Tex. Health & Safety Code Section 696.003
Authorization to Release Information

A person who possesses unclaimed cremated remains may release to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or a veterans’ service organization verification information associated with the remains to verify whether the remains are the remains of a person who was a veteran or a veteran’s dependent eligible to be interred in a veterans cemetery if:

(1)

the person has possessed the cremated remains for at least five years;

(2)

the person authorized to dispose of the decedent’s remains under Section 711.002 (Disposition of Remains; Duty to Inter) has not claimed the cremated remains; and

(3)

the person made a reasonable effort to locate a relative of the decedent to claim the remains, including publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the person is located, and more than 30 days have passed since the person first made an effort to locate a relative of the decedent.
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 373 (H.B. 3064), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.

Source: Section 696.003 — Authorization to Release Information, https://statutes.­capitol.­texas.­gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.­696.­htm#696.­003 (accessed May 26, 2025).

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Verified:
May 26, 2025

§ 696.003. Authorization to Release Info.'s source at texas​.gov