TL;DR: Only 5 states legally guarantee you a specific number of bereavement days: California (5), Illinois (10), Oregon (14, capped at 28 for multiple deaths), Washington (7), and Vermont (10, taken in blocks of 5). In the other 45 states, there's no legal day count at all, you get whatever your employer's handbook says, which in practice usually lands at 3 to 5 days for immediate family. Here's exactly how many bereavement days you're entitled to, by state.
"How many bereavement days do I get?" sounds like it should have one answer. It doesn't. The number swings from zero (most states, legally speaking) to 14 (Oregon, per death), and whether you're paid for those days depends entirely on your zip code and your employer's handbook. This guide walks through the exact day count in every state that has a bereavement law, what's typical everywhere else, and how those numbers actually play out when you're the one filling out a leave request.
How Many Bereavement Days Do You Get, By State?
Here's the short version: 45 states set no legal minimum for bereavement days. Zero is the honest legal answer in Texas, Florida, Ohio, and most of the country. Five states are the exception, and each sets a different number:
State | Bereavement Days | Paid? | Employer Threshold | Effective Date |
|---|
California | 5 | Unpaid | 5+ employees | January 1, 2023 |
Illinois | 10 | Unpaid | 50+ employees | January 1, 2023 |
Oregon | 14 (28 capped for multiple deaths) | Unpaid | 25+ employees | January 1, 2014 |
Washington | 7 | Paid, from accrued sick leave | Any size | July 1, 2026 |
Vermont | 10, in blocks of 5 | Unpaid | 10+ employees | July 1, 2024 |
Notice the pattern: more days almost always means unpaid days. Washington is the one state where "paid" and "guaranteed" overlap, and even that comes with a catch, it's your own accrued sick leave, not a separate bank of paid bereavement time.
The 5 States With a Legal Bereavement Day Count
California: 5 Days
California's AB 1949 gives eligible employees up to 5 days of unpaid bereavement leave per family member's death, at any employer with 5 or more employees. The days don't have to be consecutive, but you generally need to use them within 3 months of the death. Covered relationships include a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, and domestic partner, a broader list than most of the other mandate states.
Illinois: 10 Days
The Illinois Family Bereavement Leave Act grants up to 10 workdays (two weeks) of unpaid leave, but only at employers with 50 or more employees, the highest threshold of the five states. That 50-employee cutoff matters: if you work for a small Illinois employer, this law doesn't reach you at all, and your bereavement time is purely a matter of company policy.
Oregon: 14 Days (28 Capped)
Oregon offers the most generous day count on paper. Under the Oregon Family Leave Act's bereavement provision, you get up to 14 days (two weeks) of unpaid leave per family member's death, at employers with 25 or more employees. If you lose more than one family member in the same year, Oregon caps your total bereavement days at 28, so the 14-day allowance resets per loss, up to that yearly ceiling.
Washington: 7 Days
Washington's number changed recently. SB 5217 expanded the state's bereavement leave from 3 days to 7 days, effective July 1, 2026. Here's the twist: it's not a separate bucket of days. Washington requires employers to let you use up to 7 days of your own already-accrued paid sick leave for a death in the family, usable any time within 12 months of the loss. Every employer in the state has to honor this, regardless of size, there's no employer-size threshold.
Vermont: 10 Days, in Blocks of 5
Vermont grants up to 10 workdays of unpaid bereavement leave, but with a structural rule the other four states don't have: you can't take all 10 at once. Leave has to be taken in blocks of no more than 5 consecutive workdays at a time. It applies at employers with 10 or more employees who average 30+ hours a week, and it's been in effect since July 1, 2024.
What's Typical in the Other 45 States
If your state isn't one of the five above, there's no legally required bereavement day count, full stop. That doesn't mean you'll get nothing. It means the number is set entirely by your employer, not by law, and it can vary company to company.
Based on common industry practice (not a legal guarantee, and not universal), most employers land in a fairly narrow range:
3 to 5 days for immediate family, spouse, child, parent, sibling
1 to 2 days for extended family, grandparents, in-laws, aunts and uncles
0 to 1 day, if anything, for close friends or chosen family, usually at a manager's discretion
Treat those numbers as a typical pattern, not a promise. Some employers offer more, some offer none at all, and a handful still pull bereavement time out of your existing PTO balance rather than granting a separate allowance. The only way to know your actual number is to check your employee handbook, ideally before you need it, not during the week you do.
How Many Bereavement Days Is "Normal"?
When people search "how many bereavement days is normal," they're usually trying to gauge whether their employer's offer is stingy or standard. Based on typical employer practice, 3 to 5 days for immediate family is the common benchmark nationally, and it holds up whether or not your state has a bereavement law. A single bereavement day for a parent or spouse would be unusually low by that standard; a full 2 weeks, unusually generous outside Illinois, Oregon, or Vermont.
Company size tends to correlate loosely with generosity, larger employers with formal HR departments are more likely to have a written policy at all, while smaller employers often handle bereavement time case by case. Neither pattern is guaranteed, and it's worth checking your own state's leave laws alongside your handbook, since some states extend other protections, like the right to use accrued sick leave for a death, even without a dedicated bereavement day count.
What to Do If Your Bereavement Days Aren't Enough
Bereavement isn't contained to the day of the funeral. Estate paperwork, supporting other family members, and simply processing the loss all take longer than a handful of days off usually allows. If your allotted bereavement time runs out, or your state gives you none at all, you have real options:
Ask for more time directly. Most employers will accommodate a reasonable request for additional unpaid days, even without a policy requiring it.
