Funeral Homes

Authorization for Final Disposition

The Alabama Department of Public Health's Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization, as outlined in Section 22-9A-16, governs the process for obtaining authorization for cremation or burial at sea to ensure compliance with state regulations. To expedite this process and verify that the deceased passed away from natural causes in Houston County, the Houston County Coroner's Office provides an addendum with each request. This addendum gathers additional necessary information to support the authorization process. Once you have completed the Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization form, please also complete the accompanying addendum provided by the coroner's office. After completing both forms, simply press the submit button to finalize the process. Your cooperation helps streamline the procedure and ensures timely completion of the authorization. Thank you for assisting with this important task.

Funeral Home Procedure for Cremation Approval

Whenever a death occurs in an institution under the care of a physician (inpatient hospital, nursing home, or hospice situations) the coroner's office does not have the information necessary to know cause and manner of death; therefore, one of the following options must be submitted to the Houston County Coroner's Office:

1. A certified copy of the death certificate stating the cause and manner of death.
   If the death certificate has not been certified, you can print the Cause of Death Tab to PDF from the EVERS Portal that has been filled in by the doctor and email the PDF to the Coroner.
2. You may call the institution where the death occurred. The coroner's office has made arrangements with Medical Records of Southeast Health and Flowers Hospital, if death occurred at one of the 2 hospitals you may call and request a discharge summary or history and physical and have the records faxed directly to the Houston County Coroner's Office. In the case of a hospice death or nursing home death, you may request a patient history be faxed directly to the coroner's office at 334-983-1006 or have them emailed directly to the coroner's office at coronerbyrd@houstoncountyal.gov. 

   * Southeast Health Medical Records - 334-793-8982

   * Flowers Hospital Medical Records -334-793-5000 ext. 1176

3. If the Houston County Coroner's Office is responsible for certifying the death certificate, no medical records are needed.

   For any of these options, you can digitally sign and submit the Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization.

The web link has changed as of January 29, 2025. Please save the new URL below:  https://houstoncountyal.vasion.com/houstoncountyal/formLink/Cremation%20or%20Burial%20at%20Sea%20Authorization%20updated/5 

Cremation/Burial at Sea Authorization