After a Death

Who to Call When Someone Dies at Home in Utah

The right first call depends on two things: where the death happened, and whether it was expected. Find your situation below. Each one tells you who to call first, what happens after that call, and what you can leave for later.

Wayfinder is a free guide for Utah families.

Wayfinder is not a funeral home or a cremation provider. We’re not a government office either, and nothing here costs you money.

Facts on this page last checked October 5, 2026.

If this could be an emergency

If the person might still be alive, or you don’t know what happened, call 911 now and follow the dispatcher’s instructions.

The simple answer

If the person was in hospice, call the hospice’s 24-hour number, not 911. If the death was expected but hospice wasn’t involved, call 911 and say the death was expected and there’s no hospice. If the death was sudden or unexpected, call 911. In a hospital or care facility, the staff will handle the first steps. In every case, you choose the funeral home, and you don’t have to call one the moment it happens.

First: where did the death happen?

Pick the situation that fits. If none do, or you’re not sure, call 911 and describe what you see.

Situation 1

At home, under hospice care

First callThe hospice’s 24-hour phone line

Every Medicare-certified hospice answers its phone around the clock for this moment. Don’t call 911. Calling 911 can bring paramedics who may start CPR the person didn’t want.

A hospice nurse will come to the home, confirm the death, notify the person’s doctor, and start the paperwork for the death certificate. Hospice also takes care of leftover controlled medications and arranges pickup of equipment like the hospital bed or oxygen.

Hospice doesn’t choose a funeral home for you. When you’re ready, you call the funeral home, and it arranges to bring the person into its care. There’s no need to rush; you can take time with the person first.

Situation 2

At home, expected, but no hospice

First call911

Outside a hospital, nursing home or other care facility, and without hospice, the first call is 911, even if the death was expected. Tell the dispatcher the person has died, that it was expected, and that there’s no hospice. The Utah Office of the Medical Examiner gave this answer when we asked.

If there’s a DNR or POLST form, have it in hand for the responders. A living will or health care directive alone usually won’t stop paramedics from starting CPR.

Police may come even for an expected death. In Utah, a death counts as “unattended” if the person hadn’t seen a health care professional in the past year, and unattended deaths go to the state medical examiner. If the person was seen in the past year and their doctor will sign the death certificate, the medical examiner usually isn’t involved.

Situation 3

At home, sudden or unexpected, or you’re not sure

First call911

Call 911 right away and follow the dispatcher’s instructions, including CPR if they tell you to. Utah law requires sudden, unexpected, or unattended deaths to be reported to law enforcement immediately.

Police and an investigator from the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner may come. Don’t move the person, clean up, or throw anything away, including medications. Investigators may need to see them.

The medical examiner may take the person into its care. It doesn’t choose a funeral home for you. You pick one, and the medical examiner releases the person to that funeral home when its work is done.

Situation 4

In a hospital, nursing home, or care facility

First callNobody. The staff will lead.

Staff confirm the death, record the time, and notify the family contact on file. They’ll ask which funeral home should receive the person. You can take a few hours to decide.

Hospitals notify DonorConnect, Utah’s organ and tissue donation organization, after every death, so donation is handled from there. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities usually need the person moved sooner than hospitals do, since most have no place to keep them.

If the person was in hospice at a facility, the hospice nurse may be the one who comes.

Who to call after the first call

Once the first call is made, the rest can happen over the next several hours. A reasonable order:

The people closest to you
Immediate family and anyone who needs to be part of the decisions. Someone else can help with the wider calls.
A funeral home or cremation provider
If there’s a prepaid plan, call the funeral home named on it. If not, you can call a few and ask for prices by phone; they’re required to answer. Every provider and price in your city
Your religious leader, if you have one
A bishop, pastor, priest, or other leader can help plan the service and support the family.
The person’s employer, if they were working
For final pay and any life insurance through work. This can wait a day or two.

Social Security, banks, insurers, and death certificates come later in the week. What to do in the first 24 hours and paperwork after a death walk through those.

What not to do

Don’t call 911 for a death under hospice care
Call the hospice line. It’s what hospice is there for.
Don’t move the person or clean up after a sudden death
It can slow down the investigation and the release to a funeral home.
Don’t throw away medications
Hospice handles them in a hospice death. In a sudden death, investigators may need to see them.
Don’t feel you have to pick a funeral home in the first hour
In Utah a body has to be refrigerated or embalmed if burial or cremation will be more than 24 hours after death. Hospitals, the medical examiner, and funeral homes all have refrigeration, so there’s time to decide.

Utah offices that can help

Utah Office of the Medical Examiner

(801) 816-3850

4451 South 2700 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84129

Investigates sudden, unexpected, and unattended deaths statewide. ome.utah.gov

DonorConnect

(801) 521-1755 (main office)

Utah’s organ and tissue donation organization. donorconnect.life

Social Security Administration

1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778)

Usually notified by the funeral home. ssa.gov: when someone dies

Sources: Utah Code §§26B-8-201, 26B-8-205, 26B-8-206; Utah Admin. Code R436-8-4; National Institute on Aging; Hospice Foundation of America.

Common questions

Questions about who to call

Do the police come when someone dies at home?

Often, yes, if 911 is called. For a sudden or unexpected death they will come, and the medical examiner may be involved. For a death under hospice care, calling hospice instead of 911 usually means no police visit.

What if the person didn’t have a regular doctor?

Call 911 and explain the situation. In Utah, if the person hadn’t seen a health care professional in the past year, the death is treated as unattended and goes to the medical examiner, which determines the cause and signs the death certificate.

Can I wait to call a funeral home?

Yes. After an expected death, you can spend time with the person first. If it’s late at night, calling in the morning is fine. Utah’s 24-hour rule means the person will need to be refrigerated or embalmed if burial or cremation is more than a day away, which the funeral home handles.

Does the medical examiner choose the funeral home?

No. You choose the funeral home, and the medical examiner releases the person to it once its work is done.

Who has the right to make arrangements?

In Utah, the right goes first to anyone the person named in writing, then the spouse, then the personal representative named in the will, then the children (by majority), then parents, then siblings.

Where to go next