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Is aquamation legal? Alkaline hydrolysis by state

Oklahoma law and Missouri's funeral board rules name alkaline hydrolysis, also called aquamation or water cremation, as a form of cremation. Georgia's legislature passed a 2025 bill whose text lists alkaline hydrolysis as a cremation method. Kansas, Texas and Florida define cremation without naming it, an Arkansas bill to license it did not become law in 2025, and Tennessee's code is published through LexisNexis, so ask the state board there.

Sources read October 8, 2026. Each section links the pages it came from.

What alkaline hydrolysis is

Alkaline hydrolysis uses a heated solution of water and alkaline chemicals, instead of flame, to break down a body. What is left is bone fragments and a sterile liquid. The bone fragments are dried, processed and returned to the family, as with flame cremation.

The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) says the process takes three to sixteen hours, depending on the equipment and the body. The liquid, called effluent, goes to the local wastewater system under federal, state and local rules.

Other names for the same process include aquamation, water cremation, flameless cremation and green cremation. CANA counts it as a form of cremation and has since 2010. State laws do not all agree, which is why the state answer matters.

Source: Cremation Association of North America, Alkaline Hydrolysis

Alkaline hydrolysis by state

The table shows what each state's own statute, rule or legislative record says. "Not addressed" means the state's definition of cremation, quoted below, does not name alkaline hydrolysis. It is not a ruling that the process is allowed or banned there. The state funeral board can say how it applies the law.

Official state sources read October 8, 2026.
StateStatusLaw or ruleSource
OklahomaNamed in state law as a form of cremation59 O.S. 396.2, definitions of cremation and crematory (Funeral Services Licensing Act)Oklahoma Funeral Board, Funeral Services Licensing Act
MissouriNamed in state funeral board rules20 CSR 2120-1.040(7) (cremation) and 20 CSR 2120-2.070 (crematory establishments)Missouri Secretary of State, Code of State Regulations
GeorgiaNamed in a 2025 bill passed by both chambersSenate Bill 241 (2025): O.C.G.A. 43-18-1(5.1), cremation deviceGeorgia General Assembly; Georgia Senate Press Office
KansasNot addressed in the official sources cited hereK.S.A. 65-1760(e): cremation is a "mechanical and/or other dissolution process"Kansas Revisor of Statutes
TexasNot addressed in the official sources cited hereHealth and Safety Code 716.001(5) and Occupations Code 651.651(1): cremation by "direct flame, extreme heat, and evaporation"Texas Legislature, statutes
FloridaNot addressed in the official sources cited hereF.S. 497.005(22): cremation is "any mechanical or thermal process"Florida Legislature, Chapter 497
ArkansasA 2025 bill to license it did not become lawSB440 (2025) would have added Ark. Code 17-29-801 and followingArkansas General Assembly, SB440 status
TennesseeAsk the state boardTennessee Code Title 62, Chapter 5 (the board links to it on LexisNexis)Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers

Sources: Oklahoma Funeral Board, Funeral Services Licensing Act (laws effective July 1, 2025), 59 O.S. 396.2; Missouri Code of State Regulations, 20 CSR 2120-1.040(7); Georgia General Assembly, Senate Bill 241 (2025), as passed Senate, O.C.G.A. 43-18-1(5.1); K.S.A. 65-1760(e) (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); Tex. Health and Safety Code 716.001(5) (Texas Legislature); Florida Statutes 497.005(22) (Florida Legislature); Arkansas General Assembly, SB440 (2025) bill status; Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, Laws

Oklahoma and Missouri name it in law or rules

Oklahoma's Funeral Services Licensing Act defines cremation as reducing remains to bone fragments "through heat and evaporation, or through alkaline hydrolysis." Its definition of a crematory includes a facility that cremates through alkaline hydrolysis, so these facilities fall under the Oklahoma Funeral Board.

Missouri's State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors defines cremation in its rules as reducing remains to bone fragments through heat, evaporation, and/or an alkaline hydrolysis chemical process. A cremation establishment (Function B) must have a working cremation chamber, alkaline hydrolysis facilities, or both.

Sources: Oklahoma Funeral Board, Funeral Services Licensing Act (laws effective July 1, 2025), 59 O.S. 396.2; Missouri Code of State Regulations, 20 CSR 2120-1.040(7); Missouri Code of State Regulations, 20 CSR 2120-2.070

Georgia: named in a 2025 bill

Georgia's Senate Bill 241 (2025) added human composting to the state's funeral law. Its text of Code Section 43-18-1 defines a cremation device as a retort, vat or container in which bodies are cremated by traditional flame, alkaline hydrolysis, or other means approved by the board.

