What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in Connecticut?

Connecticut imposes a 48-hour minimum waiting periodCGS 19a-323Verified Oct 17, 2026View source before cremation. A medical examiner or coroner authorizes the cremation before it proceeds. The 48-hour wait does not apply when death resulted from a communicable disease (CGS 19a-323(d)). The person with custody and control of the body signs the cremation form with the funeral director (CGS 20-230c), and a medical examiner completes a cremation certificate before the town registrar issues the cremation permit (CGS 19a-323(b)).

Connecticut sets an order for who controls the disposition of remains: surviving spouse, then surviving adult children, then surviving parentsCGS 45a-318(d)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. The state allows you to name your own agent in advanceCGS 45a-318(a)Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and that designation takes priority over the default order. Those wishes can be recorded alongside the rest of an estate plan when you create a revocable living trust.

Embalming is not required by lawCGS 19a-313Verified Oct 17, 2026View source in Connecticut. No Connecticut law requires embalming for every death. A body shipped by common carrier must be washed or embalmed, unless that is contrary to the deceased person’s religious beliefs or customs, and then enclosed in a casket and outside box or wrapped (CGS 19a-91(b)(1)). A death under investigation by the medical examiner needs the examiner’s permission before embalming (CGS 20-216).

In Connecticut, a licensed funeral director is required for the dispositionCGS 7-69Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. Only a licensed embalmer or funeral director may remove a body, complete and file the death certificate, and obtain the removal, transit and burial permit, so a family cannot carry out a disposition on its own (CGS 7-69, 7-62b, 7-65). The licensing chapter has no family or religious exemption; it exempts only officials of public institutions and federal officers (CGS 20-233).