by Josh Slocum (Funeral Consumers Alliance) and Lee Webster (National Home Funeral Alliance)
Keeping or bringing a loved one home after death is legal in every statefor bathing, dressing, private viewing, and ceremony as the family chooses. Every state recognizes the next-of-kin’s custody and control of the body that allows the opportunity to hold a home vigil. Religious observations, family gatherings, memorials, and private events are not under the jurisdiction of the State or professionals in the funeral industry, who have no medico-legal authority unless it is transferred to them when they are paid for service.
This guide is intended to let home funeral families know what legal requirements are on the books in each state—either statutes that are applicable to all or regulations that fall under the state Mortuary Board’s set of procedures applicable for licensed funeral directors only.
Both the National Home Funeral Alliance and the Funeral Consumers Alliance support families wishing to care for their own after death. We offer this Quick Guide as a glimpse into each state’s particular legal culture. We also agree that while it is critical to know what requirements there are, it is equally important to weigh them against practical realities.
Keep this in mind: there are no funeral police. And there are exceptions to every rule, many of which happen when someone dies in the middle of an ice storm or a weekend or a holiday or a multitude of other unpredictable circumstances. Even under perfect conditions or professional care, many of these requirements are not logistically or practically enforceable. The reason we want you to have easy access to your state’s rules and regs is simple. We want you to have the information at your fingertips should you ever be asked to explain them. We want you to be empowered by what you can do, not what someone who doesn’t know any better might believe. Knowing the law allows you to move forward with confidence.
No one knows better than the family what’s truly necessary or needed when caring for their own after death. When in doubt, call us for additional information, but know that you already have the most important piece of this puzzle: your own best judgment.
List of Legal Requirements
Alabama
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Embalming is required in order to leave the state unless the body is going to be used for medical research
24 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Alaska
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Check statute for specific communicable diseases that require a physician’s advice
Arizona
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated after 24 hours
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Arkansas
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated at <45° after 24 hours unless cremating; neither are required for 48 hours if planning to cremate
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Embalming is required in order to leave the state
Embalming is required when shipping by common carrier
California
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Required to be embalmed OR shipped in airtight container by common carrier and when forwarding
Funeral homes must embalm or refrigerate with 24 hours by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only
Colorado
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated after 24 hours
Contagious or communicable diseases must be reported to local or state health officers by person acting as funeral director
Required to be embalmed OR shipped in airtight container by common carrier
Connecticut
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Disposition must occur within a reasonable time
Funeral director must be hired to remove the body, file the death certificate, and handle the disposition of bodies with communicable disease
48 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Delaware
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated after 24 hours
Disposition must occur within 5 days
Embalming is prohibited for select diseases
DC
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Disposition must occur within one week
Disposition of contagious or infectious diseased bodies must be handled by a licensed FD
Florida
Must be embalmed OR refrigerated after 24 hours
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
48 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Georgia
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Hawaii
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated (preferably in a facility) after 30 hours
Embalming is prohibited for select infectious diseases
Idaho
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Physician should be consulted for death by contagious or communicable disease
Embalming is required with use of common carrier
Funeral homes must embalm or refrigerate with 24 hours by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only
Illinois
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Funeral director must be hired to file the death certificate
24 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Indiana
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Disposition must occur within a reasonable time
Reporting of infectious disease to attending physician is recommended
Funeral Director must be hired to handle the disposition permit, which requires that they file the death certificate to receive it; must be hired to receive cremated remains (cemeteries may receive as well)
48 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Iowa
Body can be held without preservation up to 72 hours; then refrigerated at between 38 and 42 degrees for 72 more
Communicable disease must be reported to attending physician
Funeral director must be hired to handle arrangements with crematories and to embalm bodies with infectious disease
Embalming is required for bodies with communicable diseases
Kansas
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated after 24 hours; extensions possible
Check statutes for specific infectious or contagious diseases that must be handled by a licensed FD unless disposition occurs within 24 hours
Embalming required for specific diseases if disposal not complete within 24 hours
A sealed metal casket for immediate burial may substitute for embalming of bodies with communicable disease
Required to be embalmed OR shipped in airtight container by common carrier
Kentucky
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Louisiana
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated at below 45° after 30 hours
Consult with physician if contagious or communicable disease is involved
Funeral director must be hired to cover sweeping powers for all aspects of after death care “…any service whatsoever connected with the management of funerals…”
Maine
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Report diseases to attending physician to see if medical examiner needs to be involved
Required to be embalmed OR shipped in sealed airtight container by common carrier
48 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Maryland
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Report contagious disease to attending physician
12 hour wait time to cremate
Massachusetts
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
