§ 35

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2029) Sec. 35. Cremation procedures. (a) Human remains shall not be cremated within 24 hours after the time of death, as indicated on the Medical Examiner's/Coroner's Certificate of Death. In any death, the human remains shall not be cremated by the crematory authority until a cremation permit has been received from the coroner or medical examiner of the county in which the death occurred and the crematory authority has received a cremation authorization form, executed by an authorizing agent, in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of this Act. In no instance, however, shall the lapse of time between the death and the cremation be less than 24 hours, unless (i) it is known the deceased has an infectious or dangerous disease and that the time requirement is waived in writing by the medical examiner or coroner where the death occurred or (ii) because of a religious requirement. (b) Except as set forth in subsection (a) of this Section, a crematory authority shall have the right to schedule the actual cremation to be performed at its own convenience, at any time after the human remains have been delivered to the crematory authority, unless the crematory authority has received specific instructions to the contrary on the cremation authorization form. (c) No crematory authority shall cremate human remains when it has actual knowledge that human remains contain a pacemaker or any other material or implant that may be potentially hazardous to the person performing the cremation. (d) No crematory authority shall refuse to accept human remains for cremation because such human remains are not embalmed. (e) Whenever a crematory authority is unable or unauthorized to cremate human remains immediately upon taking custody of the remains, the crematory authority shall place the human remains in a holding facility in accordance with the crematory authority's rules and regulations. The crematory authority must notify the authorizing agent of the reasons for delay in cremation if a properly authorized cremation is not performed within any time period expressly contemplated in the authorization. (f) A crematory authority shall not accept a casket or alternative container from which there is any evidence of the leakage of body fluids. (g) The casket or the alternative container shall be cremated with the human remains or destroyed, unless the crematory authority has notified the authorizing agent to the contrary on the cremation authorization form and obtained the written consent of the authorizing agent. (h) The simultaneous cremation of the human remains of more than one person within the same cremation chamber, without the prior written consent of the authorizing agent, is prohibited except for common cremation pursuant to Section 11.4 of the Hospital Licensing Act. Nothing in this subsection, however, shall prevent the simultaneous cremation within the same cremation chamber of body parts delivered to the crematory authority from multiple sources, or the use of cremation equipment that contains more than one cremation chamber. (i) No unauthorized person shall be permitted in the holding facility or cremation room while any human remains are being held there awaiting cremation, being cremated, or being removed from the cremation chamber. (j) A crematory authority shall not remove any dental gold, body parts, organs, or any item of value prior to or subsequent to a cremation without previously having received specific written authorization from the authorizing agent and written instructions for the delivery of these items to the authorizing agent. Under no circumstances shall a crematory authority profit from making or assisting in any removal of valuables. (k) Upon the completion of each cremation, and insofar as is practicable, all of the recoverable residue of the cremation process shall be removed from the cremation chamber. (l) If all of the recovered cremated remains will not fit within the receptacle that has been selected, the remainder of the cremated remains shall be returned to the authorizing agent or the agent's designee in a separate container. The crematory authority shall not return to an authorizing agent or the agent's designee more or less cremated remains than were removed from the cremation chamber. (m) A crematory authority shall not knowingly represent to an authorizing agent or the agent's designee that a temporary container or urn contains the cremated remains of a specific decedent when it does not. (n) Cremated remains shall be shipped only by a method that has an internal tracing system available and that provides a receipt signed, in either paper or electronic format, by the person accepting delivery. (o) A crematory authority shall maintain a chain of custody record, which is an identification system that ensures that a crematory authority is able to identify the human remains in its possession throughout all phases of the cremation process. (p) A crematory authority shall not take possession of unembalmed human remains that cannot be cremated within 24 hours unless it provides or maintains either of the following capable of maintaining a temperature of less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit: an operable refrigeration unit, with cleanable, noncorrosive interior and exterior finishes, or a suitable cooling room.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 102-824, eff. 1-1-23; 103-253, eff. 6-30-23; 103-907, eff. 1-1-25 .)