NEW HAMPSHIRE FUNERAL RESOURCES & EDUCATION
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Transport the Dead

The Final Ride

Families may choose to create their own procession to the place of ceremony or final disposition; to forgo the ceremonial aspects and provide their transportation in a suitable vehicle of their own; or to hire a funeral home or direct-to-cremation provider to handle transportation. ​

On This Page

  • Obtaining the necessary legal paperwork and permit
  • Practical issues involved in moving a body

Legal Issues

In New Hampshire, it is legal for a family member to transport a deceased body. This could include transportation from place of death to place where viewing or ceremony will take place (for example, at home if death didn’t occur at home, or to a place of worship or community or ceremony hall). You can also transport to final disposition for a burial or cremation.

Even though a burial/transit permit is required only for transferring the body to burial or cremation, there are hospitals and care facilities that are unfamiliar with New Hampshire families’ rights under the law. Because businesses can write their own policies, such institutions may have body release protocols in place that insist or imply that use of a funeral services company is required, or believe erroneously that transferring the body back home or to another location prior to disposition requires hiring a funeral director. To address this barrier, see How New Hampshire Hospital Staff and Administrators Can Support New Hampshire Families in Caring for Their Own Dead and Sample Hospital Policy Language Regarding Removal of the Body.

Funeral homes must embalm, refrigerate, or place in a sealed casket if body is not expected to reach destination within 24 hours, by regulation, not statute—this rule applies to funeral directors only. A sealed casket may substitute for embalming when shipping by common carrier.

Practical Considerations

There are practical and logistical considerations that are important for families to evaluate prior to deciding to transport a body themselves. Here are a few:
  • Take into account the size and weight of the deceased. There are physical risks involved for those who are doing the lifting and moving, so be realistic about who will be on hand at critical moments that require strength and flexibility. It's good to have 4 - 5 people strong enough to do sustained lifting and moving.
  • Measure doorways that lie in the path you plan to take when moving the body, with particular attention to stairs. If you plan to place the body in a casket before moving, be sure the container will be able to make corners easily without squishing carriers. It's a good idea to practice with an empty container before trying it with a heavy body inside to plan strategies.
  • Bodies go in and out of rigor, so they require a rigid base for ease of moving.  You might use an alternate container tray, a shroud with a built-in board, a shrouding or lowering board, a backboard, a cardboard casket, a wooden casket—anything that supports the body, is easy enough to grip and carry, and that feels stable enough to make the distance both on the way out and at the destination.
  • It is sensible and courteous to have a closed vehicle or cover of some kind to avoid problems with weather and to be sensitive to people along the route.

Resources and Online Links

How to Transport a Dead Body by Plane
Repatriation of Mortal Remains

​International SOS
Global Rescue
​10 Things You Need To Know About Shipping a Body
Death Away From Home
Sample Body Release Policy

How To

Learn About the Law
Have a Home Funeral
Complete Paperwork
Perform Body Care
Arrange Disposition
​Transport the Dead
Create Ceremony
​Go Out Greener
​
Pay for a Funeral
​
Work With Professionals

Resources

Articles, White Papers, Books
In the News
​Community Advocacy
​Find Locally Made Products
Find a Green Burial Cemetery
​Find It Fast

Presentations

Find a Speaker for In-Services, Presentations, Events

Website design

​Funeral Partnership.org
​Side Effects Publishing

Learn More

About Green Burial
Home Funeral Stories
Funeral Price Survey
​Pandemic Care
​For Professionals
​Glossary
FAQs

Contact

Lee Webster
[email protected]
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New Hampshire Funeral Resources, Education & Advocacy    Designed and content provided by Lee Webster
​Photo images by Lee Webster and William R. Crangle
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All rights reserved  © FuneralPartnership.org
  • Home
  • How To
    • Find Help Fast
    • Learn the Law
    • Have a Home Funeral >
      • State Requirements for Home Funerals
      • New England Legal Requirements
    • Perform Body Care >
      • Cooling Techniques
    • Complete Paperwork
    • Arrange Disposition >
      • Comparison of Disposition Methods
    • Transport the Dead
    • Create Ceremony
    • Go Out Greener
    • Pay for a Funeral
    • Work with Professionals
  • Resources
    • FAQs
    • 2020 Funeral Home Price Survey
    • Tools for Community Education >
      • Infographics
    • Sample Forms
    • Glossary
    • Articles, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos
    • Writings, Books, and Forms
    • Disposition Statistics
    • Memorial Forests
    • Shop Local
    • Stories >
      • Read Their Stories
      • Heidi's Story
      • Penney's Story
      • Kathleen's Story
    • For Professionals
    • Special Circumstances >
      • Guidance for Care in the Home
      • Practical Guidelines
      • Ceremony Resources
  • Green Burial
    • Green Burial in NH
    • Green Burial Statistics
    • Green Burial Cemeteries in the US and Canada
    • Green Burial Resources >
      • Natural Burial Bylaw Language
      • Start Up Tips for Green Burial Cemeteries
      • 10 Things You Can Say or Do to Promote Natural Burial
      • Offering Green Burial in Your Hybrid Cemetery
      • Legal Burial Requirements by State
      • Green Burial Books
      • Photographs
      • Winter Burial
    • Conservation Burial
    • New Hampshire Embalming Law
    • Green Burial Survey
  • Presentations
    • Find a Speaker
    • Presentation Resources >
      • NHCA
  • Websites
    • Side Effects Publishing Website Design
    • Funeral Partnership.org >
      • What We Do
  • Contact