La. R.S. § 37:848 Unlawful Practice

• Library: Louisiana Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current with changes from the 2023 Legislative Session
• Year: 2023
• Citation: La. R.S. § 37:848

A. No person, not certified and registered under the provisions of this Chapter, shall embalm, or pretend to practice the science of embalming, or conduct the business of funeral directing; however, a licensed funeral director shall not be required to supervise the disinterment of a dead human body when disinterment and reburial is made in the same cemetery by its designated sexton who shall be responsible to supervise the disinterment and reburial.

B. Every member of a firm or corporation engaged in the practice of the science of embalming or the business of funeral directing, or both, and the manager of each place of business conducted by such firm or corporation, whose duties engage him directly in the care and preparation, or the supervision of the disposal, burial or disinterment of dead human bodies, shall possess a certificate issued under the provisions of this Chapter.

C. It shall be unlawful for anyone to engage in the business of funeral directing or embalming as defined in R.S. 37:831 unless such business is conducted by a duly licensed Louisiana funeral establishment.

D.

(1) Only a licensed embalmer may embalm a dead human body.

(2) If the body is to be held by the funeral establishment longer than thirty hours after the time of death, it shall be embalmed or the body may be refrigerated continuously at a temperature not to exceed forty-five degrees Fahrenheit.

(3) If the body is not embalmed or refrigerated, it shall be buried, cremated, or otherwise disposed of within thirty hours after death or as soon as possible after its release by the proper authorities.