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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 South Carolina area - please see the NHFA Directory listing located here
For help local to the South Carolina 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?
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?
South Carolina 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?
S.C. Code Ann. § 17-7-20
Whenever a body is found dead and an investigation or inquest is deemed advisable the coroner or the magistrate
acting as coroner, as the case may be, shall go to the body and examine the witnesses most likely to be able to explain the cause of death, take their testimony in writing and decide for himself whether there ought to be a trial or whether blame probably attaches to any living person for the death, and if so and if he shall receive the written request, if any, required by § 17-7-50, he shall proceed to summon a jury and hold a formal inquest as required by law. But if there be, in his judgment, no apparent or probable blame against living persons as to the death he shall issue a burial permit and all further inquiry or formal inquest shall be dispensed with. Provided, however, that the coroner of Charleston County is authorized and empowered to issue a death certificate.
Whenever a body is found dead and an investigation or inquest is deemed advisable the coroner or the magistrate
acting as coroner, as the case may be, shall go to the body and examine the witnesses most likely to be able to explain the cause of death, take their testimony in writing and decide for himself whether there ought to be a trial or whether blame probably attaches to any living person for the death, and if so and if he shall receive the written request, if any, required by § 17-7-50, he shall proceed to summon a jury and hold a formal inquest as required by law. But if there be, in his judgment, no apparent or probable blame against living persons as to the death he shall issue a burial permit and all further inquiry or formal inquest shall be dispensed with. Provided, however, that the coroner of Charleston County is authorized and empowered to issue a death certificate.
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?
South Carolina has an electronic death registration system.
S.C. Code Ann. § 44-63-74
(A)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, death certificates must be electronically filed with the Bureau of
Vital Statistics as prescribed by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics within five days after death. As prescribed by law,
the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall notify the State Election Commission of the decedent's death who shall
subsequently notify the County Board of Voter Registration and Elections in which the decedent was a resident of the
decedent's death for purposes of removing the decedent from the voter roll.
(2) The funeral director or other person acting as the funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body shall
file a death certificate. He also shall obtain:
(a) the personal data of the decedent from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available; and
(b) the medical certification of cause of death as provided in department regulations.
(3) Medical certifications of cause of death must be completed and returned to the funeral home director within forty-
eight hours after receipt of notice of the death by the physician in charge of the patient's care for the illness or
condition which resulted in death, except when an inquiry is required by a coroner or medical examiner. If the cause of death cannot be determined within forty-eight hours after death, the medical certification must be entered as pending, and the physician, medical examiner, or coroner shall submit a supplemental report to the state registrar on a form furnished by or approved by him as soon as practicable. The supplemental report shall be made a part of the death certificate. If the forty-eight hour period terminates on a weekend, federal holiday, or state holiday, the physician must file the certification by the end of the next business day. In the absence of this physician or with his approval, the certificate may be completed by his associate physician, the chief medical officer of the institution in which the death occurred, or by the pathologist who performed an autopsy upon the decedent.
(4) Death certificates must be transmitted electronically between the funeral home, or funeral home director, and the physician, coroner, or medical examiner certifying the cause of death in order to document the death certificate
information prescribed by this chapter. Required signatures on death certificates must be provided by electronic
signature. An individual who acts, without compensation, as a funeral director on behalf of a deceased family member or friend, is exempt from the requirement to file electronically but must comply with the requirements of items (2) or (3), as applicable.
(5)(a) A physician who fails to certify the cause of death within forty-eight hours, without good cause shown, may be
assessed an administrative penalty for violating item (3). The department shall notify the Board of Medical Examiners
if a penalty is assessed. Each day after the initial forty-eight hour period shall constitute an additional violation.
(b) A funeral home or funeral director who fails to file a death certificate or collect data or collect medical certification
of cause of death as required in items (1), (2), or both, without good cause shown, may be assessed an administrative
penalty for violating the respective item. However, the department must not assess a penalty against a funeral home or funeral director for the delay or inability to collect personal data of the decedent pursuant to item (2)(a). The
department shall notify the Board of Funeral Services if a penalty is assessed. Each day after the initial five-day period in item (1) shall constitute an additional violation of that item.
(c) A physician, funeral director, or funeral home that is required to file electronically pursuant to item (4) but who fails to file accordingly may be assessed an administrative penalty for violating item (4).
(d) The administrative penalties are:
(i) two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation or a warning letter;
(ii) five hundred dollars for a second violation; and
(iii) one thousand dollars for a third or subsequent violation.
