Carter’s State Funeral to Commence on Jan. 4, Burial on Jan. 9

Former President Jimmy Carter prior to the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, on Sept. 30, 2018. Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Ceremonies for former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral will begin on Jan. 4, 2025, and end with his burial in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, on Jan. 9, 2025.

The multi-day event’s schedule was announced by the Joint Task Force–National Capital Region, which is tasked with conducting such ceremonies.

“The Carter Family invites the public to honor and celebrate the life of former President Carter by paying their respects during either of the public viewings; the funeral procession in Washington; in the downtown area of Plains, Georgia; or along the motorcade routes in Georgia and Washington,” the Joint Task Force states.

Jan. 4

The funeral begins at 10:15 a.m. at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, on Jan. 4, where the Carter family and the current and former special agents of the “Carter Protective Division” will receive the former president’s body.

Agents will carry Carter’s remains to the hearse and walk alongside it as the motorcade departs, traveling through his hometown. They will then stop at his boyhood home on his family farm. There, the National Park Service will ring the historic farm bell 39 times, in honor of him being the 39th president.

The next stop will be at Georgia’s State Capitol in Atlanta at 3 p.m., where Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Georgia State Troops, and members of the Georgia state legislature will hold a moment of silence.

After that, the former president’s remains will be taken to the Carter Presidential Center. An arrival ceremony is scheduled for 3:45 p.m., and a service will commence at 4 p.m.

His body will then lie in repose from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. on Jan. 7, allowing mourners the opportunity to come pay their respects.

Jan. 7

On Jan. 7, the former president will have a ceremonial departure at 9:30 a.m. after which his family will travel to Dobbins Air Reserve Base for a flight to Joint Base Andews, Maryland, aboard Special Air Mission 39. Departure is scheduled for 10:40 a.m.

Their arrival is set for 12:45 p.m. Carter’s remains will be transferred to a hearse with ceremony, which will travel by motorcade with the family to the U.S. Navy Memorial, where the coffin will be transferred to a horse-drawn caisson for a 2 p.m. funeral procession up to the U.S. Capitol.

Military body bearers will then carry the body of the former president into the Capitol’s Rotunda for a 3 p.m. service during which members of Congress will pay their respects.

The public will then be invited to pay their respects as Carter’s remains stay in the Rotunda from 7 p.m. until midnight. Military will maintain a guard of honor.

Jan. 8

Carter’s remains and his honor guard will also stay in the Rotunda on Jan. 8, allowing the public to come pay their respects starting at 7 a.m. until 7 a.m. on Jan. 9.

Jan. 9

Ceremonial departure from the U.S. Capitol will commence at 9 a.m. via motorcade to Washington National Cathedral.

The national funeral service will commence at 10 a.m., following a brief 9:30 a.m. arrival ceremony. After that, Carter’s body will return to Joint Base Andrews to make its final journey home to Georgia with his family. Departure is set for 11:45 a.m.

The Carter family will arrive at Lawson Army Airfield in Fort Moore, Georgia, at 2 p.m., and travel by motorcade to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, where a private funeral service will be held at 3:45 p.m. Carter’s remains will, once again, be transferred from the plane to the hearse with ceremony.

Afterward, the body of the late president and his family will travel by motorcade to the Carter residence for a private burial scheduled for 5:20 p.m. The U.S. Navy will perform a missing man formation flyover to honor Carter’s naval service and his presidency shortly after his family’s arrival.

The final motorcade is expected to leave the church at 4:45 p.m. and the public is invited to line the route through Plains, Georgia.

The state funeral was ordered by President Joe Biden on Dec. 29.

Biden also called upon all Americans to assemble on that day in their respective places of worship to pay homage to Carter.

He ordered Jan. 9 to be a national day of mourning for Carter, who was 100 years old, and that U.S. flags across the country and abroad be flown at half-staff for 30 days beginning Dec. 29.

“This is a sad day, but it brings back an incredible amount of good memories,” Biden said during a late-night address from St. Croix. “America and the world, in my view, lost a remarkable leader. He was a statesman and humanitarian, and Jill and I lost a dear friend.”

In place of flowers, the Carter family has requested donations to The Carter Center, which the former president and his late wife, Rosalynn, founded in 1982.