Recommendations for Completing Paperwork

  • Complete and file all advance directives, including Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare. Determine with your doctor if you should have a Virginia Portable Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) (Also see the National POLST Form Notice for help with understanding decision making criteria.)
  • Anticipated deaths that occur at home but not on hospice service must have a physician of record involved to avoid being considered an unattended death.
  • Assign a family member, friend, or other authorized agent to carry out all funeral arrangements.
  • ​Fill out a Virginia Death Certificate Worksheet for all family members to keep on file, so the basic information is handy whenever it’s needed.
  • Many registrars and office workers have little experience with a family filing their own paperwork. It can be helpful, in the case of an anticipated death, to visit their office to inform them of your intent. (See Resources For Professionals for information you can bring with you. And check out Sample Forms to familiarize yourself with what paperwork in Virginia looks like.)

On This Page

  • Recommendations for families choosing to handle their own paperwork
  • How to complete the death certificate
  • Who has the authority to manage the final affairs as next-of-kin
  • How to designate an agent other than family to manage final affairs
  • How to obtain certified copies of the death certificate

Completing the Death Certificate

Home Funerals Led by Next-of-Kin
Families in Virginia may care for their own dead from death to disposition (Virginia Code § 32.1-263-b). Immediate family members of the deceased are not prohibited from providing for the care, preparation, or disposition of human dead bodies. Embalming is primarily a cosmetic procedure and is not required by law. ​This includes cleansing, dressing, and casketing or shrouding in the home; sheltering in place in the home; filing the death certificate; transporting the deceased; making arrangements for burial; burying on private property; or making arrangements to cremate (crematories may require a funeral director to make the call).

 Obtaining and Filling Out the Death Certificate:
  • A completed and signed medical portion of the death certificate must be obtained from the physician, hospice nurse, medical examiner, attending physician, and/or other qualified authority who pronounces the death and authorizes cause of death on the medical portion of the death certificate within 24 hours;
  • The next-of-kin or designated agent completes the demographic portion;
  • If a funeral director is hired, he or she will complete the demographic portion using information provided by the family;
  • The next-of-kin or the designated agent, if acting as the funeral director, will sign as the funeral director where it says "Funeral Service Licensee, VSAP, or Next-of-Kin";
  • The form must be filled out as specified in black ink, with no cross-outs or white-outs;
  • Every box must be completed, including NA or N/A;
  • Obtain certified copies of the death certificate at any health department registrar or Vital Records office once it has been filed electronically.

Getting the Death Certificate Signed by a Medical Authority
  • Physicians and medical examiners must certify the medical portion of the death certificate within 24 hours of the death. It is up to the filing party to locate and obtain that signature if the death certificate is initiated by a different authority.
  • Families of patients who have been on hospice service may be assisted by the attending hospice nurse in locating and obtaining the physician's signature.
  • A Note About Unattended Deaths: If the person is not on hospice service but death outside a medical setting is anticipated, the likelihood of a death investigation can be reduced by contacting the primary care provider in advance to confirm their ability to certify the death based on known health conditions.

If the body must be moved from a hospital, hospice, care facility, or medical examiner’s office, there may be a form required by the facility before removal. These institutions have their own policies regarding body removal protocol, so check as well in advance as possible to ensure a smooth transition from institutional care.
 
Filing the Death Certificate and Obtaining Out-of-State Transit Permit
While there are precise steps for completing paperwork without hiring a funeral director, they are, in most cases, no more daunting than any other form filing. The information required for the demographic portion is personal individual and family history, all of which will have to be located by the family anyway and then conveyed to a funeral director if the family chooses to hire one to fill it in for them. There is no cost to filing by families.
 
Steps regarding death certificates and disposition transit permits:
  1. Acquire the death certificate from the medical authority or tribal law enforcement officer, with the medical portion completed and signed.
  2. Complete the demographic portion, no spaces left blank, signed by the next-of-kin or designated agent acting as his or her own funeral director.
  3. File the form with the Virginia Department of Health, Vital Records within 72 hours of the death and before disposition. Call ahead to ask about office hours, or to arrange for assistance outside of normal office hours if possible.
  4. Certified copies of the death certificate usually will be available for purchase from any registrar's office, sometimes immediately. Certified copies cost $12 each. You may apply for copies online or in person.
  5. In Virginia, bodies may be moved without a burial/transport permit unless leaving the state. If there are plans to go across state lines, an out-of-state transit permit will be issued by the registrar upon filing of the death certificate. No additional permits are required. If the body will be transported out-of-state for burial or cremation, be sure to call ahead to the out-of-state cemetery or crematory to check on any unique requirements, and to ensure they'll accept a body from a family. 
  6. The disposition authority (e.g., cemetery or crematory) is responsible for filing the out-of-state transit permit. (See Virginia Administrative Code for details.)

Burial/Transit Permit
An out-of-state transit permit is needed prior to disposition when the body will be moved out of state.

Authorization to Cremate
In Virginia, there is a 24 hour mandatory waiting period between the death and a cremation. Cremations must be authorized by a Medical Examiner.

