Minnesota Home Funeral Laws

If you're interested in holding a home funeral for a loved one in Minnesota, you'll need to be aware of the laws governing home funerals in Minnesota.

Do You Need a Funeral Director in Minnesota?

In all states, it's legal to have your loved one's body at home after they die. Minnesota doesn't require you to involve a licensed funeral director in making or carrying out final arrangements. (See, for example, Minn. Stat. § 149A.01 (2024), which excludes "noncompensated persons" and those adhering to "recognized customs or rites of any culture or recognized religion" from the laws and regulations governing funeral directors.)

Who Has the Right to Make Funeral Arrangements?

Minnesota law determines who has the right to make final decisions about a person's body and funeral services. The responsibility to make your funeral decisions goes to the following people, in order:

• a person you appoint in a written document, including a health care directive
• your spouse
• your adult children
• your parents
• your adult siblings
• your adult grandchildren
• your grandparents
• your adult nieces or nephews
• the guardian of your person at the time of your death
• an adult who exhibited special care and concern for you
• your next of kin, or
• a public or court authority, as required by law.

(Minn. Stat. § 149A.80 (2024).)

If You and Your Relative Were Estranged

If there is only one member of a class described above, and a court determines you were estranged from that person, the right passes to the next person on the list. (Minn. Stat. § 149A.80 (2024).)

For instance, if you have no children or spouse and didn't name someone to make funeral decisions, your parents would be next in line to make your funeral decisions. However, if your father is your only living parent and you're estranged from him, your siblings will make decisions about your funeral.

If Your Relatives Disagree

If there is more than one member of a class described above—for example, if you have several children or many siblings—decisions must be made by a majority of them. If they can't agree, they will have to go to court to resolve their dispute. (Minn. Stat. § 149A.80 (2024).)

To avoid such an outcome, it's best to name a representative in advance.

Appointing Your Decision Maker

To name someone to carry out your final wishes, you need only write down what you want in a signed, dated document. If you make more than one document naming a representative, a document that's witnessed or notarized will take precedence over one that isn't. (Minn. Stat. § 149A.80 (2024).)

You can use any form you like, but one smart method is to make a Minnesota health care directive. In your directive, you can give your health care agent explicit power to carry out your final arrangements after your death. This saves the trouble of making separate documents for health care decisions and final wishes.

For information about making a health care directive in Minnesota, see Living Wills & Medical Powers of Attorney.

To make a Minnesota health care directive that appoints your health care agent to carry out your final plans, you can use Nolo's Quicken WillMaker.

Note that, if you're in the military, you may name the person who will carry out your final wishes in the Record of Emergency Data provided by the Department of Defense.

Who Pays for Your Funeral Arrangements?

You can plan for how your funeral arrangements will be paid. You can either pay for your plans before you die, or you can set aside money for your survivors to use for this purpose. If you don't do either of these things, and there's not enough money in your estate to pay for funeral goods and services, your survivors must cover the costs.

Must the Body Be Embalmed?

In Minnesota, a body must be embalmed, refrigerated, or packed in dry ice if:

• it will be transported by public transit
• final disposition can't happen within 72 hours after death
• the body is to be viewed publicly by anyone other than family, or
• the commissioner of health orders it, in the case of an infectious disease.

(Minn. Stat. § 149A.91 (2024).)

Refrigeration or dry ice can usually preserve a body for a short time. Minnesota law states that a body can't be held in refrigeration longer than six days—or packed in dry ice for longer than four days—from the time it's released from the place of death or the coroner. (Minn. Stat. § 149A.91 (2024).)

There are resources available to help you learn to prepare a body at home for burial or cremation. The website of the National Home Funeral Alliance is a good place to start.

How Do You Get a Death Certificate?

If you won't be using a funeral director to carry out final arrangements, you must complete and file the death certificate yourself. Minnesota law requires you to file the death certificate with the state registrar of vital records within five days of the death and before final disposition. (Minn. Stat. § 144.221 (2024).)

