How to Have a Home Funeral During the Pandemic

Picture
(adapted from Home Funerals Guides and Pandemic Care)
Safe and Appropriate Home Body Care for the Deceased
  • Limit the number of people involved in all facets of care
  • Use the same universal precautions that were used during home care, including masks, gloves, gowns, etc.
  • Put a mask on the deceased to avoid respiration of droplets
  • Place ice higher on the back of the neck
  • Avoid chest compression or unnecessary moving
  • Insist on social distancing in all phases

Filing Paperwork Without a Funeral Director
  • Paper death certificates may be difficult to obtain or submit due to social distancing in offices; filing electronically via a local funeral director may be the only expeditious way to obtain a death certificate
  • Usual filing procedures may be suspended or modified; contact your town clerk (or appropriate town, city, county, or state officials in other locales) for temporary protocols and restrictions
  • Be prepared that Medical Examiner’s offices may insert themselves into routine non-COVID-19 deaths as a public health precaution

If a Funeral Director is Needed
  • Make calls until you find a funeral director supportive of family involvement who is willing to help with filing and body transport while honoring the home funeral elements that are still possible and important to you
  • For general context on home funerals in ordinary circumstances, visit our How to Have a Home Funeral page

Organizations with Supplementary Resources


Much of the information on our other pages can provide useful background for family-directed care for the dead and hiring funeral service professionals, including our Glossary, How to Arrange Disposition, How to Work with Professionals, How to Create Ceremony, How to Go Out Greener, and our imagination-expanding Stories. Just keep in mind these pages reflect normal circumstances; you will have to factor in the limitations and stressors on all helping systems referenced here.​

​Links for Covid-19 Death Care Information