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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 North Dakota area - please see the NHFA Directory listing located here
For help local to the North Dakota 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?
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-06-04
1. The dead body of a human being must be disposed of by the person charged with that duty within eight days after
the death of such person except when any of the following occur:
a. The right to dissect the body is expressly conferred by law.
b. The body is being carried through this state.
c. The body is being removed from this state for the purpose of final disposition in some other state.
d. A permit is obtained from the local health officer or the department of health and human services allowing a
longer time during which the body need not be disposed. The permit shall state the additional length of time
during which the body need not be disposed.
e. The body is being stored for an extended period of time in a vault determined suitable by the department of
health and human services, but the body may not be stored in a vault for a period of more than eight days
during the months of June through October unless a permit is obtained from the local health officer or the
department of health and human services.
2. The date of final disposition must be the date of the committal service or date of placement in a storage vault or
school of medicine.
1. The dead body of a human being must be disposed of by the person charged with that duty within eight days after
the death of such person except when any of the following occur:
a. The right to dissect the body is expressly conferred by law.
b. The body is being carried through this state.
c. The body is being removed from this state for the purpose of final disposition in some other state.
d. A permit is obtained from the local health officer or the department of health and human services allowing a
longer time during which the body need not be disposed. The permit shall state the additional length of time
during which the body need not be disposed.
e. The body is being stored for an extended period of time in a vault determined suitable by the department of
health and human services, but the body may not be stored in a vault for a period of more than eight days
during the months of June through October unless a permit is obtained from the local health officer or the
department of health and human services.
2. The date of final disposition must be the date of the committal service or date of placement in a storage vault or
school of medicine.
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?
N.D. Admin. Code 33-06-15-01
1. Communicable diseases. The following requirements shall be met by funeral directors for bodies dead from these contagious or infectious diseases - anthrax, cholera, meningococcus meningitis, plague, smallpox, and tuberculosis:
a. Only a licensed funeral practitioner or an intern embalmer who is closely supervised by a licensed funeral
practitioner shall accept and prepare the body.
b. In the preparation of the body, appropriate outer garments and rubber gloves shall be worn.
c. The body shall be thoroughly embalmed with an approved disinfecting fluid by arterial and cavity injection,
all orifices and any discharging sinuses closed with absorbent cotton, and the body washed with an appropriate
disinfecting fluid.
No embalming fluid containing compounds of arsenic, mercury, zinc, or other highly poisonous metals shall be
sold or used in North Dakota for the embalming of dead human bodies for burial.
d. Following the preparation, the instruments shall be sterilized by boiling or placing in an antiseptic solution,
and the hands shall be washed with soap and water.
e. Without delay, the body shall receive the finishing preparation, placed in a casket, and the casket
permanently closed. The casket may be provided with transparent material of sufficient dimensions to disclose
the face.
f. Bodies prepared as herein stated may be accepted for transportation.
2. Embalming and transportation.
a. A burial-transit permit may be issued for the bodies of those dead from causes listed under subsection 1 only
if the body has been embalmed.
b. A burial-transit permit may be issued for the bodies of those dead from causes other than those listed under
subsection 1 without embalming or refrigeration, provided they reach their destination within forty-eight hours
from the time of death. If the body cannot reach its destination within the prescribed forty-eight hours, it must
be embalmed.
c. A burial-transit permit may be issued for the bodies of those dead from causes other than those listed under
subsection 1 without embalming if they are refrigerated to a temperature of between thirty-eight and forty
degrees Fahrenheit, provided they reach their destination within seventy-two hours from the time of death. If
the body cannot reach its destination within the prescribed seventy-two hours with constant refrigeration, it
must be embalmed.
d. Destination shall be considered the burial, cremation, or final disposition of the body. Storage of a body
during the winter months when burial is difficult shall not be considered final disposition.