Conducting Body Care
  • Bathe as desired to remove surface bacteria.
  • Wrap or clothe as desired.
  • Cool the body with the use of Techni-ice®, dry ice, air conditioning, opening a window in cool weather; 3 days under 65 degrees is sufficient under average circumstances.
  • Use universal precautions (masks, gloves, handwashing) as needed for someone with a communicable disease (see Special Circumstances below for more info).
  • Report any communicable diseases to the Virginia Department of Health. (See below for how to handle Special Circumstances.) 

Tips:
  • Plan ahead whenever possible by contacting or locating key players (Registrars, Deputized agents, Medical Examiners, cemetery or crematory operators, etc.) who may need to be involved
  • Shop ahead for caskets, shrouds, urns, and other necessary goods
  • Shop for a funeral director who will assist if necessary with the services you may choose to purchase
  • Research additional information at the Funeral Consumers Alliance.

Special Circumstances

Special Circumstances for Home Funerals
 
Deaths Involving Communicable Diseases
If you've been caring for someone with a communicable disease such as Hepatitis or AIDS, the same precautions (latex gloves, for example) you took during the care apply after death. No extraordinary measures are necessary. If death occurs from a disease identified on the Virginia Reportable Disease List, contact the Virginia Department of Health. Immediate burial or direct cremation may be recommended in rare cases. Embalming is not required in any circumstances.
 
Deaths Involving Medical Examiners
Cremation certificates must be issued by a medical examiner or deputy. To locate a deputy near you, go to your Virginia Office the Chief Medical Examiner.
 
In the case of unanticipated or unattended death, the Medical Examiner's Office will be contacted to determine cause of death. It is up to the ME to determine the need for an autopsy. If you are choosing to bring the body back home after the ME releases the body, be sure he or she knows of your intentions. While the body may be temporarily in the custody of the ME, when released the family again has full custody and control of the body.
 
Deaths Involving Organ Donation
Home funerals are possible at the end of organ donation harvesting. Ask the medical team what to expect and what special precautions or protocols they recommend, if any. For more information on organ donation in general, research Arrange Disposition for a list of possible donor organizations.                                       
 
Fetal Death and Miscarriage
Fetal deaths must be reported when the death occurs regardless of weight or gestation period. Reports are sent directly to the Health Department by the physician, hospital, or clinic if a procedure was performed. Parents are entitled to conduct home funerals and choose dispositions of burial or cremation the same as birthed children. Fetal death reports are required in Virginia when the fetus is being transported from the place of delivery to final disposition if outside the state.

Virginia Death Certificate Timeline for Home Funeral Families

Authority to Make Arrangements

Recommendations:
  • Complete and file all advance directives, including Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (DPOAH).
  • Assign a family member, friend, or other designated agent to carry out all funeral arrangements.

The next-of-kin or a designated agent have the right to handle all aspects of after-death care. This means that families can legally care for and transport a body, keep it in their home for a viewing period, and take it for burial themselves, without hiring a licensed funeral director, except for any details the family wishes to have done by a funeral home or to arrange a cremation.

​According to Virginia law, "'Next of kin' means any of the following persons, regardless of the relationship to the decedent: any person designated to make arrangements for the disposition of the decedent's remains upon his death pursuant to § 54.1-2825
  • the legal spouse
  • child aged 18 years or older
  • parent of a decedent aged 18 years or older
  • custodial parent or noncustodial parent of a decedent younger than 18 years of age
  • siblings over 18 years of age
  • guardian of minor child
  • guardian of minor siblings
  • maternal grandparents
  • paternal grandparents
  • maternal siblings over 18 years of age and paternal siblings over 18 years of age
  • or any other relative in the descending order of blood relationship.
  • If there is disagreement among any group, a court filing is required to resolve who is in charge. (Virginia Code § 54.1-2807.01.)"

Obtaining Official Copies of the Death Certificate

Once the drop to paper death certificate has been electronically filed by the Department of Vital Records, certified copies may be obtained at any Virginia Department of Health Vital Records office throughout the state. Certified copies may be needed to settle the affairs of the deceased (for example, for insurance or benefit claims, to close accounts). The first certified copy cost is $12.

Notifications and Benefits

Newspapers
Families may file obituaries and memorial notices. A newspaper may ask to see a death certificate and many newspapers charge a fee for publishing an obituary.
 
Military and Veterans Benefits
Contact the Department of Veterans Affairs for information on benefits, or visit http://www.cem.va.gov/ for online information. Among other things, you may be entitled to a U.S. flag from the Post Office, to be used at a memorial service, by presenting a certified copy of the death certificate and proof of military service. You may also qualify for a free gravesite in a VA cemetery. Toll-free:  800-827-1000.
 
Social Security Benefits
To obtain Social Security Administration information, go to http://www.socialsecurity.gov/

Check out http://www.funeralwise.com/learn/arrange/benefits for more info on Social Security and VA benefits.

Resources and Online Links