States Where Families Must Hire a Funeral Director
Most states do not impose a legal requirement that compels citizens to patronize a commercial funeral home, but nine do. The ways in which state laws and regulations entangle families in forced commercial transactions are varied and inconsistent. The effect of these laws goes unnoticed until a family wants to take care of their loved one after death and meets resistance.
(Updated 2024)
| Applicable Statute | FD must sign, certify, or file a death certificate | FD must perform or supervise a licensee for body removal or transport | Only FDs are issued burial/transit permits | FDs can issue burial/transit permits or permit for disposition | FDs must be present to supervise final disposition | Requires a FD present for interment on home property | Requires a FD to make cremation arrangements | |
| Connecticut | CT Gen Stat § 7-62b, 65a, 69 | x | x | x | ||||
| Illinois | 410 III. Comp Stat § 535 | x | x | x | x | |||
| Indiana | IC § 16-37 | x | ||||||
| Iowa | IC § 331.805; IAC 481-900.10(2) | x | ||||||
| Louisiana | LRS § 37:848 | x | x | x | ||||
| New York | NY Pub Health Law § 4140 | x | x | x | x | |||
| Michigan | MI Comp Laws § 700.3206 | x | x | x | x | |||
| Nebraska | NRS § 38-1400s [Chapter 71-605] | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| New Jersey | NJ Stat § 26:6 | x | x | x |
Connecticut — Funeral directors must be hired to file the death certificate, remove and transport bodies, and obtain a burial/transit permit.
Illinois — Funeral directors must be hired to file the death certificate, remove and transport bodies, and be present at burials and cremations. They are responsible for issuing burial/transit permits.
Indiana — Funeral directors must be hired to remove and transport bodies.
Iowa – Funeral directors must be hired to make arrangements for cremation.
Louisiana — Funeral directors must be hired to file the death certificate, remove and transport bodies, and be present at a burials and cremations.
New York — Funeral directors must be hired to file the death certificate, remove and transport bodies, obtain a burial/transit permit, and supervise burials and cremations.
Michigan — Funeral directors must be hired to file the death certificate, remove and transport bodies, and supervise burials and cremations. They are responsible for issuing burial/transit permits.
Nebraska — Funeral directors must be hired to file the death certificate and remove and transport bodies. They are also responsible for issuing burial/transit permits. Home burials must be supervised by a funeral director or designee.
New Jersey — Funeral directors must be hired to file the death certificate, remove and transport bodies, and be present at burials and cremations.
In the states listed above, families lose the right to independent, private control of their affairs when a loved one dies. Few occasions are as trying or intimate for any family as a death; it’s especially unfortunate that families should be compelled to engage in an expensive and unnecessary commercial transaction when death occurs. While it is true that a minority of Americans will choose a home funeral, and most will gladly rely on funeral directors, it is the right to choose that must be protected.
It is more than unfortunate when the state compels a citizen to hire a private business—at considerable cost—to perform something he can do for himself. Consider this: In all states, expectant mothers may have their babies at home; fathers may cut their children’s hair to avoid the expense of a barber; engaged couples may plan and carry out their own wedding without hiring professional planners or caterers; homeowners may snake their clogged drains to save on professional plumbing fees. And all Americans have the right to be cared for at home by their family as they near the end of life, where most people will agree they prefer to die.