Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 213
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 213.991 (2026)

Penalties

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) Any person who shall cremate or cause to be cremated or transport or cause to be transported for the purpose of cremation, the body of any person whose death occurs in the Commonwealth, without first obtaining from the coroner of the county in which death occurred, authorization for the transportation and cremation shall be guilty of a Class D felony.

(2) Any person shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor who:

(a) Willfully and knowingly makes any false statement in a certificate, record, or report required by this chapter or in an application for an amendment thereof or in an application for a certified copy of a vital record or who willfully and knowingly supplies false information intending that such information be used in the preparation of any report, record or certificate or amendment thereof;

(b) Without lawful authority and with the intent to deceive, makes counterfeits, alters, amends or mutilates any certificate, record or report required by this chapter or a certified copy of such certificate, record or report;

(c) Willfully and knowingly obtains, possesses, uses, sells, furnishes or attempts to obtain, possess, use, sell or furnish to another, for any purpose of deception, any certificate, record or report required by this chapter or certified copy thereof so made, counterfeited, altered, amended, mutilated or which is false in whole or in part or which relates to the birth of another person whether living or deceased;

(d) As an employee of the Vital Statistics Branch or any office designated under KRS 213.036, willfully and knowingly furnishes or processes a certificate of birth or certified copy of a certificate of birth with the knowledge or intention that it may be used for the purpose of deception; or

(e) Without lawful authority possesses any certificate, record, or report required by this chapter or a copy or certified copy of such certificate, record, or report knowing same to have been stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained.

(3) Any person shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor who:

(a) Willfully and knowingly refuses to provide information required by this chapter or administrative regulations adopted hereunder;

(b) Willfully and knowingly transports or accepts for transportation, interment, or other disposition a dead body without an accompanying permit as provided in this chapter;

(c) Willfully and knowingly neglects or violates any of the provisions of this chapter or refuses to perform any of the duties imposed upon him or her by this chapter; or

(d) As an employee of the Vital Statistics Branch or any office designated under KRS 213.036, willfully and knowingly violates the confidentiality provisions of KRS 213.131.

(4) Repeated failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter shall be sufficient cause for the cabinet to file a report with the applicable medical, dental, chiropractic, or funeral director licensure board citing the omissions of lawful duty and requesting that appropriate disciplinary action be taken. Effective: June 20, 2005 History: Amended 2005 Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 445, effective June 20, 2005. -- Created 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 369, sec. 31, effective July 13, 1990.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 2006–2018 · leading case: Posey v. Commonwealth, 185 S.W.3d 170 (Ky. 2006).
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Posey v. Commonwealth, 185 S.W.3d 170 (Ky. 2006). · cites it 2× “90, cremation without obtaining permission of a coroner, KRS 213.991, improper testing of blood samples, KRS 214.”
Harrod v. Caney, 547 S.W.3d 536 (Ky. Ct. App. 2018). “The requirement that a permit be obtained from the coroner prior to cremation or transportation for cremation prevents evidence of a suspicious or unexplained death that may be present in the body of the deceased from being destroyed through cremation, since a buried body may…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 213.991(1) — 1 case
Harrod v. Caney, 547 S.W.3d 536 (Ky. Ct. App. 2018). “The requirement that a permit be obtained from the coroner prior to cremation or transportation for cremation prevents evidence of a suspicious or unexplained death that may be present in the body of the deceased from being destroyed through cremation, since a buried body may…”
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