Legal Requirements for Home Funerals

​Last Updated: October 2025 

Disclaimer

OThe 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 Oregon 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.​​    

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?

Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 432.005

(25) “Person acting as a funeral service practitioner” means:

(a) A person other than a funeral service practitioner licensed under ORS 692.045, including but not limited to a
relative, friend or other interested party, who performs the duties of a funeral service practitioner without payment; or

​(b) A funeral service practitioner who submits reports of death in another state if the funeral service practitioner is
employed by a funeral establishment licensed in another state and registered with the State Mortuary and Cemetery
Board under ORS 692.270.

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?

 Or. Admin. R. 830-030-0010
(1) All human remains that will be embalmed must be disinfected by approved disinfecting solutions in such manner to help eliminate the danger of spreading diseases or infection. All human remains that are not going to be embalmed must be wrapped in a sheet. If human remains are to be held longer than 24 hours, the remains must, at minimum, either be embalmed or refrigerated at 36 degrees F. or less until final disposition.

(2) It is the duty of funeral service practitioners and embalmers to see that every precaution is taken to prevent the
spread of infections from persons who have died of or with communicable diseases.

(3) An embalmer must not embalm human remains without obtaining written or oral permission of a person who has
the right to control the disposition of the remains. When oral permission is received to embalm, the licensee obtaining the oral permission must document the oral permission in writing. Documentation must include the name and phone number of the authorizing agent, relationship to the deceased, date and time oral permission was obtained, and printed name and signature of the licensee or facility representative acquiring the oral authorization. An authorizing agent must confirm the oral permission on a written, signed embalming authorization form as outlined in OAR 830-040-0000(7).

(4) All human remains must undergo final disposition within twenty calendar days after a licensed funeral
establishment takes possession of the remains. If human remains are going to be kept longer than a twenty-calendar
day period due to exigent circumstances, it is the responsibility of the licensee responsible for those human remains to notify the Board by submitting the completed form via the Board's website by the twenty-first calendar day. Once disposition has been completed, the licensee who is responsible for the human remains shall notify the Board within five calendar days after performing disposition by submitting the updated completed form via the Board's website.

Or. Admin. R. 830-030-0060
(1) When an unembalmed human remains is to be transported to a destination after 24 hours after death the remains may be removed from refrigeration and transported as described in OAR 830-030-0080(1) providing that the remains can be transported to its destination within the six time frame. If the remains cannot be transported to its
destination within the six hour time-frame, it shall be embalmed or placed in a sealed rigid container.

Or. Admin. R. 830-030-0070
(1) Except for transportation of human remains from place of death to a licensed facility or other holding facility,
transportation of persons who have died of or with communicable diseases specified by the Oregon Health Authority
shall be permitted only under the following conditions: the human remains shall be thoroughly embalmed with
approved disinfectant solution; all orifices shall be closed with absorbent cotton; and the body shall be washed.


(2) Communicable diseases which apply to this section are as follows:

(a) Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome;
(b) Diphtheria;
(c) Hepatitis B;
(d) Hepatitis C;
(e) Hepatitis, delta;
(f) Human immunodeficiency virus;
(g) Plague;
(h) Rabies;
(i) Tularemia; and
(j) Tuberculosis.

(3) If religious custom or the conditions of the remains prohibit embalming, human remains shall be received for
transportation by a common carrier if the human remains are placed in a sealed impervious container enclosed in a
strong transportation case or in a sound container designed for that that[sic] purpose enclosed in a sealed impervious transportation case.

(4) Notwithstanding (1), (2) and (3), the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) may provide additional or different
requirements for the handling of human remains to the Board in response to a public health or emergency event. Any such additional or overriding requirements will be sent immediately to all effective licensees electronically, and will be posted to the Board's website. The new requirements are in effect upon issuance by OHA, and are considered ongoing requirements unless otherwise specified, or until repealed or revoked in writing by OHA.

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?

Oregon law mentions burial, cremation, entombment, alkaline hydrolysis, natural organic reduction, 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?

Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 146.121
(1) No person shall bury or otherwise dispose of the body of a person whose death required investigation, without
having first obtained a burial, cremation or reduction permit, or a report of death completed and signed by a
medical examiner.

Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 146.090
(1) The medical examiner shall investigate and certify the cause and manner of all human deaths:
(a) Apparently homicidal, suicidal or occurring under suspicious or unknown circumstances;
(b) Resulting from the unlawful use of controlled substances or the use or abuse of chemicals or toxic agents;
(c) Occurring while incarcerated in any jail, correction facility or in police custody;
(d) Apparently accidental or following an injury;
(e) By disease, injury or toxic agent during or arising from employment;
(f) While not under the care of a physician during the period immediately previous to death;
(g) Related to disease which might constitute a threat to the public health; or
(h) In which a human body apparently has been disposed of in an offensive manner.
​
(2) As used in this section, “offensive manner” means a manner offensive to the generally accepted standards of the
community.

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?

Oregon has an electronic death registration system.
​
Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 432.133
(1)(a) A report of death for each death that occurs in this state must be submitted to the county registrar of the county in which the death occurred or to the Center for Health Statistics, or as otherwise directed by the State Registrar of the Center for Health Statistics, within five calendar days after death or the finding of a dead body and before final disposition, and must be registered if it has been completed and submitted in accordance with this section.

(d) In all other cases, the place where death is pronounced shall be considered the place where death occurred.

(e) If the date of death is unknown, the medical certifier shall determine the date by approximation. If the date cannot be determined by approximation, the date that the body was found shall be entered on the report of death.

(2)(a) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner who first assumes custody of the dead body shall submit the report of death to the county registrar of the county in which the death occurred or to the Center for Health Statistics. In cases where there is no funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner, the medical examiner shall submit the report of death.

(b) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as the funeral service practitioner shall obtain the personal data from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available and shall obtain the medical certification from the person responsible for the medical certification.

(c) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as the funeral service practitioner shall provide sufficient
information to identify the decedent to the medical certifier within 48 hours after death unless the medical certification has already been submitted.

(3) A medical certification shall be completed within 48 hours after having access to the report of death by the
decedent's primary or attending medical certifier who was in charge of the care of the patient for the illness or
condition that resulted in death, except when inquiry is required under ORS chapter 146. In the absence or inability of the medical certifier, or with the medical certifier's approval, the report of death may be completed by an associate of the medical certifier, the chief medical officer of the institution where death occurred or the physician who performed an autopsy upon the decedent, provided that the associate, chief medical officer or physician has access to the medical history of the case and death is due to natural causes. The person completing the cause of death shall attest to its accuracy either by signature or by electronic signature.

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?

Or. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 432.158.
(1) Human remains shall be disposed of in accordance with ORS chapter 97.

(2) The funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner who first assumes possession of a dead body or fetus shall submit written notice to the county registrar in the county in which death occurred or in which the dead body or fetus was found within 24 hours of taking possession of the dead body or fetus. The notice must be on a form prescribed and furnished by the State Registrar of the Center for Health Statistics.

(3) Before the final disposition of a dead body, the funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner who first assumes custody of the dead body shall obtain written authorization, on a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar, for final disposition of the dead body from the medical certifier or medical examiner who certifies the cause of death as described in ORS 432.133. If the funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner is unable to obtain written authorization before the final disposition of the dead body, the funeral service practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner may authorize, with the oral consent of the medical certifier or medical examiner who is responsible for certifying the cause of death, the final disposition of the dead body on a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar.

(6) A person in charge of a place where interment or other disposition of human remains is made may not inter or
allow interment or other disposition of human remains unless the human remains are accompanied by a permit
authorizing disposition.

(7) A person in charge of a place where interment or other disposition of human remains is made shall indicate on the permit authorizing disposition the date of disposition and return the completed permit to the county registrar of the county where death occurred. If there is no such person, the funeral service practitioner or person acting as the funeral service practitioner shall complete the permit and return it to the county registrar of the county where death occurred.

(8) Except as provided in ORS 97.223, disinterment of human remains requires authorization for disinterment and
reinterment. The state registrar may issue authorization for disinterment and reinterment to a funeral service
practitioner or person acting as a funeral service practitioner upon application, as required by the state registrar by rule.

(9) Prior to removing a dead body or fetus from this state under ORS 692.270, a funeral service practitioner or a
person acting as a funeral service practitioner shall submit a written notice of removal to the country registrar in the
county in which death occurred or in which the dead body or fetus was found. The notice shall be on a form
prescribed and furnished by the state registrar. A copy of a written notice of removal serves as a permit for
transporting the remains of a decedent named on the notice.

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

Coming soon.

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