The TFSC is the state agency authorized by state law to regulate the death care industry in the state of Texas. The authorizing statute for the TFSC is Texas Occupations Code, Subtitle L, Chapter 651, Cemetery and Crematory Services, Funeral Directing, and Embalming.
Mortuary Law - Texas Occupations Code Chapter 651
Crematory Law - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 716
State Laws Affecting the Funeral Industry
2024 Compilation of Relevant Texas State Laws
The TFSC is authorized by the Act to establish rules to implement and enforce the Act. Rules are enacted by the TFSC through a series of open meetings and publication in the Texas Register. The Rules of the TFSC are found in the following chapters of the Texas Administrative Code:
TAC Chapter 201 - Licensing & Enforcement - Practice & Procedure
TAC Chapter 203 - Licensing & Enforcement - Subchapter A - Licensing
TAC Chapter 203 - Licensing & Enforcement - Subchapter C - Enforcement
TAC Chapter 207 - Alternative Dispute Resolution
TAC Chapter 209 - Ethical Standards for Persons Licensed by the Commission
Additional laws related to the funeral industry can be found in various chapters of the Texas Health & Safety Code:
Death Records - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 193
Determination of Death/Autopsy Reports - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 671
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 673
Anatomical Board of the State of Texas - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 691
Texas Anatomical Gift Act - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 692
Removal of Body Parts, Body Tissue & Corneal Tissue - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 693
Burial - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 694
In-Casket Identification - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 695
General Provisions Relating to Cemeteries- Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 711
Perpetual Care Cemeteries - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 712
Local Regulation of Cemeteries - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 713
Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Cemeteries - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 714
Certain Historic Cemeteries - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 715
Disposition of Unclaimed Cremated Remains - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 696
Disposition of Embryonic and Fetal Tissue Remains - Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 697
The Texas Department of State Health Services has adopted the following rule related to death certificates:
TAC Chapter 181- Miscellaneous Provisions relating to Vital Statistics
The Commission's Law Book can be purchased for $15.00 by completing a Texas Mortuary Law Book Order Form. This book includes all relevant statutes and rules relating to the mortuary industry effective as of July 2019. The law book will be updated at the end of September to relfect changes to statute enacted by the Texas Legislature and to reflect changes to rules adopted by Commissioners at the September meeting. Orders received in September will not be procesed until October.