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 this state, 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; 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) 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) 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.

(c) Except as specifically provided in this section, the existing general duties of, and remuneration received by, local registrars in accepting and filing certificates of death and issuing burial and removal permits pursuant to any statute or regulation shall be maintained, and not altered or abridged in any way by this section.

3. No registrar of vital statistics shall receive any fee for the issuance of burial or removal permits under this chapter except as referenced by section forty-one hundred forty-eight of this title and 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 in a manner and format as may be required 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 engaged in the transportation of persons within this state, and with reference to the removal of bodies as provided herein.