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Cremation cost in Ohio: prices from 166 funeral homes

Direct cremation in Ohio has a median price of $2,475 across the 156 funeral homes that price it, collected through September 2026. Burial costs are here too.

Direct cremation, median
$2,475

Direct cremation, median

Cremation with a memorial service, median
$3,194

Cremation with a memorial service, median

Funeral with viewing, then cremation, median
$6,420

Funeral with viewing, then cremation, median

What Ohio funeral homes charge

Direct cremation156 funeral homesMedian$2,475Most charge$1,215 to $3,756
Cremation with a memorial service (services, before urn)116 funeral homesMedian$3,194Most charge$1,945 to $4,533
Funeral with viewing, then cremation (services, before urn)57 funeral homesMedian$6,420Most charge$5,200 to $7,728
Immediate burial122 funeral homesMedian$3,860Most charge$2,305 to $6,055
Traditional funeral (services, before casket and cemetery)101 funeral homesMedian$5,550Most charge$4,315 to $6,690

“Most charge” is the middle 80% of prices: one home in ten charges less, one in ten charges more.

Each price is the funeral home’s own charge, and cremation prices include the crematory fee. Government fees, such as the permit and certified copies of the death certificate, are usually added on top.

The traditional funeral figure counts the funeral home’s services only: the casket, vault and cemetery come on top, so a burial usually costs well above it. A funeral with viewing before cremation includes a rental casket and the crematory fee, which is why it can show the higher figure.

Ohio has about 690 funeral home establishments (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Prices differ widely between them, so call two or three before choosing: every funeral home must give you its prices over the phone.

Direct cremation by area

Only Ohio funeral homes are counted, even where a metro area crosses a state line. An area needs prices from at least 8 funeral homes to be shown.

Cleveland, OH28 funeral homesMedian$2,498Most charge$999 to $3,316
Columbus, OH24 funeral homesMedian$2,425Most charge$1,264 to $4,040
Akron, OH20 funeral homesMedian$2,475Most charge$1,587 to $3,756
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN15 funeral homesMedian$1,590Most charge$895 to $2,905
Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH9 funeral homesMedian$2,285Most charge$1,687 to $3,097
Rest of Ohio60 funeral homesMedian$2,498Most charge$1,588 to $3,500

What to know in Ohio

Cremation rules in Ohio

  • An Ohio crematory may not cremate until at least 24 hours have passed since the time of death shown on a complete, nonprovisional death certificate, unless a health department orders an earlier cremation because of a virulent communicable disease (ORC 4717.23).
  • Before cremating, the crematory must also have a completed cremation authorization form and a burial or burial-transit permit from the local registrar or a sub-registrar of vital statistics, and a permit for cremation cannot be issued on a provisional death certificate (ORC 4717.23 and 3705.17).
  • If the death was violent, a suicide, suspicious, sudden in apparent good health, or the death of a person with a developmental disability, the funeral director must notify the county coroner immediately when cremation is requested (ORC 313.12).
Read more
  • Without a written declaration, the right to decide passes in this order: the surviving spouse, then all the children together, then the parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and other descendants of the grandparents, then a guardian, and finally anyone willing to take it on, including the funeral director holding the body, after attesting in writing to a good faith search for family (ORC 2108.81).
  • When a group such as several children shares the right and disagrees, the majority decides, and if no majority forms, the probate court of the county where the person lived decides (ORC 2108.79).
  • A person loses the right to decide if they do not act within 48 hours of being told of the death, or within 72 hours of the death if no one told them (ORC 2108.75).
  • A spouse is disqualified if a case to end the marriage was pending at the death or a probate court finds the couple was estranged, and anyone charged with murder or voluntary manslaughter loses the right unless the charges are dropped or they are acquitted (ORC 2108.77).
  • Any adult of sound mind can sign a written declaration naming who will make these decisions, signed before a notary or two adult witnesses who are not relatives, and a military DD Form 93 also counts (ORC 2108.70 and 2108.73).
  • A cremation form you sign for yourself in advance can be cancelled by the person who holds the right of disposition, so the form itself advises also signing a declaration (ORC 4717.21).
  • The funeral home must have the person signing the cremation authorization, or someone they appoint, identify the body in person or from a photo, and at least one witness must sign the form (ORC 4717.24).
Sources (11)

