Can You Have a Funeral on a Boat? The Rules, Explained

Yes. A funeral held aboard a vessel is legal in the United States, and for burials at sea the federal government has already issued the permit. Most families are surprised by how little paperwork is involved. What trips people up is not the permission. It is the conditions: how far out the boat has to go, what can go in the water, and what you owe the EPA afterward.

The federal permit already exists

The EPA has issued a general permit under the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) that authorizes the burial of human remains at sea. It covers both full-body burials and the release of cremated remains, and it is published in the federal regulations at 40 CFR 229.1.

"General permit" means you do not apply for anything. There is no form to submit before the service, no prior notice to the EPA, and no fee payable to the EPA for the burial or for the notification that follows it.

That is the entire front end of the process. The conditions attached to the permit are where the real planning happens.

How far out the boat has to go

Every burial at sea under the general permit has to take place at least three nautical miles from land. The EPA measures that from the ordinary low water mark, or from a closing line drawn on nautical charts across the openings of bays and rivers.

Depth matters too, and it depends on what is being placed in the water:

• Cremated remains may be buried in or on ocean waters of any depth, provided the vessel is at least three nautical miles from land.
• Non-cremated remains require ocean waters at least 600 feet deep. In three specific areas the minimum is 1,800 feet: east central Florida, the Dry Tortugas, and the stretch west of Pensacola to the Mississippi River Delta. The details are at 40 CFR 229.1(a)(2).

A captain who runs these services regularly will know the depth contours off their home port. If you are chartering a boat that does not do burials often, ask the operator directly how far out they plan to go and how deep the water is at that point.

A full-body burial is a different day than an ash scattering

Both are permitted. They are not the same event to plan.

For a full-body burial, all necessary measures must be taken so the remains sink to the bottom rapidly and permanently. If a casket is used, the EPA recommends removing plastic materials, drilling a minimum of twenty 2-inch holes evenly spaced across the top, bottom, head and foot ends, banding the casket with at least six durable stainless steel bands, chains or natural fiber ropes, and adding weight such as sand or concrete to bring the total to at least 300 pounds. Those figures come from the US Navy Burial at Sea Program's casket preparation guidelines. If no casket is used, the EPA recommends wrapping the body in a natural fiber shroud and adding weight, such as a steel chain, to aid rapid sinking.

That weight and size is why full-body burials call for a larger vessel with the right deck and rail setup. Not every charter boat can carry one.

An ash scattering is simpler. Cremated remains can be released on the surface or placed in the water inside a container, which is often the better choice when the wind is up. The container cannot contain plastic of any kind, cannot float, and should break down quickly in the marine environment.

What can and cannot go in the water

Flowers and wreaths are allowed if they are made of materials that readily decompose at sea. Plastic flowers and synthetic wreaths are not, because they will not break down.

The general permit also does not allow:

• Non-human remains, including pets. Pet ashes cannot be mixed with cremated human remains under the general permit.
• Tombs, tombstones, gravestones, monuments, mausoleums or artificial reef structures, including ones with cremated remains built into them.
• Release of remains by balloon, rocket or similar pyrotechnics. The EPA expects the vessel or aircraft carrying the remains to return to land.
• Burning a boat or a floating funeral pyre in connection with the burial.

Rivers, lakes and bays follow a different rulebook

If the boat is not going out to ocean waters, the MPRSA does not apply. Scattering cremated remains in lakes, rivers and other inland waters is not subject to federal regulation under that act, which means state law governs instead. Some states prohibit burial of cremated remains in inland waters outright. Others allow it with conditions.

The Great Lakes sit on the inland side of that line. So does a service held inside a harbor or on a river.

If you want a service on the water close to home rather than three miles offshore, contact the state environmental agency, health agency or mortuary board where the service will take place before you book anything. States may also impose additional requirements of their own, and they cannot relax the three nautical mile rule for ocean burials.

You have 30 days to tell the EPA

This is the step families forget. Within 30 days following the burial, you must notify the EPA. The report goes to the EPA Region the vessel departed from, and it can be filed through the EPA's online Burial at Sea Reporting Tool at burialatsea.epa.gov.

You do not need to submit a death certificate or other documentation to the EPA when you report.

If you hire a charter operator who runs burials at sea regularly, ask whether they file the notification for you. Get the answer before the day, not after.

If the deceased served

If the deceased is a military veteran or the spouse of one, the US Navy runs its own Burial at Sea Program, and arrangements can be made through the Navy rather than a private charter. Worth a call before you book anything else.

The short version

• The permit already exists. No application, no fee, no prior notice to the EPA.
• Three nautical miles from land, minimum.
• Ashes: any depth. Full body: at least 600 feet, or 1,800 feet in parts of Florida and the Gulf.
• Everything that goes in the water has to break down. No plastic, no pets, no monuments.
• Inland water is state law, not federal.
• Report to the EPA within 30 days.

Maritime Burials connects families with captains and vessels for services at sea.

Source: US EPA, Burial at Sea, and the MPRSA general permit at 40 CFR 229.1.