48 hour wait time to cremate
Michigan
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Funeral director must be hired to file the death certificate and oversee disposition
Embalming is required for bodies with rare infectious or communicable diseases
Refrigeration is NOT accepted as a preservation replacement
Must be embalmed after 48 hours if body has not reached final destination – applies to FDs only
Minnesota
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated after 72 hours; refrigeration limited to 6 days; dry ice use limited to 4 days; disposition must occur within a reasonable time
Embalming for contagious diseases may be ordered by the Commissioner of Health
Bodies must be embalmed for shipping by common carrier
Mississippi
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated after 24 hours if destination cannot be reached and does not take place within 48 hours
Contagious disease that endangers public health must be reported to a Medical Examiner
Missouri
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Embalming is required for bodies with infectious or communicable diseases if not buried or cremated within 24 hours
Embalming OR wrapping in disinfectant-soaked sheet and shipped in a sealed airtight container by common carrier is required for bodies with specific communicable diseases
Funeral homes must embalm or refrigerate within 24 hours by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only
Montana
A body that died of infectious disease must be disposed of as soon as reasonably possible and with minimal handling
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated if not expected to reach its destination within 48 hours
24 hour mandatory wait period to cremate
Nebraska
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Funeral director must be hired to file the death certificate, sign transit permits, supervise interments
Embalming is required with use of common carrier
Nevada
Bodies held for cremation must be refrigerated after 24 hours
Report contagious or communicable disease to attending physician to consult state guidelines
Bodies with infectious disease may be embalmed by order of the Board of Health
Bodies must be embalmed for shipping by common carrier
Funeral homes may not require embalming 72 hours unless ordered by the Board of Health
New Hampshire
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Dead bodies may not be exposed to the public for a period in excess of 24 hours without embalming
48 hour mandatory wait period to cremate
New Jersey
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Funeral director must hired to file the death certificate and supervise disposition
Bodies must be embalmed to be shipped through common carrier if destination will not be reached within 24 hours
New Mexico
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated at below 40° if not disposed of within 24 hours
Report contagious or communicable disease to the Office of Medical Investigation
Bodies must be embalmed OR sealed in an airtight container for shipping by common carrier
New York
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious disease to attending physician is recommended
Funeral director must be hired to file the death certificate; receive body from a hospital, institution or other place; personally supervise the funeral services; personally supervise the interment or cremation
North Carolina
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious disease to attending physician or medical examiner is recommended
Embalming is not allowed when death is due to specific diseases; bodies that died of contagious diseases must be encased in a sealed casket
24 hour mandatory wait period to cremate
North Dakota
Requires immediate disposition under specific conditions; any body must be embalmed if it will not reach its destination within 24 hours, or if disposition is not accomplished within 48; all dispositions must occur within 8 days
Embalming is required for bodies with specific communicable disease
Refrigeration is NOT accepted as a preservation replacement
Ohio
Bodies with communicable diseases must be buried or cremated within 24 hours
24 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Oklahoma
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Funeral homes must embalm or refrigerate with 24 hours by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only
Oregon
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Dispositions not occurring within 10 days must be reported to the Mortuary Board
Embalming is required for bodies with specific communicable diseases in order to be viewed publicly. Funeral homes must embalm, refrigerate, or place in a sealed casket if body is not expected to reach destination within 24 hours, by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only. Sealed casket may substitute for embalming when shipping by common carrier.
Pennsylvania
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Funeral homes must embalm, refrigerate between 35-40°, or place in a sealed casket after 24 hours, by industry standards of practice, not law – applies to FDs only
24 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Rhode Island
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Bodies must be embalmed OR sealed in an airtight container for shipping by common carrier.
Funeral homes must embalm or refrigerate within 48 hours, by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only
South Carolina
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
South Dakota
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Funeral homes must embalm or refrigerate within 24 hours, by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only
24 hours
Tennessee
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Texas
Bodies must be embalmed OR refrigerated to 35-40° after 24 hours unless placed in a sealed container
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
48 hour mandatory wait time to cremate
Utah
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Vermont
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended. Local health officer may be involved in disposition arrangements in these cases
24 hour mandatory wait period to cremate
Virginia
Body must be embalmed OR refrigerated after 48 hours
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
24 hour mandatory wait period to cremate
Washington
State Board of Health determines restrictions, if any
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
West Virginia
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Reporting of contagious or communicable disease to attending physician is recommended
Wisconsin
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Health Department determines restrictions, if any
Reporting of contagious or infectious disease to attending physician is recommended
48 hour mandatory wait period to cremate
Wyoming
No preservation time requirements for home funeral families
Embalming is required for bodies with specific communicable diseases
Public funerals for bodies that died of communicable diseases require supervision by a health department official; funeral homes must embalm, refrigerate, cremate or bury within 36 hours by regulation, not statute – applies to FDs only
Embalming is required for shipping by common carrier