What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in Indiana?

Indiana imposes a 48-hour minimum waiting periodIC 23-14-31-36Verified Sep 10, 2026View source before cremation. Authorization comes from the authorizing agent highest in the IC 23-14-31-26(a) priority order (13 subdivisions — IC 29-2-19-17's first 11 levels plus an indigent/state-or-township agent and a catch-all). A crematory authority may not cremate until it holds a cremation authorization form signed by that agent, a completed burial transit permit, and a copy of the death certificate or, where the death came under the coroner's authority, a coroner release (IC 23-14-31-27(a)).

Indiana sets a statutory order for who controls the disposition of remains: individual granted authority in a power of attorney or health care power of attorney, or a health care representative, then surviving spouse, then surviving adult child, or a majority of the surviving adult childrenIC 29-2-19-17Verified Sep 10, 2026View source. The state allows you to name your own agent in a signed, written documentIC 29-2-19Verified Sep 10, 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 lawIC 23-14-54-1Verified Sep 10, 2026View source in Indiana. Funeral homes may not claim embalming is required by state law, and must disclose that it is not always required (IC 25-15-8-4(4)); a crematory may not refuse remains because they are unembalmed (IC 23-14-31-35(c)). Refrigeration is an accepted alternative for preservation, though no statute or rule sets a refrigeration deadline. Disposition must occur within a "reasonable time after death" (IC 23-14-54-1).

In Indiana, a licensed funeral director is required for the dispositionIC 25-15-8-25Verified Sep 10, 2026View source. Indiana law requires the involvement of a licensed funeral director for final disposition. Under IC 25-15-8-25, a local health officer may issue the IC 16-37-3-10 burial/transit permit only to a funeral director (or someone under a funeral director's direct supervision). Because that permit must be obtained before burial, cremation, or transporting remains out of the county, a family cannot legally direct the entire disposition itself.