Pennsylvania Code
Title 28 - HEALTH AND SAFETY
Part I - General Health
Chapter 1 - ADMINISTRATION OF VITAL RECORDS
INTERMENT, TRANSPORTATION AND DISINTERMENT OF DEAD BODIES AND FETAL REMAINS
Section 1.25 - Disinterment of dead human bodies

Universal Citation: 28 PA Code ยง 1.25

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024

(a) Permit. No dead human body shall be removed from its place of interment unless a disinterment permit is first secured from a local registrar who is authorized to issue a disinterment permit, according to the following requirements:

(1) The funeral director or cemetery official making the application shall present to the local registrar the correct name, date of death and cause of death of the body to be disinterred and written consent of next of kin, or appropriate order from a court of competent jurisdiction.

(2) No disinterred body shall be reinterred either in the same cemetery or another cemetery located in this Commonwealth unless a burial or removal permit is obtained.

(3) Disinterment permits shall be void after the expiration of 72 hours from the date of issue and no disinterment may be made between sunset and sunrise.

(4) Disinterment permits shall be delivered to the sexton or other person in charge of burial grounds in which the disinterments are to be made and shall be returned by him to the local registrar of the district where the body is reinterred within 30 days from the date the permit was issued.

(b) Authorization. Disinterments shall be authorized during any month of the year.

(c) Transportation. Except when the remains are found to be thoroughly desiccated, the transportation by public conveyance or common carrier of a disinterred body shall be forbidden unless the remains are encased in a hermetically sealed container. When a disinterred body is to be transported by common carrier, certification as to the facts in the case shall be presented by the qualified person in charge of the removal to the local registrar of the district in which the disinterment is made and from which the body is to be transported. The local registrar shall issue a proper permit and no disinterred body may be transported without the permit.

(d) Exhumation and exposure. The remains of a dead body may not be exhumed and exposed to view without an order from a court of competent jurisdiction.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Pennsylvania may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.