Legal Requirements for Home Funerals

Last Updated: October 2025

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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. 

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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.​​    

Review Our Sources

Read the original legal sources for your state here.

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?

There are no statutes or regulations that address this question.

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?

What are the relevant statutes in my state?

There are no statutes or regulations that address this question.

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?

North Carolina law mentions burial, cremation, entombment, burial at sea, donation to medical science, and removal
from the state.

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?

There are no statutes or regulations that address this question.

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?

N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 130A-115
(a) A death certificate for each death that occurs in this State shall be filed with the local registrar of the county in
which the death occurred within five days after the death. If the place of death is unknown, a death certificate shall be filed within five days in the county where the dead body is found. If the death occurs in a moving conveyance, a death certificate shall be filed in the county in which the dead body was first removed from the conveyance.

(b) The funeral director or person acting as funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body shall file the death certificate with the local registrar. The personal data shall be obtained from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available. The funeral director or person acting as funeral director is responsible for obtaining the medical certification of the cause of death, stating facts relative to the date and place of burial, and filing the death certificate with the local registrar within five days of the 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?

N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 130A-113

(a) The funeral director or person acting as such who first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus which is under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner shall obtain a burial-transit permit signed by the medical examiner prior to final disposition or removal from the State and within five days after death.
(b) A dead body shall not be cremated or buried at sea unless the provisions of G.S. 130A-388 are met.
(b1) For any death occurring outside North Carolina, a crematory licensee shall not cremate a dead human body
without obtaining a copy of the burial-transit or disposal permit issued under the law of the state, province, or foreign government in which death or disinterment occurred before cremation. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to waive the provisions of G.S. 130A-388.
…
(e) The local registrar shall issue a burial-transit permit for the removal of a dead body or fetus from this State if the
requirements of G.S. 130A-112 are met and that the death is not under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner.

What are the experiences reported by others who have done this in my state?

Coming soon.

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