Tex. Health & Safety Code § 716.004 · Subchapter A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
WAITING PERIOD FOR CREMATION.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) A crematory establishment may not cremate human remains within 48 hours of the time of death indicated on a death certificate unless the waiting period is waived in writing by:
(1) a justice of the peace or medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred; or
(2) a court order.
(b) A justice of the peace or medical examiner's office authorized to grant a waiver under Subsection (a) shall adopt a written policy for requesting a waiver under Subsection (a). In adopting the written policy, the justice of the peace or medical examiner's office shall consider how a person makes a request, and how the justice of the peace or medical examiner may process the request as quickly as possible. The written policy must outline the process of making a request for a waiver under Subsection (a) during regular business hours and outside of regular business hours, including on a weekend day or holiday.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 178, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 263 (H.B. 1468), Sec. 33(1), eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 237 (S.B. 292), Sec. 1, eff. May 29, 2015.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.716.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 5f5a72e46efc709d509ca1648f242b80554a723701530393121928b8c990e488
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
BenchPath cards that rely on this text
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.