishmentsis thirty five miles or less.
Prior to granting a renewal of a license granted under a hardship waiver, theBoard shall determine whether the requirements for license renewal under suchwaiver continue to exist.
(Code 1950, §§ 54-260.39, 54-260.40; 1956, c. 220; 1972, c. 797, § 54-260.73;1974, 164; 1978, c. 849; 1988, c. 765; 1996, c. 757; 2000, c. 773.)