What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in South Carolina?

South Carolina imposes a 24-hour minimum waiting periodS.C. Code Ann. § 17-5-600Verified Oct 17, 2026View source before cremation. A medical examiner or coroner authorizes the cremation before it proceeds. A cremation authorization form signed by the decedent before death or by the agent with priority under § 32-8-320, the filed death certificate, a burial-removal-transit permit, and a cremation permit from the coroner or medical examiner (§ 32-8-325(A)).

South Carolina sets an order for who controls the disposition of remains: surviving spouse, then surviving adult children, then surviving parentsS.C. Code Ann. § 32-8-320Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. The state allows you to name your own agent in advanceS.C. Code Ann. §§ 32-8-315, 32-8-320(A)(1)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 lawS.C. Code Ann. § 44-63-40Verified Oct 17, 2026View source in South Carolina. No state law requires embalming, and a crematory may not refuse a body because it is not embalmed (§ 32-8-340(C)). A funeral establishment's statements about when embalming is required must be complete and factual (§ 40-19-290(B)).

In South Carolina, a licensed funeral director is not required — a family may legally direct the disposition itselfS.C. Code Ann. § 44-63-74Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. A family may handle a death without a licensed funeral director when the body is given a natural burial; the person acting as funeral director obtains the burial-removal-transit permit and files the death certificate (S.C. Code Regs. 60-19 §§ 100, 701, 901). Cremation goes through a licensed funeral establishment, which signs the authorization and delivers the body to the crematory (§§ 32-8-325, 32-8-335).