Whom should the funeral director give the burial permit to?

• A. The next of kin
• B. The doctor who certified death
• C. The person in charge of the place of burial or other disposition
• D. The coroner

Answer: (C)

A burial permit is the document that authorizes the disposition of the body, and in New York it should go to the person in charge of the place of burial or other disposition. The funeral director collects the permit after death is certified and then hands it to the cemetery, crematory, or other authorized facility that will receive and carry out the disposition. This arrangement keeps the permit with the entity actually performing the burial or disposition and prevents it from being given to family members or to the doctor who certified death or to the coroner, except as part of the necessary administrative process. The permit’s purpose is to accompany the body to the place of disposition and confirm that the facility has the legal authorization to proceed.