Fees you will pay in Ohio

  • On top of the funeral home's price, an Ohio family usually pays the $10 burial permit and $21.50 to $27 for each certified copy of the death certificate, depending on which office issues it.
  • The Ohio Department of Health charges $21.50 for each certified copy of a death certificate, and since January 1, 2025 that fee is charged even when no record is found.
  • Local health departments set their own prices: Columbus Public Health and Cleveland's Office of Vital Statistics charge $25 a copy, Summit County Public Health charges $22, and Hamilton County Public Health and the Cincinnati Health Department charge $27.
Read more
  • The burial permit that authorizes a cremation costs $10, up from $3 before September 30, 2025, and $9.50 of each fee goes to the state cemetery registration fund, which pays for cemetery registration and the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission (ORC 3705.17).
  • ORC 3705.17 directs the state health director to let the permit be issued without the fee when a government agency pays the whole cost of the burial.
  • When the coroner or medical examiner examines your loved one, Summit County and Lucas County charge the family nothing for the autopsy or tests, and Cuyahoga County charges nothing for autopsies of county residents.
  • Hamilton County Public Health gives a veteran's family one free copy of the death certificate when the funeral home or a VA office submits the VA application.
  • Summit County Public Health adds a $1.95 credit card processing fee to its $22 copies, and shipping costs extra.
Sources (10)

Help paying for a cremation

  • When a body is not claimed for a private funeral, the township, city or village where the person legally lived must pay to bury or cremate it, or the county if the person had no known Ohio residence, and any grave, including one for buried ashes, must get a marker with the name, age and date of death (ORC 9.15).
  • That duty still applies when the person claiming the body is indigent, meaning a household income at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty line (ORC 9.15).
  • Ohio's funeral board reimburses the local government up to $1,000 for an adult and $750 for a child age 11 or under (OAC 4717-17-06). Only the local government can apply, within 60 days of the date on the burial transit permit, and the fund for fiscal year 2027 is $250,000, paid first come, first served.
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  • The Summit County Medical Examiner tells families that most people who qualify for local indigent help are eligible for a direct cremation, without a viewing or service.
  • In Cleveland, families can ask the Office of Vital Statistics whether they qualify for the city's Indigent Program for cremation services, and in Toledo the city's Cemetery Office asks for two pieces of mail postmarked within 60 days of the death as proof of residency.
  • Each county's Veterans Service Commission must arrange the burial or cremation, through the funeral director the family chooses, of a veteran, or a veteran's parent, spouse or surviving spouse, who died without the means to pay, once it confirms the family cannot pay. The county pays no more than $1,000 and the family covers the rest (ORC 5901.25, 5901.26 and 5901.27).
  • The Summit County Veterans Service Commission can pay up to $1,000 toward an indigent veteran's or dependent's unpaid final expenses, with applications normally due within 30 days, while Williams County pays up to $500.
  • The Ohio Attorney General's crime victims program pays up to $7,500 for a victim's funeral, cremation or burial (ORC 2743.51). Total payments are capped at $50,000, and a claim must be filed within three years of the crime unless the claimant is a minor.
Sources (13)

