Bill Text: IL HB4839 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the Vital Records Act. In provisions regarding fetal death, deletes provisions referencing election in writing to arrange for burial or cremation under the Hospital Licensing Act. Requires a funeral director to file an Authorization for Disposition of Fetal Remains or a certificate of death (rather than only a certificate of death) before obtaining a permit for disposition of remains. Provides that, in the case of a fetal death that occurs after a gestation period of less than 20 weeks or in the case of an abortion, no fetal death certificate shall be required for the disposition of remains. Directs the Department of Public Health to create a form to be used by the funeral director to obtain a permit for burial, entombment, or cremation. Requires the local registrar to seal any form filed under these provisions, and prohibits a funeral director from retaining a copy. Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. In provisions regarding the disposition of a fetus, provides that no fetal death certificate shall be required in accordance with the Vital Records Act. Provides that the funeral director or person acting as such who first assumes custody of fetal remains shall use the Department of Public Health form to obtain a permit for disposition of remains. Makes other conforming changes.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2026-04-10 - Referred to Assignments [HB4839 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HB4839-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026HB4839 Introduced , by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
210 ILCS 85/11.4
410 ILCS 535/20 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-20
410 ILCS 535/21 from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-21
Amends the Vital Records Act. In provisions regarding fetal death, deletes provisions referencing election in writing to arrange for burial or cremation under the Hospital Licensing Act. Requires a funeral director to file an Authorization for Disposition of Fetal Remains or a certificate of death (rather than only a certificate of death) before obtaining a permit for disposition of remains. Provides that, in the case of a fetal death that occurs after a gestation period of less than 20 weeks or in the case of an abortion, no fetal death certificate shall be required for the disposition of remains. Directs the Department of Public Health to create a form to be used by the funeral director to obtain a permit for burial, entombment, or cremation. Requires the local registrar to seal any form filed under these provisions, and prohibits a funeral director from retaining a copy. Amends the Hospital Licensing Act. In provisions regarding the disposition of a fetus, provides that no fetal death certificate shall be required in accordance with the Vital Records Act. Provides that the funeral director or person acting as such who first assumes custody of fetal remains shall use the Department of Public Health form to obtain a permit for disposition of remains. Makes other conforming changes.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning health.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by
changing Section 11.4 as follows:
(210 ILCS 85/11.4)
Sec. 11.4. Disposition of fetus. A hospital having custody
of a fetus following a spontaneous fetal demise occurring
during or after a gestation period of less than 20 completed
weeks must notify the patient of the right to arrange for the
burial or cremation of the fetus. Notification may also
include other options such as, but not limited to, a ceremony,
a certificate, or common burial or cremation of fetal tissue.
If, within 24 hours after being notified under this Section,
the patient elects in writing to arrange for the burial or
cremation of the fetus, no fetal death certificate shall be
required in accordance with the Vital Records Act. the
disposition of the fetus shall be subject to the same laws and
rules that apply in the case of a fetal death that occurs in
this State after a gestation period of 20 completed weeks or
more. The Department of Public Health shall develop a form
forms to be used for notification notifications and election
elections under this Section and hospitals shall provide the

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form forms to the patient. The funeral director or person
acting as such who first assumes custody of fetal remains
shall use this form to obtain a permit for disposition of
remains.
(Source: P.A. 103-948, eff. 7-1-25.)
Section 10. The Vital Records Act is amended by changing
Sections 20 and 21 as follows:
(410 ILCS 535/20) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-20)
Sec. 20. Fetal death; place of registration.
(1) Each fetal death which occurs in this State after a
gestation period of 20 completed weeks (or when the patient
elects in writing to arrange for the burial or cremation of the
fetus under Section 11.4 of the Hospital Licensing Act) or
more shall be registered with the local or subregistrar of the
district in which the delivery occurred within 7 days after
the delivery and before removal of the fetus from the State,
except as provided by regulation in special problem cases.
(a) For the purposes of this Section, if the place of
fetal death is unknown, a fetal death certificate shall be
filed in the registration district in which a dead fetus
is found, which shall be considered the place of fetal
death.
(b) When a fetal death occurs on a moving conveyance,
the city, village, township, or road district in which the

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fetus is first removed from the conveyance shall be
considered the place of delivery and a fetal death
certificate shall be filed in the registration district in
which the place is located.
(c) The funeral director or person acting as such who
first assumes custody of a fetus shall file the
certificate. The personal data shall be obtained from the
best qualified person or source available. The name,
relationship, and address of the informant shall be
entered on the certificate. The date, place, and method of
final disposition of the fetus shall be recorded over the
personal signature and address of the funeral director
responsible for the disposition. The certificate shall be
presented to the person responsible for completing the
medical certification of the cause of death.
(2) The medical certification shall be completed and
signed within 24 hours after delivery by the certifying health
care professional in attendance at or after delivery, except
when investigation is required under Division 3-3 of Article 3
of the Counties Code and except as provided by regulation in
special problem cases.
(3) When a fetal death occurs without medical attendance
upon the mother at or after the delivery, or when
investigation is required under Division 3-3 of Article 3 of
the Counties Code, the coroner shall be responsible for the
completion of the fetal death certificate and shall sign the

