What Are the Burial and Cremation Laws in Texas?

Texas has a 48-hour minimum waiting period before cremation. A medical examiner or coroner must authorize the cremation before it proceeds. Signed cremation authorization form from an authorizing agent with legal right to control disposition per § 711.002, plus a death certificate or death record indicating the remains may be cremated (§ 716.051); a burial-transit permit or death certificate indicating cremation must also be obtained (25 Tex. Admin. Code § 181.2(b)).

No. Natural organic reduction (human composting) is not currently authorized in Texas.

No. Alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation) is not currently authorized in Texas.

Texas sets a statutory order for who controls the disposition of remains (Tex. Health & Safety Code § 711.002(a)): Person designated in a written instrument signed by the decedent, then Surviving spouse of the decedent, then Any one of the surviving adult children of the decedent, and so on. You can also name your own agent to control your remains in a signed, written document before death. You can record those wishes alongside the rest of your estate plan when you create a revocable living trust.

No. Texas does not require embalming by law. No Texas statute requires embalming. The FTC Funeral Rule prohibits funeral homes from claiming embalming is required by law. Under 25 Tex. Admin. Code § 181.4, a body held or in transit more than 24 hours pending final disposition must be maintained at 34-40 degrees Fahrenheit, embalmed by a licensed embalmer, or encased in a container that insures against seepage of fluid and the escape of offensive odors. Embalming may be required by individual funeral homes as a condition of viewing services.

Texas does not require a licensed funeral director for the disposition of a relative. "Funeral directing" under Tex. Occ. Code § 651.001(7) is defined as acts of disposition "performed by a person for compensation," so a family member acting without compensation falls outside the licensing requirement; funeral establishment licensure under § 651.351 applies to businesses conducting funeral business, not to a family. The death certificate is filed by "the person in charge of interment or in charge of removal" of the body (Tex. Health & Safety Code § 193.002), which may be a family member — the DSHS Death Registration Handbook states that when a family member makes disposition arrangements without a funeral home, the family member completes and files the death certificate with the assistance of the local registrar. A family acting as the "person acting as such" must file a report of death within 24 hours of assuming custody of the body (25 Tex. Admin. Code § 181.2(a)) and may then direct the entire disposition — arranging burial or, after the 48-hour waiting period, cremation (a burial-transit permit is required for cremation) — without engaging a funeral director. Many families still retain a funeral home for the medical certification, refrigeration, transport, and permit logistics.

Texas provides a publicly funded option when a family cannot pay for disposition: County indigent (pauper) burial — administered by each county commissioners court. Eligible veterans may also be interred at no cost through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Tex. Health & Safety Code § 694.002 directs the commissioners court of each county to provide for the disposition of the body of a deceased pauper; each county sets its own eligibility rules, benefit level, and application process (apply through the county or precinct office, often via the medical examiner, justice of the peace, or social services). The statute sets no statewide dollar cap; a county may apply cash found on the deceased toward its actual disposition costs. Veteran benefits: the federal VA provides a gravesite in a VA national cemetery, opening/closing, a government headstone or marker, a burial flag, and a Presidential Memorial Certificate at no cost to eligible veterans, plus a monetary burial allowance (apply via cem.va.gov). Texas additionally operates four Texas State Veterans Cemeteries (Killeen, Abilene, Corpus Christi, Mission) through the General Land Office Veterans Land Board with no burial fee for eligible veterans, spouses, and dependent children; eligibility mirrors VA national cemetery rules (DD Form 214 required).