Regulation of the Cremation Industry

As the rate of people selecting cremation over burial increases (now approximately one-third), the need to regulate the industry is increasing.

The following is from Chris Joyner, Cremation industry awaits tougher controls, USA Today, April 20, 2008:

The last thing most industries want is increased government regulation. But that's exactly what the Cremation Association of North America is advocating.

Currently 12 states — Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia — regulate cremation, at a time when more people are choosing the service, said Mike Nicodemus, chairman of the association's operator certification program. * * *

Nicodemus said the majority of operators are honest, but the dishonest ones hurt the industry and tougher regulations are the only way to root them out. "We know that people with regulation in their state are held to a higher standard," he said. "The girl that cuts my hair has to jump through more hoops than my crematory operator does," he added.