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Legal Requirements for Home Funerals
Last Updated: October 2025
Disclaimer
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information.
For help local to the Mississippi area - please see the NHFA Directory listing located here
For help local to the Mississippi area - please see the NHFA Directory listing located here
Questions
- I'm providing after-death care at home.
- How long can I keep the body at home after death?
- Does my state require the body to be embalmed?
- What methods of disposition are legal in my state?
- Are there any circumstances under which I would be required to wait before final disposition?
- What do I need to do to get a death certificate?
- What do I need to do to get a burial-transit permit?
- Is there a wait period before I can receive a burial-transit permit?
Glossary of Terms
- Burial-transit permit: A permit required to transport a body FROM the place of bodycare/vigil TO place of disposition (if death occurs someplace different from bodycare, then this is not needed). May be called a disposition permit. Also called a Removal Certificate.
- Death certificate: Legal record of death.
- Disposition: The manner in which human remains are finally handled (e.g. cremation, burial, composting, etc.).
- Refrigeration at home: Refers to cooling, not commercial refrigeration used in funeral homes. For more information, see Body Care & Cooling.
I'm providing after-death care at home.
How long can I keep the body at home after death and under what conditions?
What are the relevant statutes in my state?
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.6.3
A dead body or fetus shall be buried, cremated or otherwise disposed of within 48 hours of death unless the body has been embalmed by a licensed embalmer or unless the body is kept under refrigeration.
A dead body or fetus shall be buried, cremated or otherwise disposed of within 48 hours of death unless the body has been embalmed by a licensed embalmer or unless the body is kept under refrigeration.
What are the experiences reported by others who have done this in my state?
Coming soon.
Does my state require the body to be embalmed? Refrigerated?
What are the relevant statutes in my state?
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.7.1
Mississippi statutes and regulations do not require the use of vaults, caskets or embalming, except as provided in Rule 4.6.3. The Board of Health does not license or otherwise regulate cemeteries or crematoriums.
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.6.3
A dead body or fetus shall be buried, cremated or otherwise disposed of within 48 hours of death unless the body has been embalmed by a licensed embalmer or unless the body is kept under refrigeration. If the dead body is transported within or out of the state and the destination cannot be reached within 24 hours after death, the body shall be embalmed by a licensed embalmer or kept under refrigeration. Any dead body shipped by common carrier shall be enclosed in an outside shipping case. The outside shipping case may be made of metal, wood or any other suitable material which is approved by the common carrier. The outside case may be omitted in all instances when the body is transported in a hearse or funeral director's conveyance.
Mississippi statutes and regulations do not require the use of vaults, caskets or embalming, except as provided in Rule 4.6.3. The Board of Health does not license or otherwise regulate cemeteries or crematoriums.
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.6.3
A dead body or fetus shall be buried, cremated or otherwise disposed of within 48 hours of death unless the body has been embalmed by a licensed embalmer or unless the body is kept under refrigeration. If the dead body is transported within or out of the state and the destination cannot be reached within 24 hours after death, the body shall be embalmed by a licensed embalmer or kept under refrigeration. Any dead body shipped by common carrier shall be enclosed in an outside shipping case. The outside shipping case may be made of metal, wood or any other suitable material which is approved by the common carrier. The outside case may be omitted in all instances when the body is transported in a hearse or funeral director's conveyance.
What are the experiences reported by others who have done this in my state?
Coming soon.
What methods of disposition are legal in my state?
What are the relevant statutes in my state?
Mississippi statutes mention burial, entombment, cremation, donation to medical science, and removal from the state.
Miss. Code Ann. § 73-11-65
Every funeral service or interment, or part thereof, that is conducted in Mississippi must be in the actual charge and under the supervision of a funeral director or funeral service licensee who is licensed under this chapter. However, this section shall not prevent a family from burying its own dead without charge.
Miss. Code Ann. § 73-11-63
[N]othing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent or interfere with the ceremonies, customs, religious rites or religion of any people, denomination, or sect, or to prevent or interfere with any religious denomination, sect or
anybody composed of persons of a denomination, or to prevent or interfere with any church or synagogue from
having its committee or committees prepare human bodies for burial or the families, friends or neighbors of deceased persons who prepare and bury their dead without charge.
