Yes, aquamation is legal in California. The state authorized alkaline hydrolysis for human remains through Assembly Bill 967, signed in October 2017, and the licensing rules took effect on July 1, 2020.1California Legislative Information. California AB-967 Human Remains Disposal – Alkaline Hydrolysis – Licensure and Regulation Any facility offering the service must hold a hydrolysis facility license from the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, and the option now sits alongside burial and flame cremation as a recognized disposition method statewide.2California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code 7639
Who Can Legally Choose Aquamation
California law sets a priority list for deciding how a person’s remains are handled. Written instructions from the deceased, or an agent named in a health care power of attorney, generally control. If neither exists, the right passes in this order: the surviving spouse, a majority of surviving adult children, the surviving parents, a majority of surviving adult siblings, and then the next closest relatives.3California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 7100
The hierarchy matters when families disagree, which happens with aquamation more often than with traditional options because the process is less familiar and some relatives hold religious objections. Whoever sits highest on the list has the legal authority to make the call.
If you want aquamation for yourself, don’t leave it to hope. Document the preference in a written advance directive or health care power of attorney, and name an agent who will actually carry out your wishes. That single step is the most reliable way to keep the choice from being overridden.
What Licensed Providers Are Required to Do
Legality on paper is one thing; a lawful process at the facility is another. California requires each hydrolysis chamber to be approved by the State Department of Public Health, and the facility must hold all applicable local permits, including any needed from the local public health department, the wastewater authority, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control if hazardous waste handling is involved.4California Legislative Information. California Business and Professions Code Article 2.7 – Hydrolysis Facilities Renewals require the facility to submit maintenance records for each chamber, so oversight continues after the license is issued.
Two protections are worth understanding as a consumer. First, a facility cannot hydrolyze more than one person’s remains in the same chamber at the same time without express written permission from the person entitled to control disposition, and it must make reasonable efforts to remove all fragments between uses. Second, before proceeding, the facility must obtain a written acknowledgment explaining that bone fragments remain after hydrolysis and that those fragments will be dried and processed.5California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 7054.8 If a provider skips that acknowledgment form, that’s a signal something is off.
What You Can Do With Aquamation Remains
California treats hydrolyzed remains almost identically to cremated remains for purposes of what happens afterward. The processed remains can be kept at home in an urn or other durable container, interred at a cemetery, or placed in a columbarium niche.6California Legislative Information. California Health and Safety Code 7054.6
Scattering follows the same rules as cremated remains. Scattering on land is permitted where no local prohibition exists, with written permission from the property owner or governing agency, and the remains must not be distinguishable to the public. Scattering at sea is allowed from a boat or by air at least 500 yards from shore, and is not allowed from a bridge or pier.7Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. Cremated Remains Disposers Booklet – Complying with California Law
One boundary to know about: biodegradable scattering urns designed to dissolve at sea are authorized only for cremated remains, not for hydrolyzed remains. If you plan a sea scattering, the remains have to be released directly from their container rather than placed in a dissolving urn.7Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. Cremated Remains Disposers Booklet – Complying with California Law
Plan for a larger container, too. Aquamation returns roughly 20 to 30 percent more remains by volume than flame cremation, so an urn sized for cremated ashes may be too small. Ask the provider about sizing before buying one separately.
What Aquamation Costs in California
Direct aquamation in California generally runs from the mid-$2,000s to the mid-$4,000s for a basic package that includes the process itself, transportation of the deceased, and return of the remains. That’s roughly comparable to direct flame cremation, sometimes a few hundred dollars higher. Prices vary by provider and region, and add-ons like memorial services, upgraded urns, and additional death certificate copies increase the total.
Before signing anything, get itemized pricing in writing. Most providers include a basic container in the quoted price, but confirm exactly what is and isn’t covered so the invoice doesn’t surprise you.
How to Verify a Provider and What to Ask
Start by confirming the license. The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, a division of the Department of Consumer Affairs, maintains an online tool where you can search by business name or license number.8Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. Licensee – Cemetery and Funeral Bureau An unlicensed operator is a serious problem regardless of how polished the website looks.
Once the license checks out, work through the practical questions:
- How far will the provider transport the deceased, and is transport included in the quoted price?
- How long from transfer to return of remains? Scheduling backlogs can add days.
- What exactly is included in the base price, and what costs extra? Death certificates, urns, and shipping of remains are common add-ons.
- How is the liquid byproduct handled? Facilities either discharge to the sewer system or collect and transport it to a treatment facility, and some families have preferences here.
- Will you receive the written acknowledgment form that state law requires? You should, and you should read it before signing.
Religious Status Is a Separate Question
Legal doesn’t mean uncontroversial. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine reviewed alkaline hydrolysis and concluded that it does not satisfy the Church’s requirements for respectful treatment of the body, with the committee stating that burial remains “the most appropriate way of manifesting reverence for the body of the deceased.”9United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. U.S. Bishops Doctrine Committee Issues Statement on the Proper Disposition of Bodily Remains Most other major Christian denominations, along with many Hindu and Buddhist traditions, have not issued formal prohibitions. Jewish law generally favors traditional burial and discourages cremation, and rabbinical opinions vary on whether aquamation falls in the same category. If faith is part of the decision, ask your clergy directly before finalizing arrangements.