(e) The department shall retain any administrative penalties collected pursuant to this subsection and must allocate all of these funds to the Bureau of Vital Statistics for its use.
(B) For purposes of this section, an electronic signature shall be as defined pursuant to the Uniform Electronic
Transactions Act, Chapter 6, Title 26.
S.C. Code Ann. § 44-63-74
(A)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, death certificates must be electronically filed with the Bureau of
Vital Statistics as prescribed by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics within five days after death. As prescribed by law,
the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall notify the State Election Commission of the decedent's death who shall
subsequently notify the County Board of Voter Registration and Elections in which the decedent was a resident of the
decedent's death for purposes of removing the decedent from the voter roll.
(2) The funeral director or other person acting as the funeral director who first assumes custody of a dead body shall
file a death certificate. He also shall obtain:
(a) the personal data of the decedent from the next of kin or the best qualified person or source available; and
(b) the medical certification of cause of death as provided in department regulations.
(3) Medical certifications of cause of death must be completed and returned to the funeral home director within forty-
eight hours after receipt of notice of the death by the physician in charge of the patient's care for the illness or
condition which resulted in death, except when an inquiry is required by a coroner or medical examiner. If the cause of death cannot be determined within forty-eight hours after death, the medical certification must be entered as pending, and the physician, medical examiner, or coroner shall submit a supplemental report to the state registrar on a form furnished by or approved by him as soon as practicable. The supplemental report shall be made a part of the death certificate. If the forty-eight hour period terminates on a weekend, federal holiday, or state holiday, the physician must file the certification by the end of the next business day. In the absence of this physician or with his approval, the certificate may be completed by his associate physician, the chief medical officer of the institution in which the death occurred, or by the pathologist who performed an autopsy upon the decedent.
(4) Death certificates must be transmitted electronically between the funeral home, or funeral home director, and the physician, coroner, or medical examiner certifying the cause of death in order to document the death certificate
information prescribed by this chapter. Required signatures on death certificates must be provided by electronic
signature. An individual who acts, without compensation, as a funeral director on behalf of a deceased family member or friend, is exempt from the requirement to file electronically but must comply with the requirements of items (2) or (3), as applicable.
(5)(a) A physician who fails to certify the cause of death within forty-eight hours, without good cause shown, may be
assessed an administrative penalty for violating item (3). The department shall notify the Board of Medical Examiners
if a penalty is assessed. Each day after the initial forty-eight hour period shall constitute an additional violation.
(b) A funeral home or funeral director who fails to file a death certificate or collect data or collect medical certification
of cause of death as required in items (1), (2), or both, without good cause shown, may be assessed an administrative
penalty for violating the respective item. However, the department must not assess a penalty against a funeral home or funeral director for the delay or inability to collect personal data of the decedent pursuant to item (2)(a). The
department shall notify the Board of Funeral Services if a penalty is assessed. Each day after the initial five-day period in item (1) shall constitute an additional violation of that item.
(c) A physician, funeral director, or funeral home that is required to file electronically pursuant to item (4) but who fails to file accordingly may be assessed an administrative penalty for violating item (4).
(d) The administrative penalties are:
(i) two hundred fifty dollars for a first violation or a warning letter;
(ii) five hundred dollars for a second violation; and
(iii) one thousand dollars for a third or subsequent violation.
(e) The department shall retain any administrative penalties collected pursuant to this subsection and must allocate all of these funds to the Bureau of Vital Statistics for its use.
(B) For purposes of this section, an electronic signature shall be as defined pursuant to the Uniform Electronic
Transactions Act, Chapter 6, Title 26.
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?
S.C. Code Ann. § 17-5-600
When the body of any dead person who died in the county is to be cremated, the person who has requested the
cremation must secure a permit for the cremation from the coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner, or deputy
medical examiner. A person who wilfully fails to secure a permit for cremation is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, must be fined not less than twenty dollars and not more than five hundred dollars. A permit for cremation promptly must be acted upon by the coroner or medical examiner.
When the body of any dead person who died in the county is to be cremated, the person who has requested the
cremation must secure a permit for the cremation from the coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner, or deputy
medical examiner. A person who wilfully fails to secure a permit for cremation is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction, must be fined not less than twenty dollars and not more than five hundred dollars. A permit for cremation promptly must be acted upon by the coroner or medical examiner.
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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- About
- Directory
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- Resources
-
Laws By State
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
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- Nevada
- New Hampshire
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- Oregon
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- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Support