[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 36, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 36CFR12.6]

[Page 190]
 
              TITLE 36--PARKS, FORESTS, AND PUBLIC PROPERTY
 
      CHAPTER I--NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 12_NATIONAL CEMETERY REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  12.6  Disinterments and exhumations.

    (a) Interment of an eligible person's remains is considered 
permanent. Disinterment and removal of remains are allowed only for the 
most compelling of reasons and may be accomplished only under the 
supervision of the superintendent.
    (b) Except for a directed exhumation conducted pursuant to paragraph 
(f) of this section, a disinterment is allowed only pursuant to the 
terms and conditions of a permit issued by the superintendent.
    (c) A disinterment shall be accomplished at no cost to the National 
Park Service. The superintendent shall establish a fee designed to 
recover the costs associated with supervising and administering a 
disinterment, including the costs of opening and closing the grave and 
redressing any disturbed graves or headstones.
    (d) The next-of-kin is responsible for making all arrangements and 
incurring all financial obligations related to a disinterment. These 
arrangements and obligations include, but are not limited to the 
following:
    (1) Compliance with State and local health laws and regulations;
    (2) Engaging a funeral director;
    (3) Recasketing the remains;
    (4) Rehabilitation of the gravesite according to conditions 
established by the superintendent;
    (5) Providing the superintendent a notorized affidavit by each 
living close relative of the deceased and by the person who directed the 
initial interment, if living, and even though the legal relationship of 
such person to the decedent may have changed, granting permission for 
the disinterment; and
    (6) Providing the superintendent a sworn statement, by a person 
having first hand knowledge thereof, that those who supplied such 
affidavits comprise all the living close relatives of the decedent, 
including the person who directed the initial interment.
    (e) The following are prohibited:
    (1) Failure to obtain a permit required pursuant to this section;
    (2) Violation of a condition established by the superintendent or of 
a term or condition of a permit issued in accordance with this section; 
or
    (3) Failure to pay a fee prescribed by the superintendent in 
accordance with this section.
    (f) The directed exhumation of an eligible person's remains shall be 
accomplished upon receipt by the superintendent of an order issued by a 
State or Federal court of competent jurisdiction. The superintendent 
shall retain court orders and other pertinent documents in the national 
cemetery files as a permanent record of the action.
    (g) To the extent practicable, a directed exhumation shall be 
accomplished without expense to the National Park Service and without 
direct participation by national cemetery employees.
    (h) The superintendent shall coordinate a directed exhumation with 
the ordering court, assure compliance with all State and local laws and 
supervise disinterment activities on site.
    (i) If reinterment of exhumed remains is to be elsewhere, the 
superintendent may reassign the gravesite for use in connection with 
another interment.