Title 68 — Title 68 CEMETERIES, MORGUES, AND HUMAN REMAINS

The jurisdiction of bodies of all deceased persons who come to their death suddenly when in apparent good health without medical attendance within the 36 hours preceding death; or where the circumstances of death indicate death was caused by unnatural or unlawful means; or where …

A county coroner or county medical examiner or persons acting in that capacity shall be immune from civil liability for determining the cause and manner of death. The accuracy of the determinations is subject to judicial review.[ 1987 c 263 s 1.]

It shall be the duty of every person who knows of the existence and location of human remains coming under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner as set forth in RCW 68.50.010 or 27.44.055, to notify the coroner, medical examiner, or law enforcement thereof in the mo…

Whenever a coroner or medical examiner assumes jurisdiction over human remains and directs transportation of those remains by a funeral establishment, as defined in RCW 18.39.010, the reasonable costs of transporting shall be borne by the county if: (1) The funeral establishment …

It shall be unlawful for any cemetery under this chapter to refuse burial to any person because such person may not be of the Caucasian race.[ 1953 c 290 s 53. Formerly RCW 68.05.260.]

All jewelry, moneys, papers, and other personal property of the deceased shall be inventoried immediately upon being taken into custody by the coroner or his or her appointees. The original of such lists shall be certified to by the coroner and kept as a public record at the coun…

(1) Any person, not authorized or directed by the coroner or medical examiner or their deputies, who removes the body of a deceased person not claimed by a relative or friend, or moves, disturbs, molests, or interferes with the human remains coming within the jurisdiction of the …

Any physician or surgeon of this state, or any medical student under the authority of any such physician or surgeon, may obtain, as hereinafter provided, and have in his or her possession human dead bodies, or the parts thereof, for the purposes of anatomical inquiry or instructi…

(1) Any public agency required to provide for the disposition of human remains in any legal manner at public expense must surrender the human remains to:(a) Any physician or surgeon, to be used for the advancement of anatomical science, preference being given to medical schools i…

Every physician or surgeon before receiving the dead body must give to the board or officer surrendering the same to him or her a certificate from the medical society of the county in which he or she resides, or if there is none, from the board of supervisors of the same, that he…

Any person violating any provision of RCW 68.50.060 through 68.50.080 shall upon conviction thereof be fined in any sum not exceeding five hundred dollars.[ 1987 c 331 s 56; 1891 c 123 s 4; RRS s 10029. Formerly RCW 68.08.090.]

(1) The right to dissect a dead body shall be limited to cases specially provided by statute or by the direction or will of the deceased; cases where a coroner is authorized to hold an inquest upon the body, and then only as he or she may authorize dissection; and cases where the…

Autopsy or postmortem may be performed in any case where authorization has been given by a member of one of the following classes of persons in the following order of priority:(1) The surviving spouse or state registered domestic partner;(2) Any child of the decedent who is eight…

Any party by showing just cause may petition the court to have autopsy made and results thereof made known to said party at his or her own expense.[ 2012 c 117 s 317; 1953 c 188 s 12. Formerly RCW 68.08.102.]

In an industrial death where the cause of death is unknown, and where the department of labor and industries is concerned, said department in its discretion, may request the coroner in writing to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The coroner shall be required to…

(1) The cost of autopsy shall be borne by the county in which the autopsy is performed, except when requested by the department of labor and industries, in which case, the department shall bear the cost of such autopsy.(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, when the…

(1) Reports and records of autopsies or postmortems shall be confidential, except that the following persons may examine and obtain copies of any such report or record: The personal representative of the decedent as defined in RCW 11.02.005, any family member, the attending physi…

In any case in which an autopsy or postmortem is performed, the coroner or medical examiner, upon his or her own authority or upon the request of the prosecuting attorney or other law enforcement agency having jurisdiction, may make or cause to be made an analysis of the stomach …

There shall be established in conjunction with the chief of the Washington state patrol and under the authority of the state forensic investigations council a state toxicological laboratory under the direction of the state toxicologist whose duty it will be to perform all necessa…

No dead body upon which the coroner, or prosecuting attorney, if there is not a coroner in the county, may perform an autopsy or postmortem, may be embalmed or make final disposition without the consent of the coroner having jurisdiction. Failure to obtain such consent is a misde…

Except in cases of dissection provided for in RCW 68.50.100, and where human remains are rightfully carried through or removed from the state for the purpose of burial elsewhere, human remains lying within this state, and the remains of any dissected body, after dissection, must …

No coroner, medical examiner, or his or her designee shall be liable, nor shall a cause of action exist, for any loss or damage based upon the release of any information related to his or her findings under RCW 68.50.105 if the coroner, medical examiner, or his or her designee ac…

Every person who arrests, attaches, detains, or claims to detain any human remains for any debt or demand, or upon any pretended lien or charge, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.[ 1943 c 247 s 27; Rem. Supp. 1943 s 3778-27. Formerly RCW 68.08.120.]