1. Communicable diseases. The following requirements shall be met by funeral directors for bodies dead from these contagious or infectious diseases - anthrax, cholera, meningococcus meningitis, plague, smallpox, and tuberculosis:
a. Only a licensed funeral practitioner or an intern embalmer who is closely supervised by a licensed funeral
practitioner shall accept and prepare the body.
b. In the preparation of the body, appropriate outer garments and rubber gloves shall be worn.
c. The body shall be thoroughly embalmed with an approved disinfecting fluid by arterial and cavity injection,
all orifices and any discharging sinuses closed with absorbent cotton, and the body washed with an appropriate
disinfecting fluid.
No embalming fluid containing compounds of arsenic, mercury, zinc, or other highly poisonous metals shall be
sold or used in North Dakota for the embalming of dead human bodies for burial.
d. Following the preparation, the instruments shall be sterilized by boiling or placing in an antiseptic solution,
and the hands shall be washed with soap and water.
e. Without delay, the body shall receive the finishing preparation, placed in a casket, and the casket
permanently closed. The casket may be provided with transparent material of sufficient dimensions to disclose
the face.
f. Bodies prepared as herein stated may be accepted for transportation.
2. Embalming and transportation.
a. A burial-transit permit may be issued for the bodies of those dead from causes listed under subsection 1 only
if the body has been embalmed.
b. A burial-transit permit may be issued for the bodies of those dead from causes other than those listed under
subsection 1 without embalming or refrigeration, provided they reach their destination within forty-eight hours
from the time of death. If the body cannot reach its destination within the prescribed forty-eight hours, it must
be embalmed.
c. A burial-transit permit may be issued for the bodies of those dead from causes other than those listed under
subsection 1 without embalming if they are refrigerated to a temperature of between thirty-eight and forty
degrees Fahrenheit, provided they reach their destination within seventy-two hours from the time of death. If
the body cannot reach its destination within the prescribed seventy-two hours with constant refrigeration, it
must be embalmed.
d. Destination shall be considered the burial, cremation, or final disposition of the body. Storage of a body
during the winter months when burial is difficult shall not be considered final disposition.
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 Dakota law mentions burial, cremation, entombment, 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.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-02.1-19
1. A death record for each death that occurs in this state must be filed with the state registrar in accordance with the
rules and regulations set forth by the department of health and human services using the electronic death registration system. All registration and issuing of copies of death records will be completed by the department of health and human services.
2. The funeral director shall obtain the facts of death from the next of kin or the best qualified individual or source
available and must file the facts of death information using the electronic death registration system within three days
after assuming custody of the dead body. The funeral director shall obtain the medical certification of death from the
individual responsible for the medical certification.
3. The medical certification must be completed and filed using the electronic death registration system within ten days after death by the physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner in charge of the patient's care for the illness or condition which resulted in death except when inquiry is required by the local health officer or coroner.
4. When death occurred without medical attendance or when inquiry is required by the local health officer or coroner, the county coroner shall investigate the cause of death, and shall obtain medical information about the individual from the individual's medical records or last-known physician or physician assistant, and shall complete and file the medical certification within ten days after taking charge of the case using the electronic death registration system.
5. If the cause of death cannot be determined within ten days after death, the medical certification may be filed after
the prescribed period, in accordance with rules adopted by the department of health and human services. The
attending physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or coroner shall give the funeral director in custody of the body notice of the reason for the delay and final disposition may not be made until authorized by the attending
physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or coroner.
1. A death record for each death that occurs in this state must be filed with the state registrar in accordance with the
rules and regulations set forth by the department of health and human services using the electronic death registration system. All registration and issuing of copies of death records will be completed by the department of health and human services.
2. The funeral director shall obtain the facts of death from the next of kin or the best qualified individual or source
available and must file the facts of death information using the electronic death registration system within three days
after assuming custody of the dead body. The funeral director shall obtain the medical certification of death from the
individual responsible for the medical certification.
3. The medical certification must be completed and filed using the electronic death registration system within ten days after death by the physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner in charge of the patient's care for the illness or condition which resulted in death except when inquiry is required by the local health officer or coroner.