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medical certification within 24 hours after the delivery or
the finding of the fetus, except as provided by regulation in
special problem cases.
(Source: P.A. 102-257, eff. 1-1-22; 103-948, eff. 7-1-25.)
(410 ILCS 535/21) (from Ch. 111 1/2, par. 73-21)
Sec. 21. (1) The funeral director or person acting as such
who first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus shall make a
written report to the registrar of the district in which death
occurred or in which the body or fetus was found within 24
hours after taking custody of the body or fetus on a form
prescribed and furnished by the State Registrar and in
accordance with the rules promulgated by the State Registrar.
Except as specified in paragraph (2) of this Section, the
written report shall serve as a permit to transport, bury, or
entomb the body or fetus within this State, provided that the
funeral director or person acting as such shall certify that
the certifying health care professional who, within 12 months
prior to the date of the patient's death, was treating or
managing treatment of the patient's illness or condition which
resulted in death has been contacted and has affirmatively
stated that he or she will sign the medical certificate of
death or the fetal death certificate. If a funeral director
fails to file written reports under this Section in a timely
manner, the local registrar may suspend the funeral director's
privilege of filing written reports by mail. In a county with a

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population greater than 3,000,000, if a funeral director or
person acting as such inters or entombs a dead body without
having previously certified that the certifying health care
professional who, within 12 months prior to the date of the
patient's death, was treating or managing treatment of the
patient's illness or condition that resulted in death has been
contacted and has affirmatively stated that he or she will
sign the medical certificate of death, then that funeral
director or person acting as such is responsible for payment
of the specific costs incurred by the county medical examiner
in disinterring and reinterring or reentombing the dead body.
(2) The written report as specified in paragraph (1) of
this Section shall not serve as a permit to:
(a) Remove body or fetus from this State;
(b) Cremate the body or fetus; or
(c) Make disposal of any body or fetus in any manner
when death is subject to the coroner's or medical
examiner's investigation.
(3) In accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2) of
this Section the funeral director or person acting as such who
first assumes custody of a dead body or fetus shall obtain a
permit for disposition of such dead human body prior to final
disposition or removal from the State of the body or fetus.
Such permit shall be issued by the registrar of the district
where death occurred or the body or fetus was found. No such
permit shall be issued until a properly completed certificate

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of death or Authorization for Disposition of Fetal Remains has
been filed with the registrar. The registrar shall insure the
issuance of a permit for disposition within an expedited
period of time to accommodate Sunday or holiday burials of
decedents whose time of death and religious tenets or beliefs
necessitate Sunday or holiday burials.
(4) A permit which accompanies a dead body or fetus
brought into this State shall be authority for final
disposition of the body or fetus in this State, except in
municipalities where local ordinance requires the issuance of
a local permit prior to disposition.
(5) A permit for disposition of a dead human body shall be
required prior to disinterment of a dead body or fetus, and
when the disinterred body is to be shipped by a common carrier.
Such permit shall be issued to a licensed funeral director or
person acting as such, upon proper application, by the local
registrar of the district in which disinterment is to be made.
In the case of disinterment, proper application shall include
a statement providing the name and address of any surviving
spouse of the deceased, or, if none, any surviving children of
the deceased, or if no surviving spouse or children, a parent,
brother, or sister of the deceased. The application shall
indicate whether the applicant is one of these parties and, if
so, whether the applicant is a surviving spouse or a surviving
child. Prior to the issuance of a permit for disinterment, the
local registrar shall, by certified mail, notify the surviving

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spouse, unless he or she is the applicant, or if there is no
surviving spouse, all surviving children except for the
applicant, of the application for the permit. The person or
persons notified shall have 30 days from the mailing of the
notice to object by obtaining an injunction enjoining the
issuance of the permit. After the 30-day period has expired,
the local registrar shall issue the permit unless he or she has
been enjoined from doing so or there are other statutory
grounds for refusal. The notice to the spouse or surviving
children shall inform the person or persons being notified of
the right to seek an injunction within 30 days.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection (5), a
court may order issuance of a permit for disinterment without
notice or prior to the expiration of the 30-day period where
the petition is made by an agency of any governmental unit and
good cause is shown for disinterment without notice or for the
early order. Nothing in this subsection (5) limits the
authority of the City of Chicago to acquire property or
otherwise exercise its powers under the O'Hare Modernization
Act or requires that City, or any person acting on behalf of
that City, to obtain a permit under this subsection (5) when
exercising powers under the O'Hare Modernization Act. The
Illinois Department of Transportation, and any person acting
on its behalf under a public-private agreement entered into in
accordance with the Public-Private Agreements for the South
Suburban Airport Act, is exempt from this subsection (5),

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provided that the Illinois Department of Transportation, or
any such person, takes reasonable steps to comply with the
provisions of this subsection (5) so long as compliance does
not interfere with the design, development, operation, or
maintenance of the South Suburban Airport or the exercise of
their powers under the Public-Private Agreements for the South
Suburban Airport Act.
(6) In the case of a fetal death that occurs after a
gestation period of less than 20 weeks or in the case of an
abortion, as defined in Section 1-10 of the Reproductive
Health Act, no fetal death certificate shall be required for
the disposition of remains. The Department shall create a form
to be used by the funeral director or person acting as such to
obtain a permit for burial, entombment, or cremation. The form
shall be included as an appendix to the existing rules under
this Act. Any form filed under this Section shall be sealed by
the local registrar, and a copy shall not be retained by the
funeral director.
(Source: P.A. 102-257, eff. 1-1-22.)