New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 16 - OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING
Chapter 64 - FUNERAL HOMES AND DISPOSERS
Part 4 - REQUIREMENTS FOR ESTABLISHMENTS AND CREMATORIES
Section 16.64.4.9 - MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF ESTABLISHMENTS

Universal Citation: 16 NM Admin Code 16.64.4.9

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024

A. To be licensed by the board, each funeral services establishment shall have and maintain the following minimum requirements:

(1) a chapel/room specifically used for gatherings, rituals and ceremonies, which shall be at least 600 square feet (inside-wall-to-inside-wall) in size, and shall:
(a) have the capacity for seating not less than 60 persons and for the proper display of a casket containing the deceased;

(b) have good ventilation;

(c) be entirely and completely separated from both the preparation room and the casket display room, except for entrances and exits having doors; and

(2) a casket display room which shall be not less than 450 square feet (inside-wall-to-inside-wall) in size and shall:
(a) contain burial caskets or a range of models and prices with not less than 12 different adult burial caskets or models normally displayed, and if models are displayed then the burial caskets shall be available and warehoused within 50 miles of the establishment; and

(b) be adequately illuminated; and

(c) any rental casket considered for internment or cremation services shall have written disclosure as previously used merchandise; consent form shall be provided and signed by the surviving spouse or next of kin; and

(3) a preparation room which shall be not less than 150 square feet (inside-wall-to-inside-wall) in size and shall:
(a) be equipped with a sanitary flooring of tile or other suitable hard, impervious surface;

(b) be equipped with necessary drainage, lighting and ventilation;

(c) be equipped with the equipment and supplies necessary to embalm and otherwise prepare the human dead for final disposition and transportation including running hot and cold water, embalming table, head/arm/foot block, embalming machine, aspirator, arterial tubes, trocar with hose, cavity fluid injector, metal drain tubes or spring forceps, aneurysm needles/hooks, scissors, vascular clamps/locking forceps, hypo treatment needle, nasal aspirator, scalpel with sufficient blades, suture needles and suture thread, cotton, sufficient trocar buttons with applicator, razor, cosmetics, sealing powder, hardening compound, arterial and cavity fluid; and

(d) be entirely enclosed by flooring, walls and ceiling, except for proper ventilation and entrances and exits having doors.

B. To be licensed by the board, each commercial establishment shall have and maintain the following minimum requirements:

(1) a preparation room as outlined in Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of 16.64.4.9 NMAC; and

(2) an office which is entirely enclosed by flooring, walls and ceiling, except for proper ventilation and entrances and exits having doors, and which is totally separate from the preparation room except for entrances and exits having doors; and

(3) commercial establishments shall be exempt from the requirements of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection A of 16.64.4.9 NMAC, provided the licensee in charge certifies to the board that the commercial establishment will not exceed the provisions allowed for commercial establishments in the Funeral Services Act.

C. To be licensed by the board, each direct disposition establishment shall have and maintain the following minimum requirements:

(1) a room for sheltering dead human bodies which shall:
(a) be equipped with a sanitary flooring of tile or other suitable hard, impervious surface;

(b) be equipped with necessary drainage, lighting and ventilation;

(c) have a refrigeration unit thermostatically controlled with a minimum storage area of 12 and one-half cubic feet per body;

(d) be entirely enclosed by flooring, walls and ceiling, except for proper ventilation and entrances and exits having doors;

(2) an office which is entirely enclosed by flooring, walls and ceiling, except for proper ventilation and for entrances and exits having doors, and which is totally separate from the room where bodies are sheltered except for entrances and exits having doors; and

(3) if the establishment contains burial caskets or a range of models the establishment shall comply with the requirements of Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of 16.64.4.9 NMAC.

D. To be licensed by the board, each funeral establishment shall:

entirely complete a body tracking sheet which shall be kept in the deceased file; and

obtain and maintain body transport record log at the time of which the deceased is transported to the establishment which shall be kept in the deceased file; the log shall include:

(1) name of deceased;

(2) date of death;

(3) time of death;

(4) date and time placed in refrigeration;

(5) date and time removed from refrigeration;

(6) condition of body prior to transport;

(7) condition of body at the time of delivery; and

(8) weather conditions during time of transport.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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