Aquamation Legality in the US (2026)

What it is

The body is placed in a heated alkaline solution which reduces it to bone mineral and a sterile liquid over four to sixteen hours. Roughly an eighth of the energy of flame cremation.

The legal name is what appears in statute: a bill legalising this method will say alkaline hydrolysis, not aquamation. If you are reading a bill or asking a funeral board, use the statutory term. The field guide explains the process; this page is only about where it is permitted.

Legal27 jurisdictions

Alphabetically. Only 2 of these 27 have a dateable enactment on record — most authorised alkaline hydrolysis by rule or by amending an existing disposition statute rather than through a single named bill. Ordering them by date would mean inventing dates for the rest.

Jurisdictions where alkaline hydrolysis is authorised
	Bill		Typical cost
Alabama	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Arizona	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
California	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Colorado	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Connecticut	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Florida	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Georgia	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Hawaii	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Idaho	Statute, no bill on record	No	$3,200–$5,200
Illinois	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Kansas	Statute, no bill on record	No	$3,200–$5,200
Maine	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Maryland	HB 1028	No	$3,200–$5,200
Michigan	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Minnesota	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Missouri	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Nevada	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
North Carolina	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
North Dakota	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Oklahoma	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Oregon	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Tennessee	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Utah	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Vermont	Statute, no bill on record	No	$3,200–$5,200
Washington	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
West Virginia	Statute, no bill on record	Yes	$2,500–$4,450
Wyoming	Statute, no bill on record	No	$3,200–$5,200

The access gap

5 of these 27 have no licensed provider currently operating: Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Vermont, Wyoming. The law permits it and nobody has installed equipment and opened. Families there transport to a neighbouring state, which is lawful and routine but costs more. The gap exists because the equipment is expensive and demand in smaller markets may not yet justify it.

Not yet24 jurisdictions

No statute authorising the method and no bill currently tracked. This does not put the method out of reach: a body can lawfully be transported to a licensed facility in another state, and funeral homes arrange it routinely. It costs more and takes a few days longer.

Jurisdictions with no authorising statute and no tracked bill
State	Aquamation	Other tracked method
Alaska	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Arkansas	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Delaware	Not yet legal	Legal
District of Columbia	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Indiana	Not yet legal	Bill pending
Iowa	Not yet legal	Bill pending
Kentucky	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Louisiana	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Massachusetts	Not yet legal	Bill pending
Mississippi	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Montana	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Nebraska	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
New Hampshire	Not yet legal	Bill pending
New Jersey	Not yet legal	Legal
New Mexico	Not yet legal	Bill pending
New York	Not yet legal	Legal
Ohio	Not yet legal	Bill pending
Pennsylvania	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Rhode Island	Not yet legal	Bill pending
South Carolina	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
South Dakota	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Texas	Not yet legal	Bill pending
Virginia	Not yet legal	Not yet legal
Wisconsin	Not yet legal	Not yet legal

How it got here

The earliest enactment on record is Minnesota, in 2003. 26 further jurisdictions now authorise it. No further bills are currently tracked. Most of the rest have no single dateable enactment, so this is the earliest date on record rather than the start of a documented sequence.

The most effective driver of state legislation on this is constituent testimony — legislators move when residents of their own district ask them to. If you want this legal where you live, your own state representative and senator are the people to write to.