What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in Hawaii?

Hawaii allows you to name your own agent in advance, and that designation takes priority over the order of next of kin who otherwise control disposition of the remains.

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Rules below reflect Hawaii statutes. Each section is cited to its source — select the verified mark to view the statute and verification date.

Burial and cremation laws in Hawaii

Who Controls Final Arrangements in Hawaii

Choose your own agent: Yes — in a signed document
Otherwise, who decides: Surviving spouse

Cremation

Minimum waiting period: No statutory minimum
Medical examiner sign-off: No
Human composting (natural organic reduction): Not authorized
Water cremation (alkaline hydrolysis): Legal
Scattering ashes: Permitted, with restrictions
Container required: Yes

Burial

Home / private-property burial: Allowed
Embalming required by law: No
Green / natural burial: Permitted
Burial vault required by state: No
Burial / disposition permit: Required
Death certificate filing deadline: 3 days

Funeral director

Licensed funeral director required: Not required by state
Family can direct the disposition: Allowed

If the family cannot pay

Indigent disposition program: Hawaii Department of Human Services, Med-QUEST Division, Funeral (Death) Payments Program (HRS § 346-15; HAR ch. 17-1745)

Regulator: Hawaii Department of Health, Food Safety Branch · 808-586-8000

General information about state burial and cremation statutes, not legal advice. Rules vary by state and locality. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions. Data verified Oct 17, 2026

Burial on private property is permitted in Hawaii. Owners of residential or agricultural land may bury family members on it without meeting the cemetery law, provided the plots go to family members only, are not sold apart from the property, and any later disinterment follows the cemetery rules (HRS § 441-5.5). An older Department of Health rule still says a burial may be made only in a cemetery approved by the director, and every burial needs a burial-transit permit (HAR § 11-22-5).

Hawaii imposes no statutory minimum waiting period before cremation. The person holding the right of disposition under HRS § 531B-4, or the decedent's own written directions or designated agent (§§ 531B-3, 531B-5), authorizes the cremation. No statute prescribes an authorization form, but whoever signs the crematory's form warrants the decedent's identity and their own authority, and the facility may rely on it (§ 531B-8). A burial-transit permit from the Department of Health's local agent must issue before the cremation (§ 338-23).

Hawaii sets an order for who controls the disposition of remains: surviving spouse, surviving civil union partner, or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, then surviving children of the decedent, then surviving parents of the decedent. The state allows you to name your own agent in advance, 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 law in Hawaii. A body must be embalmed (where its condition permits), cremated or buried within 30 hours of death; a body held by a coroner or medical examiner may instead be placed in refrigerated storage in a state-approved hospital within 30 hours of its release (HAR § 11-22-4). Embalming without permission is barred when the death is under coroner or medical examiner investigation or was caused by one of several quarantinable diseases.

In Hawaii, a licensed funeral director is not required — a family may legally direct the disposition itself. The person in charge of the disposition, who may be a family member, files the death certificate within three days and obtains the burial-transit permit from the Department of Health's local agent (HRS §§ 338-9, 338-23). Hawaii licenses mortuaries and embalmers, and only a licensed or apprentice embalmer may embalm a body (HAR § 11-22-4), but no law requires a family to hire a funeral director.

Final Arrangement Laws in Hawaii

In Hawaii, state law sets the order of who controls disposition of a person's remains: surviving spouse, surviving civil union partner, or surviving reciprocal beneficiary, then surviving children of the decedent, then surviving parents of the decedent. The state allows you to name your own agent in advance, which takes priority over the default order.

Hawaii imposes no statutory minimum waiting period before cremation. Human composting (natural organic reduction) is not currently authorized, and water cremation (alkaline hydrolysis) is legal.

Burial on private property is permitted in Hawaii. Embalming is not required by law, and green or natural burial is permitted.

In Hawaii, a licensed funeral director is not required — a family may legally direct the disposition itself. Even where a family may act for itself, it can still hire a funeral home for the transport, refrigeration, and permit paperwork.

When there is no money to pay for a funeral, Hawaii has a publicly funded option: Hawaii Department of Human Services, Med-QUEST Division, Funeral (Death) Payments Program (HRS § 346-15; HAR ch. 17-1745). Veteran burial benefits — a gravesite, opening and closing, a marker, and perpetual care — are separately available to eligible veterans through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Naming who controls your remains is part of a complete estate plan. A revocable living trust lets you record those wishes alongside how the rest of your assets pass.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 17, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from Hawaii statutes and official state code. How we research.

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