Quick Guide to Legal Requirements for Home Funerals in Your StateThe following information was researched and developed by Lee Webster, 2015. Excerpt from Restoring Families Rights to Choose.
Keeping or bringing a loved one home after death is legal in every state for bathing, dressing, private viewing, and ceremony as the family chooses. Every state recognizes the next-of-kin’s custody and control of the body that allows the opportunity to hold a home vigil. Religious observations, family gatherings, memorials, and private events are not under the jurisdiction of the State or professionals in the funeral industry, who have no medico-legal authority unless it is transferred to them when they are paid for service. |
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This guide is intended to let home funeral families know what legal requirements are on the books in each state—either statutes that are applicable to all or regulations that fall under the state Mortuary Board’s set of procedures applicable for licensed funeral directors only.
This Quick Guide is a glimpse into each state’s particular legal culture. We also agree that while it is critical to know what requirements there are, it is equally important to weigh them against practical realities.
Keep this in mind: there are no funeral police. And there are exceptions to every rule, many of which happen when someone dies in the middle of an ice storm or a weekend or a holiday or a multitude of other unpredictable circumstances. Even under perfect conditions or professional care, many of these requirements are not logistically or practically enforceable.
The reason we want you to have easy access to your state’s rules and regs is simple. We want you to have the information at your fingertips should you ever be asked to explain them. We want you to be empowered by what you can do, not what someone who doesn’t know any better might believe. Knowing the law allows you to move forward with confidence.
No one knows better than the family what’s truly necessary or needed when caring for their own after death. When in doubt, call us for additional information, but know that you already have the most important piece of this puzzle: your own best judgment.
This Quick Guide is a glimpse into each state’s particular legal culture. We also agree that while it is critical to know what requirements there are, it is equally important to weigh them against practical realities.
Keep this in mind: there are no funeral police. And there are exceptions to every rule, many of which happen when someone dies in the middle of an ice storm or a weekend or a holiday or a multitude of other unpredictable circumstances. Even under perfect conditions or professional care, many of these requirements are not logistically or practically enforceable.
The reason we want you to have easy access to your state’s rules and regs is simple. We want you to have the information at your fingertips should you ever be asked to explain them. We want you to be empowered by what you can do, not what someone who doesn’t know any better might believe. Knowing the law allows you to move forward with confidence.
No one knows better than the family what’s truly necessary or needed when caring for their own after death. When in doubt, call us for additional information, but know that you already have the most important piece of this puzzle: your own best judgment.
States That Restrict Home Funeral Autonomy for Families
State by State Home Funeral Requirements
State |
Preservation time requirements by statute: |
According to state law, a funeral director must be hired to: |
Requirements/ Regulations of note: |
Mandatory waiting period for cremation: |
Death Certificate Filing Time Limits: |
Alabama |
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-- |
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Alaska |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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Arizona |
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-- |
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-- |
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Arkansas |
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-- |
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-- |
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California |
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-- |
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-- |
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Colorado |
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-- |
Required to be embalmed OR shipped in airtight container by common carrier |
-- |
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Connecticut |
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-- |
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Delaware |
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-- |
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-- |
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DC |
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-- |
-- |
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Florida |
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-- |
-- |
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Georgia |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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Hawaii |
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-- |
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-- |
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Idaho |
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-- |
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-- |
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Illinois |
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-- |
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Indiana |
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-- |
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Iowa |
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-- |
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Kansas |
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-- |
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-- |
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Kentucky |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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Louisiana |
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-- |
-- |
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Maine |
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-- |
Required to be embalmed OR shipped in sealed airtight container by common carrier |
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Maryland |
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-- |
-- |
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Massachusetts |
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-- |
-- |
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Michigan |
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-- |
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Minnesota |
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-- |
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-- |
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Mississippi |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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Missouri |
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-- |
Embalming is required for bodies with infectious or communicable diseases if not buried or cremated within 24 hours
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-- |
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Montana |