*** CHANGE IN 2026 *** (SEE 2239-S.SL) ***Every person who performs a disposition of any human remains, except as otherwise provided by law, in any place, except in a cemetery or a building dedicated exclusively for religious purposes, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Disposition of h…

(1) Every person who removes human remains, or any part thereof, from a grave, vault, or other place where the same has been buried or deposited awaiting final disposition, without authority of law, with intent to sell the same, or for the purpose of securing a reward for its ret…

(1) A person has the right to control the disposition of his or her own remains without the predeath or postdeath consent of another person. A valid written document expressing the decedent's wishes regarding the place or method of disposition of his or her remains, signed by the…

Any person signing any authorization for the interment, cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, or natural organic reduction of any human remains warrants the truthfulness of any fact set forth in the authorization, the identity of the person whose human remains are sought to undergo fin…

(1) A person authorized to dispose of human remains may not perform or cause to be performed final disposition of more than one human remains at a time unless written permission, after full and adequate disclosure regarding the manner of disposition, has been received from the pe…

Human remains may be removed from a plot in a cemetery with the consent of the cemetery authority and the written consent of one of the following in the order named:(1) The surviving spouse or state registered domestic partner.(2) The surviving children of the decedent.(3) The su…

Notice of application to the court for such permission shall be given, at least ten days prior thereto, personally, or at least fifteen days prior thereto if by mail, to the cemetery authority and to the persons not consenting, and to every other person on whom service of notice …

RCW 68.50.200 and 68.50.210 do not apply to or prohibit the removal of any human remains from one plot to another in the same cemetery or the removal of [human] remains by a cemetery authority from a plot for which the purchase price is past due and unpaid, to some other suitable…

(1) Whenever any human remains shall have been in the lawful possession of any person, firm, corporation, county, or association for a period of 45 days or more, and the relatives of, or persons interested in, the deceased person shall fail, neglect, or refuse to direct the dispo…

See RCW 36.24.155.

The person in charge of any premises on which final dispositions are made must keep a record of all human remains on the premises under his or her charge, in each case stating the name of each deceased person, date of final disposition, and name and address of the funeral establi…

The person or persons determined under RCW 68.50.160 as having authority to order disposition is entitled to possession of the human remains without further intervention by the state or its political subdivisions.[ 2019 c 432 s 27; 2005 c 365 s 148; 1987 c 331 s 63; 1977 c 47 s 4…

In any subsequent civil action in which the next of kin of a decedent contends that he/she affirmatively informed the county coroner or medical examiner or designee of his/her objection to removal of corneal tissue from the decedent, it shall be presumed that the county coroner o…

(1) The county coroner, medical examiner, or prosecuting attorney having jurisdiction may in such official's discretion release information concerning a person's death to the media and general public, in order to aid in identifying the deceased, when the identity of the deceased …

A dental identification system is established in the identification section of the Washington state patrol. The dental identification system shall act as a repository or computer center or both for dental examination records and it shall be responsible for comparing such records …

When a person reported missing has not been found within thirty days of the report, or at any time the investigating agency suspects criminal activity to be the basis of the victim being missing, the sheriff, chief of police, county coroner or county medical examiner, or other la…

(1) A county coroner having jurisdiction over human remains pursuant to RCW 68.50.010 shall, upon knowledge that the remains are of an indigenous person, cooperate with law enforcement to attempt to identify and immediately contact family members and any affected tribes, tribal o…

If the county coroner or county medical examiner investigating a death is unable to establish the identity of a body or human remains by visual means, fingerprints, or other identifying data, he or she shall have a qualified dentist, as determined by the county coroner or county …

(1) It is the duty of every person who knows of the existence and location of skeletal human remains to notify the coroner and local law enforcement in the most expeditious manner possible, unless such person has good reason to believe that such notice has already been given. Any…

See RCW 68.05.900.

RCW * 68.50.520 through ** 68.50.630 and 68.50.901 through 68.50.904 apply to a document of gift, revocation, or refusal to make an anatomical gift signed by the donor or a person authorized to make or object to making an anatomical gift before, on, or after July 25, 1993.[ 1993 …

This act shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this act among states enacting it.[ 1993 c 228 s 13.]

If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.[ 1993 c 228 s 14.]

RCW * 68.50.520 through ** 68.50.630 and 68.50.901 through 68.50.903 may be cited as the "uniform anatomical gift act."[ 1993 c 228 s 16.]Notes:Reviser's note: *(1) RCW 68.50.520 through 68.50.620 were repealed by 2008 c 139 s 31.**(2) RCW 68.50.630 was repealed by 2002 c 45 s 1.