IDFPR Enforcement of Funeral Directors & Embalmers

Funeral Directors & Embalmers are regulated by the State of Illinois. There are a number of different statutes that apply to Funeral Directors & Embalmers, as well as extensive administrative regulations. The primary statute that regulated the profession is the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Licensing Code. The law and regulations include:

• Licensing standards and requirements
• Scope of Funeral Directors & Embalmers practice and standards of care
• Education requirements and standards
• Disciplinary action for violations of laws and regulations

The significant regulation for Funeral Directors & Embalmers reflects the government’s interest in protecting the safety and welfare of citizens. Only Funeral Directors & Embalmers who meet specific requirements are permitted to practice in Illinois. IDFPR offers three categories of licenses:

• Funeral Director
• Funeral Director & Embalmer
• Funeral Director & Embalmer Intern

When Can a Funeral Directors & Embalmers Lose His or Her License — or Face Professional Discipline — in Illinois?

The Funeral Directors and Embalmers Licensing Code contains numerous types of conduct that can warrant disciplinary action. Examples of issues regulated by the Act and the corresponding administrative rules include:

• Professional incompetence, gross negligence, malpractice, or untrustworthiness in the practice of funeral directing and embalming or funeral directing.
• Refusing, without cause, to surrender the custody of a deceased human body upon the proper request of the person or persons lawfully entitled to the custody of the body.
• Making or causing to be made any false or misleading statements about the laws concerning the disposition of human remains, including, but not limited to, the need to embalm, the need for a casket for cremation or the need for an outer burial container.
• Embalming or attempting to embalm a deceased human body without express prior authorization of the person responsible for making the funeral arrangements for the body. This does not apply to cases where embalming is directed by local authorities who have jurisdiction or when embalming is required by State or local law. A licensee may embalm without express prior authorization if a good faith effort has been made to contact family members and has been unsuccessful and the licensee has no reason to believe the family opposes embalming.
• Soliciting human bodies after death or while death is imminent.
• Taking possession of a dead human body without having first obtained express permission from the person holding the right to control the disposition in accordance with Section 5 of the Disposition of Remains Act or a public agency legally authorized to direct, control or permit the removal of deceased human bodies.