Guide
What happens after a death at home
If someone has died at home, this page explains the order things usually happen in around Charleston, and who does what. Take it one step at a time.
Calls answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Step by step
The usual order
- I
Call 911
If the death was unexpected, call 911. If the person was in hospice care, call the hospice; it will tell you what comes next.
- II
Police and coroner
Deaths from violence or apparent suicide, deaths of people in apparent good health and deaths unattended by a physician are reported to the county coroner (S.C. Code 17-5-530). The coroner's office investigates and notifies the family.
- III
Release to a funeral home
After the examination, the body is released to the person lawfully entitled to it for burial (S.C. Code 17-5-570). You choose the funeral home, which handles transport.
- IV
Permits and belongings
The Charleston County Coroner's Office issues burial transit and cremation permits and releases personal effects to the next of kin (Charleston County).
- V
The home
When the authorities leave, the home is released. If blood or fluids are present, or the death was unattended, this is when a biohazard cleanup company comes in.
Coroner's offices
Which county, which office
The office involved depends on the county where the death happened, not where the family lives.
| Office | Places | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Charleston County Coroner's Office | Charleston, North Charleston (part), Mount Pleasant | Investigates traumatic deaths, deaths outside hospitals and sudden or unexpected deaths |
| Berkeley County Coroner's Office | Goose Creek, Hanahan, North Charleston (part) | Investigates suspicious, violent, sudden and unexpected deaths in the county |
| Dorchester County Coroner's Office | Summerville (Dorchester County part), North Charleston (part) | Also investigates deaths under hospice care at a private residence |
Records
Reports and records
In Charleston County, the coroner's office keeps the Coroner's Report, the autopsy report and the full investigative file. The Coroner's Report is the only one available to the public under FOIA; the legal next of kin can request the autopsy report too (record requests).
If a person dies at MUSC after being brought in from another county, records come from that county's coroner, not Charleston County's (Charleston County).
Also
Other calls in the first days
- The funeral home of your choice
- The landlord or property manager, if the home is rented
- The homeowners or renters insurer, before any cleanup or repair
- Utilities, if the home will stay empty
- A biohazard cleanup company, once the home is released
Questions
Before cleanup
When can cleanup start after a death?
After the police and the coroner have finished and the home is released. Ask the officer in charge if you are not sure.
Who releases the person to the funeral home?
After the examination, South Carolina law says the body is released to the person lawfully entitled to it for burial (S.C. Code 17-5-570). The family chooses the funeral home.
How do I get the coroner's report?
In Charleston County, the legal next of kin can request the Coroner's Report and the autopsy report from the coroner's office. The Coroner's Report is the only one of these records available to the public under FOIA (Charleston County).
When you are ready
One call, and someone else takes this on
You don't have to clean this yourself, and you don't have to decide everything today. A short call is enough to ask questions and hear what the work would involve.
Talk to a cleanup company
The line puts you through to an independent biohazard cleanup company working in your ZIP code. Tell them what happened and where. You decide whether to hire them.
Call (843) 555-0162Calls answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
The referral network can record calls; the referral disclosure and privacy policy say how.