Price lists and your rights

  • Ohio's funeral board rules make any violation of the FTC Funeral Rule unprofessional conduct, so the state board can discipline an Ohio licensee for it, not only the federal government (OAC 4717-8-01).
  • A funeral home or crematory that refuses to promptly hand over a body or cremated remains when the person legally entitled to them asks can be disciplined (ORC 4717.14).
  • The cremation authorization form is not a contract, and the person who signed it can cancel the cremation in writing at any time before the cremation begins, though any separate contract for the cremation still stands (ORC 4717.24).
Read more
  • A crematory may not remove dental gold or other valuables unless your authorization form allows it, and any fee for removing them cannot exceed the actual cost (ORC 4717.26).
  • Ohio rules bar funeral directors, crematory operators and anyone acting for them from soliciting to handle a body after a death has occurred (OAC 4717-8-01).
  • Complaints to the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors are filed through the state's eLicense system or by mail or email, the business gets 14 days to respond, and the complaint becomes a public record. The board does not handle cemetery complaints, which go to the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission.
  • You can rescind a prepaid funeral or cremation contract within seven days of signing and get back every payment, and the contract must say so in bold print (ORC 4717.34).
  • Most payments on a trust-funded prepaid contract must be made out to the trustee, not the seller. To cancel a revocable one, send written notice to the seller and the trustee and you may cancel 15 days later, and on a guaranteed-price contract the seller may keep up to 10 percent of the trust's value, counting any initial service fee (ORC 4717.36).
  • Ohio's Preneed Recovery Fund, paid for by a fee on prepaid contracts, can reimburse buyers who lose money through a licensee's misconduct, default or insolvency when the loss is not otherwise covered (ORC 4717.07 and 4717.41).
Sources (9)

What Ohio cemeteries charge for ashes

  • Cleveland's city cemeteries sell graves for $873 in raised marker sections and $743 in flush marker sections, and opening and closing fees are quoted at the cemetery.
  • The City of Montgomery's Hopewell Cemetery charges $400 to open and close for cremated remains on a weekday for residents and $600 for nonresidents.
  • At Hopewell Cemetery a shared gravesite, which holds one vault and one cremation or two cremations, costs $1,350 for residents and $2,700 for nonresidents.
Read more
  • Ballville Township near Fremont charges $550 to open and close a grave for cremated remains, effective July 1, 2026, plus $800 extra on weekends.
  • Benton Township in Ottawa County charges $100 to bury cremated remains for residents and $700 for nonresidents in 2026, and allows up to four cremation burials in one grave, space permitting.
Sources (4)

What happens to the ashes in Ohio

  • The cremation authorization form must say how the ashes will be handled, or state that the crematory will hold them for 30 days (ORC 4717.24).
  • The person who signed the cremation authorization is ultimately responsible for the final disposition of the ashes under Ohio law (ORC 4717.27).
  • If the form gives no instructions and no one picks up the ashes within 30 days, the crematory or funeral home may deliver them to the person named on the form or to the authorizing agent (ORC 4717.27).
Read more
  • After 60 days unclaimed, the crematory or funeral home may place them in a grave, crypt or niche, or scatter them in a dignified way, and the authorizing agent can be billed up to the reasonable cost of a common grave in that county (ORC 4717.27).
  • Before disposing of an adult's unclaimed ashes, the crematory or funeral home must notify the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which has 60 days to say the person was an eligible veteran and have the ashes buried in a national cemetery at its expense (ORC 4717.27).
  • A crematory or funeral director may ship ashes only by a service that tracks the package and requires a signed receipt on delivery (ORC 4717.26).
  • Ashes may not be mixed with another person's ashes unless each authorization form allows it, except when scattered at sea, by air or in a cemetery's dedicated scattering area, though the person who receives them may combine them later (ORC 4717.27).
Sources (3)

Water cremation and composting

  • Ohio law defines cremation as the technical process of using heat and flame to reduce remains to bone fragments or ashes (ORC 4717.01).
  • House Bill 699, which would have allowed both alkaline hydrolysis and natural organic reduction, was introduced on December 9, 2024 and referred to committee the next day, its last recorded action.
  • Human composting, called natural organic reduction, is not currently recognized in Ohio law as an allowed form of disposition, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
Read more
  • Senate Bill 323, introduced on November 10, 2025 by Sen. Louis Blessing, would allow natural organic reduction and had hearings in the Senate Local Government Committee on February 10, February 17 and March 4, 2026.
  • A matching House Bill 591, introduced on November 18, 2025 by Reps. Darnell Brewer and Rodney Creech, had its first hearing in the House General Government Committee on March 24, 2026.
  • Both current bills would require anyone performing natural organic reduction to hold a permit from the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors and to work in a licensed reduction facility.
Sources (9)

Checked against these sources in October 2026.

