Delaware Code Title 24. Professions and Occupations § 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:

(b) No person may conduct, maintain, manage, or operate a funeral establishment unless a permit for the establishment has been issued by the Board.  Violation of this subsection is a ground for discipline.  When a funeral service is held in a private residence, church, or lodge hall, no permit is required, provided that the funeral director of record is operating from a firm with a 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:

(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.