Which US States Allow Water Cremation (Alkaline Hydrolysis)?

Detailed Explanation

Water cremation, known in US law as alkaline hydrolysis and marketed under names like aquamation, flameless cremation and bio-cremation, uses warm water and alkali instead of flame. Families still receive ashes, and the service can look exactly like any other. For how the process works and how it compares with flame cremation, see what is water cremation (aquamation).

In the US, whether you can choose it comes down to state law, and then to whether anyone near you actually offers it.

Which states allow it

Funeral and cremation law is set by each state, so there's no federal answer. As of early 2026, the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) lists alkaline hydrolysis as legal in 26 states:

Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

This list changes as legislatures act, so treat it as a starting point and confirm the current position with your state's funeral regulator (usually a board of funeral directors or a state health department division).

States have written it into law in different ways. Two examples:

• Minnesota was an early adopter. Its funeral statute defines alkaline hydrolysis as reducing a body "through a water-based dissolution process using alkaline chemicals, heat, agitation, and pressure", and licenses alkaline hydrolysis facilities alongside crematories.
• California passed AB 967, which created licensed "hydrolysis facilities" regulated much like crematories. It became operative on July 1, 2020.

Other states regulate it inside their existing cremation law. Either way, the usual death certificate and permit steps still apply, and the funeral home handles them.

Legal isn't the same as available

This is the part many families don't expect. CANA points out that legalization doesn't mean the service is publicly or readily available. Some states that allow it have no operating provider, and there are only about thirty practitioners across the US and Canada. Families in those states may need to use a facility in a neighboring state, which adds transport cost and a few days.

A good first step is to ask a local funeral home whether they offer water cremation or work with a facility that does.

What it costs, and your price rights

There's no dependable national average price. Where it's offered, water cremation is often priced near direct flame cremation or somewhat above, and the total depends on the same things as any cremation: whether there's a service, the urn, and how far the body has to travel.

The FTC Funeral Rule helps here. It applies to funeral homes, including those that arrange water cremation, and it gives you the right to:

• get price information over the phone
• receive a General Price List to keep
• buy only the goods and services you want, rather than a package
• use an alternative container instead of a casket for cremation

It doesn't cover third parties such as cemeteries or casket sellers without a funeral home on site. If you think you've been overcharged, see what you can do if a funeral home overcharges you.

Things to Consider

• Check where the death will likely happen, not just where you live. State law where the body is handled determines what's possible.
• Weigh distance honestly. A facility two states away can honour a strong wish, but if the underlying wish was "something gentle and low-impact", a local option may serve it better.
• Veterans and faith communities. Burial benefits, faith rules and cemetery policies on ashes vary. If they matter to you, ask the cemetery or clergy whether ashes from water cremation are treated the same as flame-cremated remains.
• Write it down. Put the preference, and a fallback, in your written funeral wishes so your family isn't searching for a provider in the first days after a death.

Common Mistakes

• Relying on an out-of-date state list. States keep changing their laws, and online lists lag behind. Confirm with the state regulator or a funeral home.
• Assuming "legal in my state" means "available near me". Several states have legalized it without any provider opening.
• Not asking for the General Price List. It's your right under federal law and the easiest way to compare water cremation with flame cremation.
• Assuming a neighboring state's rules match yours. Each state regulates funerals differently, so ask how an out-of-state arrangement would work.