Yes, you can bury someone in your backyard in Arizona, but the state’s permission is only the first hurdle. Local zoning has to allow it, the burial location must be recorded with your county recorder before any permit is issued, and you need a disposition-transit permit from the local registrar. Skip any of those steps and a lawful home burial can turn into a criminal matter.
Start with Zoning, Not Paperwork
Arizona state law treats home burial as a legitimate form of final disposition, but your city or county land-use code decides whether your specific parcel qualifies. Many residential zoning classifications prohibit burials outright. Rural and agricultural parcels are far more likely to be eligible than a suburban lot.
Call your local planning and zoning department before doing anything else and ask two things: does your zoning classification permit private burial, and what are the setback, acreage, or depth requirements? Setbacks often govern distance from property lines, structures, and water sources like wells. Grave depth minimums, where they exist, are set locally rather than by the state.
Coconino County illustrates how specific local rules can get. The county requires a licensed surveyor to complete an easement survey showing the precise burial location, and it caps private property burials at ten per year.1Coconino County. Private Property Burials (Human Remains) – Coconino County Another county may have almost no rules, or entirely different ones. The only way to know is to ask.
Record the Cemetery with the County Recorder
This is the step that catches most families off guard, because it has to happen before the burial permit is issued, not after. Arizona law prohibits a local registrar, deputy local registrar, or state registrar from issuing a disposition-transit permit for burial unless the cemetery location has already been recorded with the county recorder in the county where the burial will occur. Federal and tribal land are the only exceptions.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36-326 – Disposition-Transit Permits
Recording means filing a document, typically an easement survey or detailed map, identifying the exact location of the burial plot on your property. It becomes part of the permanent deed record and will show up in future title searches. Once filed, your land is legally designated as containing a private cemetery. Recording fees vary by county but are generally under $100.
If you arrive at the registrar’s office without having recorded the cemetery first, you will be turned away.
Death Certificate and Disposition-Transit Permit
Two documents drive the legal side of a home burial.
The Death Certificate
A physician or other authorized healthcare provider must complete the medical certification portion of the death certificate, stating the cause of death. Arizona’s administrative code requires that certification to reach the local registrar of the county where the death occurred before any disposition permit can be issued.3Cornell Law School. Arizona Administrative Code R9-19-308 – Disposition-Transit Permits The person handling the arrangements then completes the demographic portion and files the full record.
The Disposition-Transit Permit
With the medical certification on file and the cemetery recorded, you can apply for a disposition-transit permit. This is the legal authorization to move and bury the body. Anyone who takes possession of human remains must obtain the permit before final disposition or moving the remains out of state.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36-326 – Disposition-Transit Permits The registrar checks both the medical certification and the cemetery recording before issuing it.3Cornell Law School. Arizona Administrative Code R9-19-308 – Disposition-Transit Permits
The 24-Hour Rule
The body must be embalmed or refrigerated if final disposition does not happen within 24 hours of death.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36-831 – Burial Duties; Notification Requirements; Failure to Perform Duty; Veterans; Immunity; Definitions A private residence rarely has refrigeration on-site, and a funeral home does. If the paperwork takes longer than a day, which is common, you need a plan for the body in the meantime.
Arizona does not require a casket. A shroud or alternative container is legally acceptable.
What It Costs
Cost is often the reason families consider home burial. A traditional full-service burial in Arizona averages roughly $7,800, and even a direct burial without a service runs around $4,500. A family-directed home burial can come in well under $1,000 in fees.
Your direct expenses will typically include the disposition-transit permit fee, the county recording fee for the cemetery designation, and a surveyor’s fee if your county requires a professional easement survey. A licensed survey can run several hundred dollars depending on the property. You may also need a simple container or shroud, plus whatever you spend on digging and closing the grave.
Penalties for Skipping the Process
Arizona law makes it a class 5 felony to knowingly move a dead body with the intent to abandon or conceal it. The statute expressly excludes lawful disposition conducted under the title 32 and title 36 procedures, which is exactly what the permit and recording requirements are.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13-2926 – Abandonment or Concealment of a Dead Body; Classification
A class 5 felony in Arizona carries a presumptive prison term of 1.5 years for a first offense. Even if prosecutors decline to pursue that charge, an unpermitted burial can trigger investigation, mandatory disinterment, and civil liability.
If You Later Need to Move the Remains
Selling the property or wanting to relocate the remains to a traditional cemetery both require a disinterment-reinterment permit from the state registrar. The registrar issues one of two ways: by court order, or with written consent from the family member holding the highest priority under Arizona’s ranking for disposition decisions.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36-327 – Disinterment-Reinterment Permit
One narrow exception: relocation within the same cemetery for internal management reasons does not require a permit.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36-327 – Disinterment-Reinterment Permit Any other move goes through the permit process, and potentially through court if family members disagree.
What a Home Burial Does to the Property
A backyard burial is a permanent change to the property’s legal status, and the effects outlast your ownership.
Permanent Access for Family
Once a burial site is recorded, Arizona law requires that no cemetery can be sold without provision for permanent access.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Revised Statutes Title 32-2194.12 – Permanent Access to Cemetery Land A future owner cannot simply block family members from visiting. That access obligation runs with the land.
Title, Disclosure, and Resale
The recorded easement or cemetery designation appears on the title, so any buyer running a standard title search will find it. Failing to mention a burial site to prospective buyers would still be a significant omission that could produce legal claims after closing. Many buyers will walk away from a property with a grave on it. Those who don’t will typically negotiate a lower price.
Ongoing Maintenance
A commercial cemetery has perpetual care funds. A backyard cemetery does not. You and every future owner carry the responsibility to keep the site identifiable and accessible. Neglect can lead to inadvertent disturbance during construction or to disputes with descendants seeking access.
Home burial is legal in Arizona for families willing to work through zoning, recording, and permitting in the right order. The paperwork is real, and so is the reason for it: once the burial happens, the record of where the body lies is what protects the site and everyone who inherits the land.