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 Texas 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?

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? Refrigerated?

What are the relevant statutes in my state?

22 Tex. Admin. Code § 203.32
(d) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require embalming if a family member or the person responsible for making arrangements for final disposition does not authorize embalming.
​
22 Tex. Admin. Code § 203.33
(a) If permission to embalm is oral, the funeral establishment must maintain for two years written documentation of the name of the person authorizing embalming, that person's relationship to the deceased, and the time permission was obtained.

(b) When oral or written permission to embalm cannot be obtained from the person authorized to make funeral
arrangements, the funeral establishment must maintain for two years written documentation of the efforts taken as
mandated by Occupations Code §651.457 to obtain permission to embalm.

(c) In cases where a Medical Examiner or Justice of the Peace has given permission to a funeral establishment to take
custody of a body, the receiving funeral establishment may not embalm the body until the person responsible for
making arrangements for final disposition has given permission. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as
allowing a funeral establishment to initiate contact with the person authorized to make funeral arrangements.

(d) Authorization to Embalm Form.

(1) If embalming is performed, the Commission promulgated Authorization to Embalm Form must be signed by a
family member or the person responsible for making arrangements for final disposition when written authorization is secured.

(2) The Commission's Authorization to Embalm Form may not be altered and must be used in its adopted form. A
copy of this form may be obtained from the Commission and may be reproduced by a licensed funeral establishment.

(e) If a mortuary student who is not a provisional licensee is to assist the licensed embalmer, the authorization pursuant to Occupations Code §651.407 must be in the possession of the funeral establishment and/or embalmer at the time of the embalming. A copy of the mortuary student authorization shall be retained according to Occupations Code §651.407.

(f) Nothing in this rule diminishes the requirement of the establishment to abide by the Federal Trade Commission
funeral rule regarding embalming disclosures. In the event of a conflict between this rule and the Federal Trade
Commission funeral rule, the Federal Trade Commission funeral rule prevails.

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?

Texas 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?

Texas has an electronic death registration system.

Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 193.002
The person in charge of interment or in charge of removal of a body from a registration district for disposition shall:

(1) obtain and file the death certificate or fetal death certificate;
(2) enter on the certificate the information relating to disposition of the body;
(3) sign the certificate; and
(4) file the certificate electronically as specified by the state registrar.

Texas Health & Safety Code § 193.003
(a) Not later than the 10th day after the date of a death that occurs in this state, a death certificate shall be filed with
the local registrar of the registration district in which:

(1) the death occurs; or
(2) the body is found, if the place of death is not known.

(b) Subject to department rules, a certificate of a fetal death that occurs in this state shall be filed with the local registrar of the registration district in which:

(1) the fetal death occurs; or
(2) the body is found, if the place of fetal death is not known.

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?

Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 193.008
(a) A burial-transit permit issued under the law and rules of a place outside of this state in which a death or fetal death occurred authorizes the transportation of the body in this state. A cemetery or crematory shall accept the permit as authorization for burial, cremation, or other disposal of the body in this state.

(b) The department shall prescribe the form and contents of the burial-transit permit.

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.

​Support NHFA

​ Did you find this information helpful? Become a sustaining donor and help us continue our mission of educating individuals, families, and communities about caring for their dead.