You cannot sell or take payment for a preneed contract without a valid certificate of authority, and preneed transactions must be backed by a signed written contract.
(a) No person may sell a preneed contract without first having a valid certificate of authority. (b)(1) No person may receive any funds for payment on a preneed contract who does not hold a valid certificate of authority. (2) Any preneed transaction in which a buyer pays to the seller before need, in whole or in part, a purchase price for funeral or cemetery merchandise and services, and in which the seller is not obligated to deliver the contracted for merchandise or to perform the services until need, in whole or in part, shall be evidenced by a written preneed contract satisfying the requirements of this chapter and signed by the seller and the purchaser. No person may receive or accept any form of consideration in such a transaction without a fully signed written preneed contract. A transaction not evidenced by a signed written preneed contract shall be voidable at the election of the buyer and, if such election is made, the seller shall refund to the buyer the entire amount paid by the buyer together with interest thereon at the legal rate within 30 days after notice to the seller. (3) The provisions of subdivision (1) do not apply to the purchase of a life insurance policy or annuity, the benefits of which are assigned to a funeral home or cemetery authority, or the benefits of which are to be paid to a funeral home or cemetery authority named as beneficiary of the policy or annuity, as long as the purchaser and funeral home or cemetery authority acknowledge in writing that no preneed contract is entered as a result of the purchase or assignment of the life insurance policy or annuity at the time the policy or annuity is purchased. Benefits from a life insurance policy or annuity issued under this subdivision shall only be paid to a funeral home or cemetery authority that provides funeral or cemetery merchandise and services at the death of the insured whether or not the funeral home or cemetery has been named as an assignee or the beneficiary of the policy or annuity. If the amount of the policy or annuity proceeds exceeds the actual funeral costs at the time of need, the excess amount shall be paid to a designated beneficiary, other than a funeral home or cemetery authority, or to the estate of the insured or annuitant. (4) Subdivision (1) does not apply to any legal reserve insurance company or to any trust company or to any national or state bank or savings and loan association having trust powers which company, bank, or association receives any money in trust pursuant to the sale of a preneed contract. (c) (1) No person may obtain a certificate of authority under this chapter for the preneed sale of funeral services or cemetery services unless the person or its agent, in the case of a corporate entity, holds a license as a funeral director or a funeral establishment, or is a cemetery authority and qualifies as an applicant for a certificate of authority pursuant to all of the following standards and qualifications: a. The applicant shall be at least the legal age of majority in this state. b. The applicant shall be in good standing with the board. c. The applicant may not have any felony or misdemeanor convictions that relate to any activity regulated by this chapter or a crime involving moral turpitude, as defined by this chapter. d. The applicant shall be of good moral character and submit to a criminal history background check pursuant to subdivision (2). (2) An applicant for a certificate of authority shall submit to the board, on a form sworn to by the applicant, his or her name, date of birth, Social Security number, and two complete sets of fingerprints for completion of a criminal history background check. The board shall submit the fingerprints to the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency for a state criminal history background check. The fingerprints shall be forwarded by the agency to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history background check. Costs associated with conducting a criminal history background check shall be paid by the applicant. The board shall keep information received pursuant to this subdivision confidential, except that information received and relied upon in denying the issuance of a certificate of authority may be disclosed if necessary to support the denial. All character information, including the information obtained through the criminal history background checks, shall be considered in licensure decisions to the extent permissible by all applicable laws. (d) This section does not apply to a cemetery authority owned or operated by a governmental agency or a religious institution or to those cemeteries that do not charge fees or sell plots, interment rights, or any related cemetery merchandise .