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Burial and Cremation in Oregon:

• Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board rules require a body to be embalmed or refrigerated if final disposition will not occur within 24 hours
• Embalming is not required in Oregon unless a person dies from a communicable disease (HIV or AIDS, diphtheria, hepatitis B, C, or D, plague, rabies, tularemia, or tuberculosis).
• No law requires a casket for burial. However, cemeteries may have their own rules requiring certain types of containers.
• No law requires a casket for cremation.
• Federal law requires funeral homes and crematories to inform you that you may use alternative containers, and to make such containers available to you. An alternative container may be made of unfinished wood, pressed wood, fiberboard, or cardboard.
• Federal law requires funeral homes to accept caskets that consumers have purchased from another source, such as an online retailer. You may also build your own casket, if you prefer.
• Most bodies are buried in established cemeteries, but burial on private property may be possible in Oregon. Oregon law states that you may establish a cemetery if you own the property, obtain written consent from the county or city planning commission or, if there is no county or city planning commission, the governing body of the county or city, agree to maintain records of burials if the governing body of the county or city requires it, and agree to disclose the burials if you sell the property.
• Some crematories require that you use a funeral director to arrange cremation. If you don’t want to use a funeral director, make sure the crematory is willing to accept the body directly from the family.

Funerals and Home Funerals in Oregon:

• In all states, it is legal to have your loved one’s body at home after they die. 
• Oregon does not require you to involve a licensed funeral director in making or carrying out final arrangements. 
• In Oregon, anyone can perform the functions of a funeral director for family or community members as long as they are not paid to do so. 
• In Oregon, it is legal for a family member or friend to transport a deceased body. The death certificate, once signed by the medical certifier, serves as the transportation permit.