Minnesota now uses an electronic death registration system for all deaths occurring in the state. Most doctors, medical examiners, and funeral directors have access to the system and can enter all of the required information for you. If you're working with someone who isn't on the system, you will need to supply the demographic information in a documentation of death worksheet, have the doctor or medical examiner certify the cause of death, and file the form with the state registrar of vital records. You can find a copy of the documentation of death worksheet on the Minnesota Department of Health website.

You will need certified copies of the death certificate to take care of certain tasks after the death, such as arranging for the disposition of the body and transferring the deceased person's property to inheritors. You might be able to file the death certificate and get certified copies on the same day. If not, you will have to make a return trip to pick up the copies. Be prepared to pay a small fee for each copy.

How Do You Get Permits to Transport and Dispose of the Body?

In Minnesota, you must obtain a certificate of removal from the Department of Health before moving the body from the place of death and before final disposition. (Minn. Stat. §§ 149A.90, 149A.93 (2024).)

For example, if someone dies outside the home, this authorization would be necessary to bring the body home for care. Or, if someone dies at home, permission is necessary to move the body to a location away from home for burial or cremation. You can download the certificate of removal form from the Minnesota Department of Health website.

When the body is being transported, it must be encased in a container that:

• preserves the deceased person's dignity
• shields the body from public view
• allows enough space for the body to remain in a horizontal position, and
• permits loading and unloading without excessive tilting.

If a vehicle is used to transport multiple bodies at once, each body or container must be secured and the vehicle designed so that one body or container doesn't rest on top of another. (Minn. Stat. § 149A.93 (2024).)

In addition to the certificate of removal, you will need to obtain a disposition permit before burial, entombment, cremation, or alkaline hydrolysis. (See the discussion below and Minn. Stat. § 149A.93 (2024).)

Minnesota law requires you to file the disposition permit with the person in charge of the place of final disposition, such as a crematory manager or the sexton of a cemetery. The death certificate must be completed and filed before the registrar of vital records will issue a disposition permit. (Minn. Stat. §§ 149A.93, 149A.94 (2024).)

For more information about obtaining the final disposition of a body in Minnesota, see the Mortuary Science page of the Minnesota Department of Health.

Can You Bury Someone on Your Private Property?

Minnesota law allows "any private person and any religious corporation" to establish a cemetery on their private property. To do so, you must have the land surveyed and the plat recorded with the deed in the county recorder's office. (Minn. Stat. § 307.01 (2024).)

Before conducting a backyard burial, you should check with the county or town clerk for any zoning laws you must follow.

What Are Minnesota's Cremation Laws?

Some crematories require that you use a funeral director to arrange cremation. If you don't want to use a funeral director, make sure the crematory is willing to accept the body directly from the family. In Minnesota, the coroner or medical examiner must grant permission before a body can be cremated, but there are no laws restricting the disposition of the ashes. (Minn. Stat. § 390.152 (2024).)

For more information about cremation, including information on scattering ashes, see Burial and Cremation Laws in Minnesota.

Alkaline Hydrolysis in Minnesota

Minnesota is one of the few states with alkaline hydrolysis facilities that are available to the public. Sometimes referred to as "water cremation", "aquamation," "green cremation," or "bio-cremation," alkaline hydrolysis uses water, an alkali solution, pressure, and heat to speed up the body's decomposition, resulting in a small amount of liquid separated from bone fragments that resemble cremated remains.

By law, as with flame-based cremation, a coroner or medical examiner must provide authorization before a body can undergo alkaline hydrolysis. (Minn. Stat. § 149A.941 (2024).)

To learn more about alkaline hydrolysis, see Burial and Cremation Laws in Minnesota.

Getting Help With Home Funerals

Even the staunchest home funeral advocates know that learning to care for one's own dead can be difficult, especially during a time of grief. If you need help, there are people available to coach you through the process. You can find local guides, consultants, and other resources by visiting the National Home Funeral Alliance website.

For more information about final arrangements and documenting your final wishes in advance, see Nolo's section on Getting Your Affairs in Order.