2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 43 - PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES (§§ 43-1-1 — 43-51-15) › Chapter 18 - FUNERAL DIRECTORS AND EMBALMERS (§§ 43-18-1 — 43-18-90) › Article 1 - FUNERAL DIRECTORS, EMBALMERS, AND OPERATORS OF FUNERAL ESTABLISHMENTS (§§ 43-18-1 — 43-18-80) › Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 43-18-1 — 43-18-10) › Section 43-18-8 - Identification of body or remains of deceased; affidavit required for cremated remains

(a)
(1)
The funeral director or person in charge of final disposition of a dead body shall, prior to the interment or cremation of such dead body, affix on the ankle or wrist of the deceased a tag of durable, noncorroding material permanently marked with the name of the deceased, the date of death, the social security number of the deceased, the county and state of death, and the serial number of any prosthesis removed from the dead body by the funeral establishment or crematory.
(2)
No funeral director in charge of a crematory shall permit any dead body to be on the premises of the crematory without the dead body being identified as provided by this subsection, except when the body is placed in a cremation device; and the tag shall be removed from the body and kept in a regular location near the cremation device during cremation and thereafter placed atop the cremated remains on the inside of the vessel and any liner therein. The vessel containing cremated remains shall be plainly labeled on the outside so as to identify the deceased with the same information, excluding social security number, as is required to be on the tag inside the vessel and so as to identify the name of the person or firm to which such remains are to be delivered or released.
(3)
Tags and labels used for purposes of this subsection shall be in such standard forms as prescribed by the board. If the religious faith of the deceased prohibits such means of identification, alternative means of identification of the body may be used.
(b)
A crematory may deliver or release cremated remains to a funeral establishment or a legally authorized person. The funeral director in charge of a crematory shall provide to the funeral establishment or legally authorized person to whom cremated remains are delivered or released, at the time of such delivery or release, a written statement, on such standard form as prescribed by the board, signed and verified by such funeral director before a person authorized to administer oaths and attesting that the vessel contains substantially the remains of the deceased identified in accordance with subsection (a) of this Code section.
(c)
No funeral establishment shall accept or take delivery of any cremated remains from any crematory unless the vessel containing such remains is labeled as required by paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section and is accompanied by the affidavit required by subsection (b) of this Code section, which vessel and affidavit shall be provided by the funeral establishment to a legally authorized person upon delivery or release of the cremated remains.
Amended by 2021 Ga. Laws 176,§ 2, eff. 5/4/2021.
Amended by 2002 Ga. Laws 781, § 4, eff. 7/1/2002.
2002 Ga. Laws 781, § 7, eff. 5/10/2002, states, "Section 4 of this Act shall become effective for purposes of promulgating rules and regulations upon approval of this Act by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval and shall become effective for all other purposes on July 1, 2002."