Florida bars exclusive funeral service deals with care providers

Funeral and cemetery license holders cannot enter agreements that make themselves or an affiliated license holder the only provider of covered services. The ban covers funeral services, cremation, storage by refrigeration, and removal of remains for organizations providing medical or end-of-life care. The care organization must provide services to the general public. The law took effect July 1, 2026.

Licensed businesses and facilities may dispose of remains when the stated waiting periods and conditions are met. Separate rules cover human remains held by license holders or licensed facilities and unclaimed ashes held by funeral or direct disposal businesses. For human remains held lawfully for at least 90 days, the person legally allowed to decide what happens to them must have failed, neglected, or refused to give directions. For cremated remains, a funeral or direct disposal business may dispose of them if they remain unclaimed after 90 days from cremation. Allowed ways to dispose of ashes include scattering at sea, placement in specified cemetery or church locations, and other methods allowed by rules. These provisions took effect July 1, 2026.

Licensing rules limit education and testing for specified endorsement routes and set education requirements for interns. The rules cover embalmers, funeral directors, and people seeking both licenses. Endorsement is a route that recognizes another license; the referenced eligibility rules are not reproduced. Endorsement applicants must pass the required exam on laws for handling human remains. The limits on other requirements apply only to the routes and requirements named in the law. A funeral director intern without the full educational credentials must have at least an associate degree from a recognized, regionally accredited school and attend an approved funeral-service study program. A combined-license intern without the full educational credentials must either hold that degree or attend a mortuary science program accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education. These licensing provisions took effect July 1, 2026.

Cemetery applicants must meet land requirements, and cemetery owners must meet approval and burial protections before selling land for other uses. These rules cover proposed licensed cemeteries and land that a licensed cemetery owner seeks to sell for another use. A cemetery must contain at least 30 acres of adjoining land. A public road or public right-of-way may divide nearby parcels that form one cemetery property; distant parcels do not qualify. Applications must state the exact acreage and identify dividing public roads or rights-of-way. Land sales for other uses require written approval under the required procedures. Owners must first remove buried remains under the applicable rules and regain all titles, interests, or burial rights previously sold or promised. These provisions took effect July 1, 2026.

Prepaid funeral contracts follow notice rules, and they are exempt from the stated insurance application or written-consent requirement. The notice rules cover funeral arrangements bought in advance. The insurance exception concerns the insured person's application or written consent to the contract and its terms. Cancellation notices must use certified mail, registered mail, or a permitted delivery service to the last known email or mailing address provided by the purchaser or legally authorized representative. If notice returns undeliverable within 30 calendar days after it was sent, the trustee must search carefully for another email or mailing address. The funeral-services board may adopt implementing rules. If the recipient does not respond within 120 days after delivery of the last mailed notice, money held in trust must be distributed under the contract, trust agreement, and applicable unclaimed-property law. The insurance consent exception concerns prepaid funeral contracts; it does not establish an exemption from every insurance requirement. These provisions took effect July 1, 2026.