The same section defines cremation as reducing a body by intense heat or any mechanical, chemical, thermal, or other professionally accepted process. The Georgia Senate Press Office reported the bill's final passage in the House on April 2, 2025. Ask the Georgia State Board of Funeral Service to confirm how it licenses alkaline hydrolysis.

Sources: Georgia General Assembly, Senate Bill 241 (2025), as passed Senate, O.C.G.A. 43-18-1(5.1); Georgia Senate Press Office, final passage of Senate Bill 241 (April 2, 2025)

Kansas, Texas and Florida: cremation defined without naming it

Kansas defines cremation as "the mechanical and/or other dissolution process" that reduces remains to bone fragments (K.S.A. 65-1760). The statute does not name alkaline hydrolysis.

Texas defines cremation in its crematory law and its funeral licensing law as reducing remains to bone fragments "through direct flame, extreme heat, and evaporation." A 2025 bill, SB 1327, proposed adding alkaline hydrolysis. The definitions as published by the Texas Legislature in October 2026 do not include it.

Florida defines cremation as "any mechanical or thermal process" that reduces a body to ashes and bone fragments (F.S. 497.005). Chapter 497 does not use the words alkaline hydrolysis. The Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services can say how it licenses these facilities.

Sources: K.S.A. 65-1760(e) (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); Tex. Health and Safety Code 716.001(5) (Texas Legislature); Tex. Health and Safety Code 711.001(12) (Texas Legislature); Tex. Occupations Code 651.651(1) (Texas Legislature); Texas Legislature, SB 1327 (89th Legislature, 2025), introduced version; Florida Statutes 497.005(22) (Florida Legislature)

Arkansas and Tennessee

In 2025 the Arkansas Senate and House passed SB440, which would have licensed alkaline hydrolysis facilities and defined the process. The Senate asked for the bill back from the Governor and sent it to interim study, so it did not become law. Ask the State Board of Embalmers, Funeral Directors, Cemeteries, and Burial Services about current practice.

Tennessee's Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers points to Title 62, Chapter 5 of the Tennessee Code, which the state publishes through LexisNexis. Ask the board whether a facility near you is licensed for alkaline hydrolysis.

Sources: Arkansas General Assembly, SB440 (2025) bill status; Arkansas General Assembly, SB440 (2025), proposed Ark. Code 17-29-801; Tennessee Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers, Laws

What families get back

Families receive bone fragments that have been dried and processed, the same kind of remains as flame cremation. CANA says they look pure white and that there are about 32% more of them than after flame cremation, so a larger urn may be needed.

Missouri's rules call these "cremated remains": the bone fragments left when the process is complete. The liquid is not returned to the family.

Sources: Cremation Association of North America, Alkaline Hydrolysis; Missouri Code of State Regulations, 20 CSR 2120-1.040(6)

Finding a provider

Ask your funeral home whether it offers alkaline hydrolysis or can arrange it. None of the eight states publishes a separate list of licensed alkaline hydrolysis facilities on the official pages cited here.

CANA notes that the nearest provider may be in a neighboring state. A local funeral home can arrange the transfer and return the remains locally. Ask for the price in writing, including transport, because charges vary.

Source: Cremation Association of North America, Alkaline Hydrolysis

Sources and dates

Common questions

Is aquamation legal in Texas?

Texas law does not name it. The state defines cremation as reducing remains through direct flame, extreme heat and evaporation, and a 2025 bill to add alkaline hydrolysis (SB 1327) is not reflected in the published code. Ask the Texas Funeral Service Commission before planning on it.

Is aquamation legal in Oklahoma?

Yes. Oklahoma's Funeral Services Licensing Act includes alkaline hydrolysis in its definition of cremation, and a crematory can be a facility that cremates through alkaline hydrolysis.

Is water cremation legal in Missouri?

Missouri's funeral board rules define cremation to include an alkaline hydrolysis chemical process, and licensed cremation establishments may have alkaline hydrolysis facilities.

Is aquamation legal in Georgia?

Georgia's 2025 Senate Bill 241, which passed both chambers, lists alkaline hydrolysis as a way a cremation device works. Ask the State Board of Funeral Service how it licenses providers.

Is aquamation legal in Florida?

Florida's funeral law defines cremation as any mechanical or thermal process and does not use the words alkaline hydrolysis. The state's Division of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services can say how it applies the law.

Is alkaline hydrolysis the same as cremation?

Oklahoma law and Missouri rules treat it as a form of cremation, and CANA has counted it as cremation since 2010. It uses heated water and alkaline chemicals instead of flame.

What do families receive after aquamation?

Dried, processed bone fragments, returned in an urn. CANA says they are white and about 32% greater in volume than after flame cremation.

Related

More guides: state rules

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