Use PTO or vacation time to extend it. This is the most common workaround, and almost no employer will push back on it.
Check whether your state lets you use accrued sick leave. Washington explicitly guarantees this for bereavement; several other states' general sick-leave laws allow it too, even without naming bereavement specifically.
Consider FMLA, but only if grief becomes a diagnosed health condition. FMLA doesn't cover bereavement on its own, but if the loss triggers something like clinical depression requiring ongoing treatment, that condition can independently qualify. Check your FMLA eligibility here if that applies to you.
Our bereavement leave calculator walks through your state and employer size to show your actual day count, rather than the national average.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bereavement days are required by law?
It depends on your state. In 45 states, the legal answer is zero, bereavement days are set by employer policy, not statute. Five states require a specific number: California (5), Illinois (10), Oregon (up to 14, capped at 28 for multiple deaths), Washington (7), and Vermont (10, taken in blocks of 5).
How many bereavement days do most employers give?
Based on typical practice, most employers voluntarily offer 3 to 5 days for immediate family (a spouse, child, parent, or sibling) and 1 to 2 days for extended family like grandparents or in-laws. This is a common pattern, not a guarantee, so your specific number depends on your employer's handbook.
Which state requires the most bereavement days?
Oregon, with up to 14 days per family member's death, capped at 28 total days in a year if you lose more than one family member. Illinois and Vermont are next, each requiring up to 10 days.
Which of the 5 mandate states requires the fewest bereavement days?
California, at 5 days per family member's death. It also has the lowest employer-size threshold of the five (5 or more employees), so it reaches more workers even though the day count itself is the smallest.
Is Washington's 7 days of bereavement leave paid?
Yes, but with a catch: it's paid using your own already-accrued sick leave, not a separate bank of bereavement-specific paid days. If you haven't accrued 7 days of sick leave by the time you need it, you can't draw more than you've banked. It's usable any time within 12 months of the death.
Can I take my bereavement days all at once, or do they have to be split up?
In most of the five mandate states, you can use your bereavement days however you need to, subject to the total cap. Vermont is the exception, its 10 days must be taken in blocks of no more than 5 consecutive workdays at a time, rather than all at once.
Do bereavement days expire, or can I use them any time after the death?
It varies by state and employer. California generally expects the 5 days to be used within 3 months of the death. Washington allows up to 12 months to use its 7 days. Outside the mandate states, expiration windows are set entirely by your employer's policy, so check your handbook for the specific deadline.
Does the number of bereavement days depend on how big my employer is?
In the five mandate states, yes, each law sets an employer-size threshold below which it doesn't apply. Illinois requires 50 or more employees, Oregon requires 25 or more, Vermont requires 10 or more, California requires just 5 or more, and Washington applies to employers of any size. Below your state's threshold, or in any of the other 45 states, your bereavement days are whatever your employer chooses to offer.
Do I get the same number of bereavement days for a grandparent as for a spouse?
Not always. Coverage tiers vary by state and by employer. California's law covers spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, and domestic partner at the same 5-day allowance. Many employer policies, by contrast, grant fewer days for extended family like grandparents or in-laws than for immediate family, often 1 to 2 days versus 3 to 5. Check your specific state's covered-relationship list or your employer's handbook rather than assuming grandparents are treated the same as a spouse or parent.
Can I combine bereavement days with PTO or sick leave to get more total time off?
Usually, yes. Once your bereavement allowance (whether it's a legal minimum or an employer policy) runs out, most employers will let you extend your time away using accrued PTO, vacation days, or, where your state allows it, accrued sick leave. This is the most common way people get more than the standard 3 to 5 days without it counting against them as unpaid leave.
What happens if my state doesn't require any bereavement days at all?
Your bereavement time is entirely a matter of your employer's policy, not law. Most employers still offer something, nationally, the common pattern is 3 to 5 days for immediate family, but nothing legally obligates them to. If your employer offers no bereavement policy at all, your fallback options are PTO, accrued sick leave where your state's sick-leave law allows it, or requesting unpaid time.
Is "bereavement days" the same thing as "bereavement time" or "funeral leave"?
Yes, functionally. "Bereavement days," "bereavement time," and "funeral leave" all refer to the same category of time off following a death in the family. "Funeral leave" is the older term and sometimes implies a narrower purpose (just attending the service) while "bereavement days" and "bereavement time" more commonly cover the broader stretch of grieving and handling estate matters. Some employer handbooks still list it under "funeral leave," so check under that heading if "bereavement" doesn't turn anything up.
Key Takeaways
Only 5 states set a legal bereavement day count. California (5), Illinois (10), Oregon (14, capped at 28), Washington (7), and Vermont (10, in blocks of 5).
45 states require zero bereavement days by law, your day count there is set entirely by employer policy.
3 to 5 days is the typical employer benchmark for immediate family nationwide, based on common industry practice, not a legal guarantee.
Washington's 7 days are paid, but drawn from your own accrued sick leave, not a separate bereavement-specific bank.
Vermont requires its 10 days to be split into blocks of 5, the only state with that structural rule.
You can extend any bereavement allowance with PTO, sick leave, or an unpaid request if the number you're given isn't enough.
For more on eligibility, pay, and how to request bereavement time, see the full bereavement leave meaning and rights guide. For the legal deep dive on covered relationships and documentation rules, see bereavement leave laws by state. And if grief has developed into a diagnosable condition requiring treatment, check your FMLA eligibility, that's a separate path that doesn't depend on any of the day counts above.
