Harris County: the offices after a death
After a death, crime or biohazard event anywhere in Harris County — including Houston — the cleanup is the property owner's responsibility. Here's how to find a qualified crew.
- County seat: Houston
- Greater Houston
- Call or request a callback
Harris County
After a death in Harris County
The office that investigates
Deaths in Harris County — Houston and the unincorporated areas — are investigated by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. The Institute describes itself as the medical examiner’s office for Harris County, combining that role with the county crime laboratory.
- Examiner's office address
- 1861 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, Texas 77054
- Examiner's office phone
- (832) 927-5000
- Victim’s Assistance — questions and community resources
- (832) 927-5007
- County seat
- Houston
Phone calls are answered between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Harris County holidays.
The Harris County morgue: address, hours and what it will not do →
How long it takes
“In most cases, a body may be examined and available for release to your selected funeral home within 24 hours of arrival to the Institute. However, some cases require more time.”
What the office does not do
- “The funeral home is the setting to view your loved one’s remains and all viewing of the body should be arranged through your selected funeral director.”
- “The Institute does not issue death certificates.”
- “The Institute collects only the personal property found on the individual’s person at the time of their death.”
Who cleans it
Nobody in that chain. Of the county offices and city police departments this site has read, not one offers to clean a property after a death — it is arranged by whoever owns it, or by the next of kin. Texas also issues no license for this trade, so ask a company about insurance, bloodborne-pathogens training and its waste route instead.
Texas’s medical-waste transporter registration (30 TAC 326.53) is written for medical waste, and waste from a home is excluded from that definition — so ask for it as evidence of a real disposal route, not as a legal box. Check a company
Sources for Harris County
- Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences — family information — release timing, next of kin, and what the Institute does not do
- Houston Police Department — contact
- City of Houston — Super Neighborhoods
- US Census, ACS 2020–2024 — Houston housing profile
Cities in Harris County
Service pages in Harris County
Providers serving Harris County
No company has finished our checks in Harris County yet, so there is nothing here we would stand behind. We would rather show you that than a list we cannot vouch for.
Call (866) 697-0754 or leave your number. We will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do for it. The checks a company has to pass are published in full.