# In the US, if I'm buried, do I \[i\]have\[/i\] to be buried in a coffin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 22, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539 "2012-09-22T21:58:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/1 "2012-09-22T21:58:18Z")
Or can I be just… buried, without a box enclosing my body? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/2 "2012-09-22T22:11:14Z")
Depends on the state, and possibly the county and city as well. I have seen a show on TV about a place doing [natural burials](http://naturalburial.coop/USA/). No coffin or marker. They bury a RFID tag with you so friend can visit the site. Link goes to a site with further information. ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/3 "2012-09-23T05:32:41Z")
Some cemeteries require the casket to be inside a vault - that is, something that will not collapse and fall in with the passage of time. I don’t know whether a vault without a casket would be legal. Being waterproof and long lasting are selling points of caskets. Seems to me wood-only caskets are sometimes used. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/4 "2012-09-23T06:01:23Z")
Being waterproof and long lasting are sales pitches that imply that the body will last longer if loved ones pay the extra amount. It doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/5 "2012-09-23T06:14:54Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I have seen a show on TV about a place doing [natural burials](http://naturalburial.coop/USA/). No coffin or marker. They bury a RFID tag with you so friend can visit the site. There’s also a Wikipedia page on [Natural Burial](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_burial). (Also known as “green burial”.) ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/6 "2012-09-23T07:37:04Z")
When my father died, we were shown a variety of caskets (I guess ‘coffin’ has fallen out of favor.) There were very fancy ones, but also simple cardboard ones available. Perfectly serviceable, and really inexpensive. Particularly if the services are going to be simple, and the body is to be cremated. Alas, it was too inexpensive for mom to agree to as the last she would see of dad. But if we’d had checked in advance, he would have gone for it, I’m pretty sure. Mom likes the idea for herself, when the time comes. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/7 "2012-09-23T14:51:42Z")
Utah (or at least Salt Lake City) has a requirement for vaults. This requirement came about because a flood causes body parts to be washed from the graves. I don’t know if there was a requirement for coffins or if someone could be buried without a coffin within the vault. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/8 "2012-09-23T15:38:29Z")
If you’re Muslim and you choose to be buried in a Muslim cemetery, your body will be wrapped in a plain white shroud. No coffin, no vault. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/9 "2012-09-23T16:43:06Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Or can I be just… buried, without a box enclosing my body? No, you can be buried in an avalanche. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/10 "2012-09-23T16:49:46Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > When my father died, we were shown a variety of caskets (I guess ‘coffin’ has fallen out of favor.) There were very fancy ones, but also simple cardboard ones available. Perfectly serviceable, and really inexpensive. Particularly if the services are going to be simple, and the body is to be cremated. Alas, it was too inexpensive for mom to agree to as the last she would see of dad. But if we’d had checked in advance, he would have gone for it, I’m pretty sure. Mom likes the idea for herself, when the time comes. Very telling. Thanks for sharing this. I wish we could all stay a little more steady when faced with such choices–so often it IS exactly what the person would do if they could weigh in. When my mother died last year, my father was pretty strapped for cash given all the funeral expenses. A while later he called me after visiting a monument place. He said he told himself, \*My late wife and my living daughter would both kill me if I spent 20k on a slab of granite with her name–and worse, her birthdate!–on it. \* He was so right. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/11 "2012-09-23T17:17:33Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > If you’re Muslim and you choose to be buried in a Muslim cemetery, your body will be wrapped in a plain white shroud. No coffin, no vault. Same deal for Jews, at least in Israel. Outisde of Israel Jews are usually buried in plain wooden coffins. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/12 "2012-09-23T19:05:08Z")
Talking about jewish burials, there’s a cool jewish cemetry in Prague where jews have been buried on top of each other for about five hundred years, which I recommend visiting if you’re ever there. It’s pretty weird to be in this fairly tiny space and think a hundred thousand people are buried there. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/13 "2012-09-23T19:17:53Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > No, you can be buried in an avalanche. Shop around various funeral homes sometime. You can find a wide variety of avalanches you can choose from, in all price ranges. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/14 "2012-09-23T19:39:57Z")
I still think the Chum Service is very eco-friendly. 😉 (Just throw the body in a wood-chipper aimed off the back end of a ship) ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/15 "2012-09-23T19:44:37Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Talking about jewish burials, there’s a cool jewish cemetry in Prague where jews have been buried on top of each other for about five hundred years, which I recommend visiting if you’re ever there. It’s pretty weird to be in this fairly tiny space and think a hundred thousand people are buried there. How _tall_ is it?? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/16 "2012-09-23T21:58:09Z")
Speaking of purposes of economy, are there any cemeteries that bury the deceased standing up? Why, you could get six bodies in an average sized plot in a “standing room only” cemetery. ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/17 "2012-09-24T04:17:35Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > Talking about jewish burials, there’s a cool jewish cemetry in Prague where jews have been buried on top of each other for about five hundred years, which I recommend visiting if you’re ever there. It’s pretty weird to be in this fairly tiny space and think a hundred thousand people are buried there. [http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old\_Jewish\_Cemetery,_Prague#_](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Jewish_Cemetery,_Prague#_) The rabbi who made the “Yossele” golem is reportedly buried there. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-us-if-im-buried-do-i-i-have-i-to-be-buried-in-a-coffin/635539/18 "2012-09-24T13:02:54Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Speaking of purposes of economy, are there any cemeteries that bury the deceased standing up? > > Why, you could get six bodies in an average sized plot in a “standing room only” cemetery. In New Orleans, the standard practice has been to bury everyone in above ground mausoleums or partially above ground graves. This was based on both tradition and concerns with flooding. Because of this, the old cemeteries look more like miniature cities than burial grounds. Traditionally, after the person had been buried for two years, the remains could be removed from the casket and shoved to the back of the mausoleum in a bag or smaller box to make room for other family members who died. This is how generations of people could be buried in a little tiny area, sometimes about the square footage of a normal grave. It definitely saved space in the cemetery! I did a pretty cursory reading of Louisiana burial laws and didn’t find much about requirements for caskets or concrete vaults: [http://www.funeralservicesprovider.com/funeral-cremation-laws/Louisiana](http://www.funeralservicesprovider.com/funeral-cremation-laws/Louisiana) There is a lot of stuff about disinterring or moving remains, and it just requires the consent of a family member, pretty much. This listing for a “cemetery plot” in Jefferson Parish suggests the same thing: “Single Abbey Crypt for three (3) interments and (conditions of previous interments permitting) three (3) additional interments allowed at the discretion of the owner.” That would suggest that if there is enough space, you can stick some more people in there.