4. When death occurred without medical attendance or when inquiry is required by the local health officer or coroner, the county coroner shall investigate the cause of death, and shall obtain medical information about the individual from the individual's medical records or last-known physician or physician assistant, and shall complete and file the medical certification within ten days after taking charge of the case using the electronic death registration system.
5. If the cause of death cannot be determined within ten days after death, the medical certification may be filed after
the prescribed period, in accordance with rules adopted by the department of health and human services. The
attending physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or coroner shall give the funeral director in custody of the body notice of the reason for the delay and final disposition may not be made until authorized by the attending
physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or coroner.
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?
What are the relevant statutes in my state?
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-06-09
The funeral practitioner, or individual acting as funeral practitioner, shall secure the final disposition-transit permit
from the subregistrar. The funeral practitioner, or person acting as funeral practitioner, shall deliver such permit to the sexton or person in charge of the place of final disposition before interring the body, cremating the body, donating the body to a medical school, or otherwise disposing of the body as authorized by law, or shall attach it to the box containing the corpse when the same is shipped by any transportation company. Such permit must be accepted by the sexton or person in charge as authority for the final disposition of the body. A body may not be accepted for carriage by a common carrier unless the permit is attached as required in this section.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-06-10
Each sexton or person in charge of the burial ground shall endorse the date of interment upon the final disposition-
transit permit over the person's signature, and return the final disposition-transit permit to the county recorder. The subregistrar or sexton shall file all completed permits, so endorsed, with the county recorder within ten days after the date of interment or within the time prescribed by the local board of health.
The sexton shall keep a record of all interments made in the premises under the sexton's charge, stating the name of the deceased individual, the place of death, the date of burial, and the name and address of the funeral practitioner.
Such record at all times must be open to public inspection. In the absence of a sexton, the funeral director making the burial shall endorse and return the final disposition-transit permit to the subregistrar.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-06-11
It is unlawful for a person, acting as a funeral practitioner, to inter, remove, or otherwise dispose of as authorized by
law the body of any deceased individual without having received a final disposition-transit permit.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-06-12
It is unlawful for a transportation company or common carrier to transport, or accept for transportation, the body of
any deceased individual unless that body is accompanied by a final disposition-transit permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
The funeral practitioner, or individual acting as funeral practitioner, shall secure the final disposition-transit permit
from the subregistrar. The funeral practitioner, or person acting as funeral practitioner, shall deliver such permit to the sexton or person in charge of the place of final disposition before interring the body, cremating the body, donating the body to a medical school, or otherwise disposing of the body as authorized by law, or shall attach it to the box containing the corpse when the same is shipped by any transportation company. Such permit must be accepted by the sexton or person in charge as authority for the final disposition of the body. A body may not be accepted for carriage by a common carrier unless the permit is attached as required in this section.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-06-10
Each sexton or person in charge of the burial ground shall endorse the date of interment upon the final disposition-
transit permit over the person's signature, and return the final disposition-transit permit to the county recorder. The subregistrar or sexton shall file all completed permits, so endorsed, with the county recorder within ten days after the date of interment or within the time prescribed by the local board of health.
The sexton shall keep a record of all interments made in the premises under the sexton's charge, stating the name of the deceased individual, the place of death, the date of burial, and the name and address of the funeral practitioner.
Such record at all times must be open to public inspection. In the absence of a sexton, the funeral director making the burial shall endorse and return the final disposition-transit permit to the subregistrar.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-06-11
It is unlawful for a person, acting as a funeral practitioner, to inter, remove, or otherwise dispose of as authorized by
law the body of any deceased individual without having received a final disposition-transit permit.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 23-06-12
It is unlawful for a transportation company or common carrier to transport, or accept for transportation, the body of
any deceased individual unless that body is accompanied by a final disposition-transit permit issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
What are the experiences reported by others who have done this in my state?
Coming soon.
Questions? Feedback?
Do you have questions about this information or want to offer feedback? Email us.
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