Ohio cremation questions

How long after death can a cremation take place in Ohio?

At least 24 hours after the time of death on the completed death certificate. The crematory also needs the burial permit and a signed cremation authorization form before it can begin (ORC 4717.23).

Who gets to make cremation decisions when someone dies in Ohio?

The person named in a written declaration, if one was signed. Otherwise the surviving spouse decides, then the children together by majority, then the parents, then other relatives in the order set by ORC 2108.81 and 2108.79.

What does a death certificate cost in Ohio?

$21.50 per copy from the Ohio Department of Health. Local health departments charge their own rates, such as $22 in Summit County, $25 in Columbus and Cleveland, and $27 in Hamilton County and Cincinnati.

How much is the cremation permit in Ohio?

$10, paid to the local registrar or sub-registrar when the funeral director gets the burial permit that authorizes the cremation. The fee was $3 until September 30, 2025 (ORC 3705.17).

Will an Ohio township or city cover a cremation when the family has no money?

Yes. Under ORC 9.15 the township, city or village where the person legally lived pays for burial or cremation, including when the family claiming the body is at or below 150 percent of the poverty line. In Summit County, the medical examiner says most people who qualify are eligible for a direct cremation without a service.

How much will an Ohio county pay toward a veteran's cremation?

Up to $1,000 through the county Veterans Service Commission when the family cannot pay, and the help also covers a veteran's parent, spouse or surviving spouse; the family pays any remaining cost (ORC 5901.25 and 5901.26). Some counties pay less, such as $500 in Williams County.

How do I report a funeral home or crematory in Ohio?

File a complaint with the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors through the state's eLicense system, or send it by mail or email. The business gets 14 days to respond, and complaints about cemeteries go to the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission.

Can I cancel a prepaid cremation plan in Ohio?

Yes. Within seven days of signing you can rescind it and get every payment back (ORC 4717.34). After that, a revocable trust-funded plan can be cancelled 15 days after written notice to the seller and the trustee, and on a guaranteed-price plan the seller may keep up to 10 percent of the trust's value (ORC 4717.36).

How much does it cost to bury ashes in an Ohio cemetery?

It depends on the cemetery and whether you live in the community. Opening and closing for cremated remains costs $400 for Montgomery residents at Hopewell Cemetery and $600 for nonresidents, $550 at Ballville Township cemeteries, and $100 for Benton Township residents.

What happens to ashes no one picks up in Ohio?

After 30 days the crematory or funeral home may return them to the person who authorized the cremation, and after 60 days it may bury or scatter them. For adults, it must first give the VA 60 days to claim a veteran's ashes for a national cemetery (ORC 4717.27).

Can a crematory mail ashes in Ohio?

Yes, but only by a service that tracks the shipment and requires a signature when it is delivered (ORC 4717.26).

Is water cremation legal in Ohio?

No. Ohio law defines cremation only as a process using heat and flame (ORC 4717.01), and the most recent bill to allow alkaline hydrolysis and natural organic reduction, House Bill 699 of 2024, never got past a House committee.

Can you choose human composting in Ohio?

No, not under current law, according to the Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Senate Bill 323 and House Bill 591 would allow natural organic reduction, and both had committee hearings in 2026, but neither had left committee as of October 2026.

Where these prices come from

Every funeral home must give an itemized General Price List to anyone who asks. Some post it on their website. We have the price lists of 166 Ohio funeral homes, where a business with several locations often uses one list for all of them, and computed each service’s price from its line items, the same way for every home.

Homes that post prices online may charge less than homes that do not, so treat these figures as a guide and ask for the price list of any home you are considering.

Run a funeral home here and something has changed? Email support@lovekept.co and we will update or remove your listing. Download these figures (CSV), free to reuse with credit to Lovekept.

By the Lovekept editorial team. Prices last updated September 2026.

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