Reviewed by Carlos Vargas, Texas Licensed Funeral Director (TFSC #119648) ·
A decision families often reach later
Not every repatriation happens in the days after a death. A family may bury a parent in North Texas because there was no money or no time to do otherwise, and years later find that everyone has moved back, or that a spouse has died at home and the two should rest together. Moving someone who is already buried is possible in Texas. It is slower and more formal than an ordinary repatriation because a grave is involved, other people have rights in it, and the State must permit it first.
This guide explains the Texas side in plain terms. It cannot tell you what the destination country will accept; that question goes to its consulate before anything is signed.
Texas permission comes in two parts
Texas DSHS explains that a disinterment permit serves as the authority to disinter, transport and reinter a body within Texas, and that applicants should contact a licensed funeral director. When the person will leave the state, travel by common carrier or be cremated, a Burial-Transit Permit must also be obtained from the local registrar. The DSHS Death Registration Handbook, revised January 2026, adds that the local registrar may issue that permit in conjunction with the disinterment permit issued by the state.
The state application is form VS-271, revised March 2024. It is filed by the licensed funeral director, embalmer or professional archeologist in charge, not by the family, and it must be an original: the form says photocopies, alterations and write-overs are not accepted. It asks where the person is buried and where they will be reinterred, so the receiving cemetery abroad should be settled before the application is prepared. The March 2024 form lists a $25 filing fee; check the current form for the present amount and for DSHS’s own processing estimates.
Who has to agree
The same DSHS form requires the applicant to obtain the written consent of three parties: the cemetery, the owner of the plot and the decedent’s next of kin. The next-of-kin consent asks the signer to certify that no other living relative precedes them in the degree of kindred, which means a family should work out who that person is before anyone signs. Plot ownership may have passed by inheritance, and the form allows for that.
If a required consent cannot be obtained, the form says the remains may be removed by permission of a county court of the county in which the cemetery is located, and a certified court order is then submitted with the application. That is a court proceeding under Texas law. A Texas attorney can advise on it; a funeral home cannot, and this page does not.
After the permits: carrier and destination
Once Texas has permitted the move, the rest resembles any international shipment, with one difference: the condition of the remains and of the original casket affects the container. IATA’s overview of transporting human remains by air says containers must meet the most current guidelines and that there is no universal international standard for processing and documentation, so the carrier’s current specification decides what outer container is needed. Ask the consulate whether its requirements differ for someone who was buried for a period of time; some ask for additional health or cemetery documents.
| Party | Its part |
|---|---|
| Family | Agrees who the next of kin is; gathers consents; chooses the receiving cemetery |
| Cemetery and plot owner | Give written consent; the cemetery sets its own conditions and charges for opening the grave |
| Licensed funeral director | Files the state application, obtains the Burial-Transit Permit, prepares the shipment |
| DSHS and local registrar | Issue the disinterment permit and the Burial-Transit Permit |
| Consulate, carrier, receiving side | Set destination, container and arrival requirements |
Our disinterment planner tracks each consent and permit, and the timeline guide explains why no total duration can be promised.
Questions about disinterment and reburial abroad
- Can someone buried in Texas years ago be moved to another country?
- Texas permits it with a state disinterment permit, the written consents the DSHS form requires and a Burial-Transit Permit. Whether the destination accepts the person is for its consulate to say.
- Who signs as next of kin when several relatives are living?
- The DSHS consent asks the signer to certify that no other living relative precedes them in the degree of kindred. If the family cannot agree, a Texas attorney can explain the county court route.
- Does the cemetery have to agree?
- Yes. The DSHS form requires the cemetery’s written consent, and the cemetery sets its own conditions and charges for opening the grave.
