# Is it legal for me to have a tattoo added to my body after I die? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247 "2026-08-09T16:09:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/1 "2026-08-09T16:09:58Z")
Let’s say I want a small tattoo, non-obscene, added to an arm after I die. Would it be legal for this to happen? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/2 "2026-08-09T16:21:34Z")
I should add that this has nothing to do with whether someone would say “Sure thing, Bub!” but never follow through. This only about whether the action itself is legal. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/3 "2026-08-09T16:50:33Z")
What type of law would you think would apply? One about defacing dead bodies? My guess is that most states have such a law, none of them contemplated a post-mortem decorative tattoo, and the actual wording of each law is different. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/4 "2026-08-09T16:55:59Z")
Fwiw, i was able to find laws in my state against trafficking in corpes and defacing gravestones, but not against defacing corpses. Since taxidermy… I mean embalming corpses is common, my guess is that laws are fairly lenient regarding what you can do to a corpse, and that a tattoo (with the permission of the heirs) would generally not be prohibited. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/6 "2026-08-09T17:01:40Z")
> **off-topic** > > Forget legality think of practicality. You’re dead therefore your skin is dead, how is it supposed to absorb and hold ink? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/7 "2026-08-09T17:04:01Z")
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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/8 "2026-08-09T17:08:04Z")
This topic was automatically opened after 2 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/9 "2026-08-09T18:44:58Z")
I couldn’t find a law against it in my state (Montana), but lets say it is against the law in your state. You order and pay for the tattoo before you die, and you don’t tell anyone else about it. After-the-fact, somehow “the authorities” find out about it. Who are they going to prosecute? The tattoo artist? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/10 "2026-08-09T19:02:50Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Who are they going to prosecute? The tattoo artist? Yes. They might be able to prosecute under laws against what is typically labeled as “abuse of a corpse” in various legal systems. Having a written contract would probably prevent anyone from prosecuting you, but that’s more of an IMHO topic as it gets into legal opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/11 "2026-08-09T19:16:33Z")
I’m sure it depends on jurisdiction, but there are places where it is legal to donate your body to an artist the same way you would for scientific research or organ harvest. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/12 "2026-08-09T20:22:29Z")
Just last week Gunther von Hagens, the plastination man, died: > **[Gunther von Hagens, creator of Body Worlds and plastination, dies aged 81](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/27/gunther-von-hagens-creator-of-body-worlds-and-plastination-dies-aged-81)** > > Controversial anatomist’s body ‘will definitely be plastinated’ in line with his wishes, a spokesperson said I think his oeuvre shows that in most jurisdictions you can do way more than simply tattoo a dead body and controversy will ensue, but no legal consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/13 "2026-08-09T20:34:44Z")
I don’t think this, or any laws about unauthorized defacing of the body, apply even slightly to the situation I am talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/14 "2026-08-09T20:35:45Z")
Then haven’t you just answered your own question? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/15 "2026-08-09T20:36:18Z")
Uh…no? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/16 "2026-08-09T20:36:55Z")
Then how could what you described possibly not be legal? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/17 "2026-08-09T20:40:47Z")
I am not making a statement-I am asking a question as to whether having a tattoo authorized by me to my own body after I die is allowed by law. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/18 "2026-08-09T20:43:21Z")
Unless some prosecutor calls it defacement of a corpse, almost certainly not. Do you want us to prove a negative? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/19 "2026-08-09T20:49:08Z")
No. I am just asking if there currently are any laws concerning the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/20 "2026-08-09T21:00:43Z")
Um, okay. Is there any particular reason why you think it might be illegal? Mortuaries have all sorts of cosmetic things done to a corpse; how is a tattoo any different? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247/21 "2026-08-09T21:08:47Z")
Look it up in the laws of your state. I’m not sure of your home state or I’d search it out for you. Shouldn’t be difficult to find. Laws are normally open to the public. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-legal-for-me-to-have-a-tattoo-added-to-my-body-after-i-die/1032247.md?page=2)