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-- |
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24 hours |
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Nebraska |
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-- |
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Nevada |
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-- |
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-- |
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New Hampshire |
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-- |
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New Jersey |
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-- |
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New Mexico |
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-- |
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-- |
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New York |
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-- |
-- |
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North Carolina |
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-- |
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North Dakota |
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-- |
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-- |
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Ohio |
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-- |
-- |
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Oklahoma |
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-- |
Funeral homes must embalm or refrigerate with 24 hours by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only |
-- |
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Oregon |
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-- |
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-- |
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Pennsylvania |
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-- |
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Rhode Island |
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-- |
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-- |
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South Carolina |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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South Dakota |
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-- |
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Tennessee |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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Texas |
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-- |
-- |
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Utah |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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Vermont |
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-- |
-- |
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Virginia |
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-- |
-- |
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Washington |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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West Virginia |
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-- |
-- |
-- |
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Wisconsin |
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-- |
-- |
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Wyoming |
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-- |
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Quick Guide to Legal Requirements by State Summaryy
15 states have some form of embalming OR refrigeration requirements when in the care of a funeral home:
Arizona • Arkansas • Colorado • Delaware • Florida • Hawaii • Kansas • Louisiana • Minnesota • Mississippi • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • Texas • Virginia
3 states do not recognize refrigeration as a valid alternative to embalming:
Iowa • Michigan • North Dakota
3 states prohibit embalming when infectious diseases are involved:
Delaware • Hawaii • North Carolina
2 states require that bodies be embalmed in order to leave the state:
Alabama • Arkansas
8 states have statutes that mandate/give permission to embalm bodies that died of infectious or communicable diseases:
Iowa • Kansas • Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri • Nevada • North Dakota • Wyoming
1 state requires embalming of infected or communicable bodies specifically for public viewing:
Oregon
3 states require speedy disposition for bodies that died of infectious or communicable diseases:
Missouri • Montana • Ohio
7 states require embalming of all bodies being shipped by common carrier regardless of carrier requirements:
Arkansas • Idaho • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Jersey • Wyoming
2 states’ Health Departments have the authority to determine whether a body with communicable disease will be embalmed:
Minnesota • Nevada
2 states require that funeral directors be hired to supervise funerals and memorials:
Louisiana • New York
6 states require a funeral director to supervise disposition:
Florida • Louisiana • Michigan • Nebraska • New Jersey • New York
3 state require funeral directors to remove bodies, receive from hospital, etc.:
Connecticut • Louisiana • New York
8 states require a funeral director file the death certificate:
Connecticut • Illinois • Indiana • Louisiana • Michigan • Nebraska • New Jersey • New York
3 states require a funeral director to dispose of bodies with communicable diseases:
Connecticut • District of Columbia • Louisiana
3 states require a funeral director to handle and receive cremated remains:
Indiana • Iowa • Louisiana
Arizona • Arkansas • Colorado • Delaware • Florida • Hawaii • Kansas • Louisiana • Minnesota • Mississippi • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • Texas • Virginia
3 states do not recognize refrigeration as a valid alternative to embalming:
Iowa • Michigan • North Dakota
3 states prohibit embalming when infectious diseases are involved:
Delaware • Hawaii • North Carolina
2 states require that bodies be embalmed in order to leave the state:
Alabama • Arkansas
8 states have statutes that mandate/give permission to embalm bodies that died of infectious or communicable diseases:
Iowa • Kansas • Michigan • Minnesota • Missouri • Nevada • North Dakota • Wyoming
1 state requires embalming of infected or communicable bodies specifically for public viewing:
Oregon
3 states require speedy disposition for bodies that died of infectious or communicable diseases:
Missouri • Montana • Ohio
7 states require embalming of all bodies being shipped by common carrier regardless of carrier requirements:
Arkansas • Idaho • Minnesota • Nebraska • Nevada • New Jersey • Wyoming
2 states’ Health Departments have the authority to determine whether a body with communicable disease will be embalmed:
Minnesota • Nevada
2 states require that funeral directors be hired to supervise funerals and memorials:
Louisiana • New York
6 states require a funeral director to supervise disposition:
Florida • Louisiana • Michigan • Nebraska • New Jersey • New York
3 state require funeral directors to remove bodies, receive from hospital, etc.:
Connecticut • Louisiana • New York
8 states require a funeral director file the death certificate:
Connecticut • Illinois • Indiana • Louisiana • Michigan • Nebraska • New Jersey • New York
3 states require a funeral director to dispose of bodies with communicable diseases:
Connecticut • District of Columbia • Louisiana
3 states require a funeral director to handle and receive cremated remains:
Indiana • Iowa • Louisiana