Section 3420. Funeral directing; license to practice required; exceptions  


Latest version.
  • 1. No person shall  engage  in  the  business  or  practice  of  funeral
      directing,  undertaking, or embalming or transact or hold himself out as
      transacting or practicing or as being entitled to transact  or  practice
      funeral  directing,  undertaking  or embalming in this state unless duly
      licensed according to law, and registered under the provisions  of  this
      article,  except  that  nothing in this article contained shall prohibit
      embalming:
        (a) by commissioned medical officers in the armed forces of the United
      States or in the United States public health  service  while  on  active
      duty in the respective service; or,
        (b)  by  any  one actually serving as a member of the resident medical
      staff of any legally incorporated hospital; or,
        (c) by any person duly licensed to practice as a physician or  surgeon
      in this state.
        2.  A  person who holds a license as a funeral director, undertaker or
      embalmer, as defined herein, and is registered as required herein, shall
      be entitled to practice as defined and limited by the provisions of  the
      law  at the time the license was issued, except as otherwise provided by
      this article.
        3. Notwithstanding the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  section,  the
      commissioner  may in his discretion enter into an agreement with another
      state of the United States or a province  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,
      pursuant  to which agreement any person, duly licensed and registered as
      a funeral director, undertaker or the equivalent thereof by and in  such
      other state or province, may enter into this state for the sole purposes
      of  removing  to  such  other  state  or  province  dead  human  bodies,
      supervising the delivery to or removal from a  common  carrier  of  such
      bodies, or burying, cremating, or supervising funeral services over dead
      human  bodies  brought  from such other state or province as though such
      person were duly licensed and registered by and  in  this  state  except
      that  such person shall not maintain an establishment, advertise or hold
      himself out directly or through any agent or agency or  otherwise  as  a
      funeral director, undertaker or the equivalent thereof other than in the
      state or province in which he is registered and licensed.