§ 37:848 — Unlawful practice

§848. Unlawful practice
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.
(4) If the condition of the body does not permit embalming by the introduction of
chemical substances, fluids, or gas into the body by vascular or hypodermic injection or by
direct application into the organs or cavities, it shall be embalmed by an outward application
of such substances.
(5) Every dead human body shall be disposed of and prepared through a funeral
establishment and under the supervision of a licensed funeral home or embalmer.
(6) Notwithstanding any provision of this Part to the contrary, a licensed hospital or
medical school may hold a body for more than thirty hours without having the body
embalmed and a licensed hospital, medical school, or the Bureau of Anatomical Services
may dispose of any tissues or organs according to accepted procedures.
(7) Nothing in this Subsection shall be construed to require embalming if specific
practices and beliefs of religious groups prohibit it.
E. The provisions of Paragraphs (D)(1) through (5) of this Section shall not apply
to the Anatomical Board (R.S. 17:2271-2280).
F. The provisions of Paragraphs (D)(1) through (5) of this Section shall not apply to
accredited schools of mortuary science or funeral service.

Legislative History

Acts 1966, No. 19, §1, eff. June 15, 1966 at 10:30 A.M.; Acts 1974, No. 3, §4; Acts 1983, No. 454, §1; Acts 1990, No. 415, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Acts 2004, No. 132, §1; Acts 2010, No. 372, §1; Acts 2016, No. 143, §2, eff. May 19, 2016.