Chapter 2: Texas Mortuary and Crematory Law - 2025 Update (Mandatory) 2 CE Hours
By: Taylor Walding Learning outcomes
and Health and Safety Codes that went into effect in 2023. Identify terms from multiple glossaries of standard mortuary field definitions. Recognize license requirements in various stages, from provisional to retired. Key topics include the Texas Funeral Service Commission's responsibilities, license renewal procedures, new legislative changes, complaint investigation processes, and required documentation for embalming services. The course is intended to keep Texas funeral professionals informed on current laws and regulations that impact their licensure and professional responsibilities when serving clients.
After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Identify the primary responsibilities of the Texas Funeral Service Commission. Explain the hours and subjects legally needed for continuing education. Recall any new legislative changes, including amendments and additions to the Texas Occupations Course overview The Texas Mortuary and Crematory Law Update course provides a review of regulations governing the funeral service and death care industry in Texas. The course covers updates to statutes and rules in the Texas Occupations Code, Health and Safety Code, and Administrative Code related to licensing, inspections, continuing education requirements, and ethical standards for funeral directors, embalmers, and funeral establishments.
INTRODUCTION
The TFSC operates with three functional divisions: ● Administration. ● Licensing. ● Compliance. Authorizing statutes for the TFSC are located within the Texas Occupations Code, Subtitle L, Chapter 651, Cemetery and Crematory Services, Funeral Directing, and Embalming, and often have the common name of “Mortuary Law.” Additionally, the laws governing the death care industry are found in: ● Various chapters of the Texas Health and Safety Code (TFSC, n.d.c) ● Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Title 22, Part 10 (State of Texas, Office of the Secretary of State, n.d.). ● Texas Crematory Law can be found in the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 716 (TFSC, n.d.c). This course primarily focuses on Chapter 651 of the Texas Occupations Code; Chapter 716 of the Texas Health and Safety Code; and Title 22, Part 10, of the Texas Administrative Code, as Texas funeral professionals are required to complete a course in Texas mortuary law and crematory law updates during every two-year license renewal period. Title 22, Part 10, Rule §203.8(f)(2) states that the continuing education credit hours provided must contain: Law Updates—two credit hours—this course must at least cover the most current versions of Occupations Code 651, Health and Safety Code Chapter 716, and the Rules of the Commission. This course covers the most current versions in the Texas Codes. All information in this course was adapted from the TFSC under “governing laws,” yet the entire chapter supercedes the limits of this course, so you will see excerpts of the law pertaining to this course’s post-test only. Visit the references listed here and after the course’s end to read the complete TFSC Chapter 651.
In 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, 203,099 Texas residents died (Texas Department of State Health Services, n.d.) and required the death care industry’s services. As the oldest baby boomers transcend age 80, a need will arise for more funeral professionals to assist families in need. To protect Texans from fraud and deception at a vulnerable time, the state continues to update legislation to reflect the current situations and ethical practices. The Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC) is the state agency authorized by state law to regulate the death care industry in Texas. This commission, according to its 2021–2025 Strategic Plan (TFSC, 2020), “strives to be responsible, ethical, and open in its actions.” To ensure that funeral professionals within the state of Texas are qualified individuals, the TFSC has initiated operational goals. These operational goals include (TFSC, 2020): ● Managing a program of examination and licensure that ensures the development of competent funeral professionals with high standards of ethical conduct. ● Enforcing standards “aggressively and effectively.” Furthermore, the mission of the TFSC is to “protect the public from deceptive practices in the funeral and death care industry through a process of impartial enforcement, inspection, licensing and education in order to guarantee every citizen’s final disposition is conducted professionally and ethically” (TFSC, n.d.a). The TFSC is made up of seven commissioners appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Two members must be licensed as both an embalmer and a funeral director for at least five years preceding appointment, one member must be a crematory owner or operator, and four members must represent the public. The public members may not be regulated under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 651, and must consistently show an interest in supporting consumer protection. Members serve six-year terms (TFSC, n.d.b).
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Book Code: FTX1625
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