4144 - Deaths; burial and removal permits; transportation of remains.
§ 4144. Deaths; burial and removal permits; transportation of remains. 1. The body of any person whose death occurs in this state, or which shall be found dead herein shall not be interred, deposited in a vault or tomb, cremated or otherwise disposed of, or removed from the county in which the death occurred or the body was found, or be temporarily held pending further disposition more than seventy-two hours after death, unless a permit for burial, removal, or other disposition thereof shall have been properly issued by the registrar of vital statistics of the registration district in which the death occurred or the body was found, except that such a body may be removed to an adjacent county without first obtaining a permit therefor; provided, however, that a licensed funeral director may apply for and receive such permit on behalf of any person or institution authorized by article forty-two or forty-three of this chapter to receive unclaimed cadavers or anatomical gifts. 2. (a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) hereof, no burial or removal permit shall be issued by any registrar until, wherever practicable, a complete and satisfactory certificate of death has been filed with him as provided in this article. (b) Verbal permission to remove a body of a deceased person from the county in which death occurred or the body was found to a non-adjacent county within the state of New York as provided in subdivision one hereof, shall be issued by the said registrar of vital statistics, upon request by telephone of a licensed funeral director or undertaker who holds a certificate of death signed by the attending physician showing the death resulted from natural causes, and was not a result of accidental, suicidal, homicidal or other external causes. (c) If it is not possible for the funeral director or undertaker to communicate with the registrar by telephone, verbal permission to remove a body of a deceased person under the same conditions as those prescribed for the registrar may be issued by the commissioner or person authorized by him. (d) The funeral director or undertaker who shall make any removal before a permit is issued by the registrar, shall return the body to the registration district where death occurred, whenever the coroner, medical examiner, or district attorney shall request such return of the body for investigation or post-mortem examination. 3. No registrar of vital statistics shall receive any fee for the issuance of burial or removal permits under this chapter other than the compensation provided in this article. 4. When the body of a deceased person is transported from outside of the state into a registration district in this state for burial or other disposition, the transit or removal permit issued in accordance with the law and health regulations of the place where the death occurred shall be given the same force and effect as the burial permit herein provided for. 5. If the interment, or other disposition of the body of a deceased person is to be made within the state, the wording of the burial or removal permit may be limited to a statement by the registrar, and over his signature, that a satisfactory certificate of death, having been filed with him, as required by law, permission is granted to inter, remove or otherwise dispose of the body, stating the name, age, sex, cause of death, and other necessary details upon the form prescribed by the commissioner. 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commissioner shall have power to promulgate rules with reference to the removal of bodies of persons whose deaths occur on trains, boats or other carriers engagedin the transportation of persons within this state, and with reference to the removal of bodies as provided herein. 7. For the purposes of this section the counties within New York city shall be considered a single county.