Funeral Board and insurance licensing bill becomes law
The new law makes regulatory changes involving funeral service law, professional employer organizations and Department of Insurance licensing provisions.
RALEIGH — A statewide regulatory bill involving funeral service law and Department of Insurance licensing provisions is now law in North Carolina.
Senate Bill 857 became Session Law 2026-48 on July 8 after Gov. Josh Stein signed it July 7, according to the North Carolina General Assembly. The bill is titled “GSC Update Funeral Board and DOI Licensing” and lists Sens. Amy Galey, Jim Burgin and Norman Sanderson as sponsors. No counties are specifically cited.
The bill page lists affected statutes in several chapters, including funeral service, insurance, powers of attorney, cosmetology and occupational licensing. Keywords include business and commerce, insurance, occupational licensing, state agencies, Department of Insurance, health and public health.
A Legislative Reporting Service summary says the bill reorganizes and updates parts of state funeral service law, including provisions related to the Board of Funeral Service, funeral establishment permits, funeral service licensees, embalming facilities, transportation or removal of human remains, inspections, qualifications and licensing applications.
The summary says Senate amendments also changed provisions involving the naming of funeral establishments. If the name of a funeral establishment includes the name of an individual, that individual must be licensed as a funeral director or funeral service licensee, or must have been the licensee who met statutory requirements when the establishment’s initial permit was issued.
The bill also changes parts of the North Carolina Professional Employer Organization Act by removing tangible net worth requirements from certain licensing provisions.
The House approved the bill on second reading June 30 by a 112-0 vote. The Senate approved the bill on second reading June 9 by a 46-0 vote.
Editor’s note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.