Miss. Code Ann. § 73-11-65
Every funeral service or interment, or part thereof, that is conducted in Mississippi must be in the actual charge and under the supervision of a funeral director or funeral service licensee who is licensed under this chapter. However, this section shall not prevent a family from burying its own dead without charge.
Miss. Code Ann. § 73-11-63
[N]othing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent or interfere with the ceremonies, customs, religious rites or religion of any people, denomination, or sect, or to prevent or interfere with any religious denomination, sect or
anybody composed of persons of a denomination, or to prevent or interfere with any church or synagogue from
having its committee or committees prepare human bodies for burial or the families, friends or neighbors of deceased persons who prepare and bury their dead without charge.
What are the experiences reported by others who have done this in my state?
Coming soon.
Are there any circumstances under which I would be required to wait before final disposition?
What are the relevant statutes in my state?
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-61-59
A person's death that affects the public interest as specified in subsection (2) of this section shall be promptly reported to the medical examiner by the physician in attendance, any hospital employee, any law enforcement officer having knowledge of the death, the embalmer or other funeral home employee, any emergency medical technician, any relative or any other person present. The appropriate medical examiner shall notify the municipal or state law enforcement agency or sheriff and take charge of the body. When the medical examiner has received notification under Section 41- 39-15(6) that the deceased is medically suitable to be an organ and/or tissue donor, the medical examiner's authority over the body shall be subject to the provisions of Section 41-39-15(6). The appropriate medical examiner shall notify the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of the body in cases of death as described in subsection (2)(m) or (n) of this section.
(2) A death affecting the public interest includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(a) Violent death, including homicidal, suicidal or accidental death.
(b) Death caused by thermal, chemical, electrical or radiation injury.
(c) Death caused by criminal abortion, including self-induced abortion, or abortion related to or by sexual abuse.
(d) Death related to disease thought to be virulent or contagious that may constitute a public hazard.
(e) Death that has occurred unexpectedly or from an unexplained cause.
(f) Death of a person confined in a prison, jail or correctional institution.
(g) Death of a person where a physician was not in attendance within thirty-six (36) hours preceding death, or in
prediagnosed terminal or bedfast cases, within thirty (30) days preceding death.
(h) Death of a person where the body is not claimed by a relative or a friend.
(i) Death of a person where the identity of the deceased is unknown.
(j) Death of a child under the age of two (2) years where death results from an unknown cause or where the
circumstances surrounding the death indicate that sudden infant death syndrome may be the cause of death.
(k) Where a body is brought into this state for disposal and there is reason to believe either that the death was not
investigated properly or that there is not an adequate certificate of death.
(l) Where a person is presented to a hospital emergency room unconscious and/or unresponsive, with
cardiopulmonary resuscitative measures being performed, and dies within twenty-four (24) hours of admission without regaining consciousness or responsiveness, unless a physician was in attendance within thirty-six (36) hours preceding presentation to the hospital, or in cases in which the decedent had a prediagnosed terminal or bedfast condition, unless a physician was in attendance within thirty (30) days preceding presentation to the hospital.
(m) Death that is caused by drug overdose or which is believed to be caused by drug overdose.
(n) When a stillborn fetus is delivered and the cause of the demise is medically believed to be from the use by the
mother of any controlled substance as defined in Section 41-29-105.
(o) Death of any person under the age of eighteen (18).
A person's death that affects the public interest as specified in subsection (2) of this section shall be promptly reported to the medical examiner by the physician in attendance, any hospital employee, any law enforcement officer having knowledge of the death, the embalmer or other funeral home employee, any emergency medical technician, any relative or any other person present. The appropriate medical examiner shall notify the municipal or state law enforcement agency or sheriff and take charge of the body. When the medical examiner has received notification under Section 41- 39-15(6) that the deceased is medically suitable to be an organ and/or tissue donor, the medical examiner's authority over the body shall be subject to the provisions of Section 41-39-15(6). The appropriate medical examiner shall notify the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of the body in cases of death as described in subsection (2)(m) or (n) of this section.
(2) A death affecting the public interest includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(a) Violent death, including homicidal, suicidal or accidental death.
(b) Death caused by thermal, chemical, electrical or radiation injury.
