Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-5-317 (2026)

• (a) The board may refuse to grant or may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew any license granted to any person under this chapter if:
  • (1) The applicant for or holder of the license obtained the license by fraud or misrepresentation either in the application for the license or in passing the examination for the license;
  • (2) The applicant for or holder of the license has been convicted of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude. However, an action taken under this subdivision (a)(2) shall be subject to the applicable provisions of the Fresh Start Act that are compiled in chapter 76, part 1 of this title;
  • (3) The applicant for or holder of the license has been guilty of willfully violating any section of this chapter or any rule or regulation of the state or local board of health governing the disposition of dead human bodies;
  • (4) The applicant for or holder of the license has been guilty of immoral or unprofessional conduct;
  • (5) The applicant for or holder of the license knowingly permits an unlicensed person to engage in the profession or business of funeral directing or embalming under the applicant's or holder's supervision;
  • (6) The applicant for or holder of the license has been guilty of habitual drunkenness or is addicted to the use of morphine, cocaine or other habit-forming drugs;
  • (7) The applicant for or holder of the license has been guilty of refusing to promptly surrender the custody of a dead human body upon the expressed order of the person legally entitled to the body;
  • (8) The applicant has received payment directly or indirectly or has caused to be paid directly or indirectly any sum of money or other valuable consideration for the securing of business or for obtaining authority to dispose of dead human bodies; or
  • (9) The applicant or holder performs services after December 31, 1968, in a professional capacity as a funeral director or embalmer, or both, for any unlicensed funeral establishment operating in violation of this chapter.

• (b) In addition, the board may refuse to grant or may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew any license granted for the operation of a funeral establishment or to any funeral director or embalmer under this chapter for:
  • (1) Misrepresentation or fraud in the conduct of the business of the funeral establishment;
  • (2) False or misleading advertising;
  • (3) Solicitation of dead human bodies by the licensee, the licensee's agents, assistants or employees, whether the solicitation occurs after death or when death is imminent; provided, that this shall not be deemed to prohibit general advertising. Nothing in this subdivision (b)(3) shall, however, prohibit, prevent or in any way restrict the sale of burial protection or burial insurance;
  • (4) Employment directly or indirectly of any apprentice, agent, assistant, employee or other person, on a part-time or full-time basis or on commission, for the purpose of calling upon individuals or institutions by whose influence dead human bodies may be turned over to a particular funeral establishment;
  • (5) The direct or indirect payment or offer of payment of a fee by the licensee or the licensee's agents, assistants or employees for the purpose of securing general establishment business;
  • (6) Aiding or abetting an unlicensed person to practice within the funeral profession;
  • (7) Solicitation or acceptance by the licensee of a rebate in consideration for recommending or causing a dead human body to be disposed of in any crematory, mausoleum or cemetery;
  • (8) Using any casket or part of a casket that has previously been used as a receptacle for, or in connection with, the burial or other disposition of a dead human body, except the shipping of another dead human body; or where disposition of the dead human body is to be by cremation, it shall be permissible to utilize a previously used casket shell for viewing the remains if, and only if, a new interior or interior insert is installed prior to each usage of the casket shell;
  • (9) Any willful violation of any state law or municipal or county ordinance or regulation affecting the handling or custody, care or transportation of dead human bodies;
  • (10) Fraud or misrepresentation in renewing a license to operate a funeral establishment;
  • (11) Unreasonably refusing to promptly surrender the custody of a dead human body upon the express order of the person lawfully entitled to the custody of the dead human body;
  • (12) Knowingly making any false statement on the certificate of death;
  • (13) A violation of any statutes pertaining to the prearrangement or prefinancing, or both, of a funeral in this state;
  • (14) Supplying another person with false or misleading information concerning any law that requires embalmment of deceased persons;
  • (15) Solicitation or acceptance by the licensee of a fee for the affixing or attaching of a permanent identification device to a dead human body that is placed in a casket to be interred or entombed;
  • (16) Solicitation or acceptance by the licensee of a fee for the placing of a permanent identification device in a crematory urn before placing human remains in the urn;
  • (17) Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated or adopted by the board;
  • (18) The applicant or licensee providing a monetary contribution in exchange for a business referral to any hospice providing hospice services as defined in § 68-11-201, or to any officer, administrator, board member, or employee of a hospice providing hospice services as defined in § 68-11-201;
  • (19) The applicant or licensee owning five percent (5%) or more of any hospice providing hospice services as defined in § 68-11-201; or
  • (20) The applicant or licensee entering into any type of ownership arrangement with any hospice providing hospice services as defined in § 68-11-201.

• (c) Subdivisions (b)(18)-(20) shall not:
  • (1) Preclude a person or legal entity from giving a contribution to a hospice providing hospice services as defined in § 68-11-201; or
  • (2) Apply to persons serving on boards or within organizations for which the persons receive no direct compensation but may receive reimbursement for activities related to the organization.

Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 745, s 5, eff. 7/1/2018.

Amended by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 555, s 2, eff. 7/1/2014.

Amended by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 555, s 1, eff. 7/1/2014.

Acts 1951, ch. 13, § 15 (Williams, § 7140.15); Acts 1968, ch. 542, § 5; 1975, ch. 346, § 2; 1980, ch. 554, § 11; 1981, ch. 108, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 62-524; Acts 1995, ch. 21, § 2; 1996, ch. 810, § 1; 2002, ch. 809, § 3.