(c) Death caused by criminal abortion, including self-induced abortion, or abortion related to or by sexual abuse.
(d) Death related to disease thought to be virulent or contagious that may constitute a public hazard.
(e) Death that has occurred unexpectedly or from an unexplained cause.
(f) Death of a person confined in a prison, jail or correctional institution.
(g) Death of a person where a physician was not in attendance within thirty-six (36) hours preceding death, or in
prediagnosed terminal or bedfast cases, within thirty (30) days preceding death.
(h) Death of a person where the body is not claimed by a relative or a friend.
(i) Death of a person where the identity of the deceased is unknown.
(j) Death of a child under the age of two (2) years where death results from an unknown cause or where the
circumstances surrounding the death indicate that sudden infant death syndrome may be the cause of death.
(k) Where a body is brought into this state for disposal and there is reason to believe either that the death was not
investigated properly or that there is not an adequate certificate of death.
(l) Where a person is presented to a hospital emergency room unconscious and/or unresponsive, with
cardiopulmonary resuscitative measures being performed, and dies within twenty-four (24) hours of admission without regaining consciousness or responsiveness, unless a physician was in attendance within thirty-six (36) hours preceding presentation to the hospital, or in cases in which the decedent had a prediagnosed terminal or bedfast condition, unless a physician was in attendance within thirty (30) days preceding presentation to the hospital.
(m) Death that is caused by drug overdose or which is believed to be caused by drug overdose.
(n) When a stillborn fetus is delivered and the cause of the demise is medically believed to be from the use by the
mother of any controlled substance as defined in Section 41-29-105.
(o) Death of any person under the age of eighteen (18).
What are the experiences reported by others who have done this in my state?
Coming soon.
What do I need to do to get a death certificate?
What are the relevant statutes in my state?
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.5.1
Unless the only services being rendered are transport services, the funeral director, or person acting as such, who first assumes custody of a dead body, shall review and correct any items, other than information in the
PRONOUNCEMENT and CAUSE OF DEATH sections, completed by an institution or the medical examiner,
complete the death certificate, and file it with the Office of Vital Records of the Department of Health within five days
of the date of death.
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.4.5
1. When death occurs at a place other than an institution and the death does not affect the public interest (See § 41-61- 59), the funeral director or person acting as such who first assumes custody of the body shall initiate preparation of the certificate and forward same to the medical certifier within forty-eight (48) hours of death. If the death affects the public interest the medical examiner shall initiate the death certificate and forward it to the funeral director within forty-eight (48) hours of death.
2. In those cases where no funeral director is involved, the hospital or the medical examiner shall be responsible for
completion and filing of the entire death certificate within five days of death.
Unless the only services being rendered are transport services, the funeral director, or person acting as such, who first assumes custody of a dead body, shall review and correct any items, other than information in the
PRONOUNCEMENT and CAUSE OF DEATH sections, completed by an institution or the medical examiner,
complete the death certificate, and file it with the Office of Vital Records of the Department of Health within five days
of the date of death.
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.4.5
1. When death occurs at a place other than an institution and the death does not affect the public interest (See § 41-61- 59), the funeral director or person acting as such who first assumes custody of the body shall initiate preparation of the certificate and forward same to the medical certifier within forty-eight (48) hours of death. If the death affects the public interest the medical examiner shall initiate the death certificate and forward it to the funeral director within forty-eight (48) hours of death.
2. In those cases where no funeral director is involved, the hospital or the medical examiner shall be responsible for
completion and filing of the entire death certificate within five days of death.
What are the experiences reported by others who have done this in my state?
Coming soon.
What do I need to do to get a burial-transit permit?
Is there a wait period before I can receive a burial-transit permit?
What are the relevant statutes in my state?
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.6.1
A burial-transit permit is required when a dead body is transported into or out of the State.
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.6.2
A burial-transit permit may be issued by the organization that originates the death certificate, or a certified copy of the death certificate may serve as a burial-transit permit.
A burial-transit permit is required when a dead body is transported into or out of the State.
15 Code Miss. R. Pt. 5, Subpt. 85, R. 4.6.2
A burial-transit permit may be issued by the organization that originates the death certificate, or a certified copy of the death certificate may serve as a burial-transit permit.
What are the experiences reported by others who have done this in my state?
Coming soon.
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