How funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries are licensed in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Virginia
What each state licenses, the state rules that add to the Funeral Rule, Illinois cemetery exemptions, Virginia perpetual care trust funds and how to read the listings.
Funeral homes, crematories and cemeteries are licensed by the states, and each state does it differently. This site brings together the licensing files of four states. Here is what each one licenses, what the listings show, and what the state laws add to the federal Funeral Rule.
California
California's Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, part of the Department of Consumer Affairs, licenses funeral establishments, crematories, alkaline hydrolysis facilities and cemeteries (through a certificate of authority), as well as the individuals who work in them. A licensed funeral establishment is a place of business with a specific street address devoted to activities related to preparing and arranging funerals and the disposition of human remains (Business and Professions Code section 7616).
State law adds to the federal Funeral Rule. Every funeral director must give a written price list when discussion of prices or goods and services begins, including a statement that the person arranging the funeral is entitled to a copy of any preneed agreement the establishment holds for the deceased (section 7685(a)). Since 2013, an establishment with a website must post the list of goods and services required on its general price list, with a statement that the full list is available on request, or link to its general price list from a homepage link containing the word "price" (section 7685(b)). Caskets on display must be individually price-tagged, and a funeral director may not charge a handling fee for a casket the family supplies, or an extra fee for handling or embalming a body because death was due to a contagious disease (section 7685.1). Before drafting a contract, the establishment must also disclose in writing whether it holds any preneed agreement made by or for the deceased (section 7685.6).
The Bureau also licenses the people who do the work: funeral directors, embalmers and apprentice embalmers, crematory managers, cemetery managers, cemetery brokers and salespersons, and cremated remains disposers. Those individual licenses are not listed on this site, but you can check any of them on the DCA License Search by name. If someone presents themselves as a licensed funeral director or cemetery salesperson, it takes a minute to confirm.
Connecticut
The Connecticut Department of Public Health licenses funeral homes and crematories, and publishes them on the state's open-data portal with a status and a status reason. We list every funeral home and crematory with status Active. Where Connecticut's file gives an active license the status reason "prior discipline", the listing says so exactly as published; the license is active, and you can ask DPH for the underlying order.
Illinois
Illinois doesn't license funeral establishments as businesses in the file this site uses, so Illinois listings are cemeteries only. Under the Cemetery Oversight Act (225 ILCS 411), cemetery authorities are licensed by IDFPR unless exempt. Full exemptions cover family or religious burying grounds, cemeteries with no burials in the last 10 years, and cemeteries under 3 acres. A cemetery is partially exempt if it had 25 or fewer burials in each of the two preceding years, or operates as a public or religious cemetery; partially exempt cemeteries must still follow parts of the Act (section 5-20). We list licensed and partially exempt cemetery authorities with an active, unexpired license. Any discipline IDFPR records is shown exactly as published.
Virginia
Virginia's Cemetery Board, under the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR), licenses cemetery companies. Every cemetery company must establish an irrevocable perpetual care trust fund of at least $50,000 before selling the first lot or burial right, and it is unlawful to promise perpetual care without adequate provision for it (Va. Code 54.1-2316). Licensed cemetery companies must give a written general price list to people who inquire in person and offer it when discussion of arrangements begins, and must give an itemized statement of charges including vaults, facilities and services (54.1-2327). The Board can seek a court-appointed receiver to protect preneed and perpetual care trust funds when a licensee can't protect them (54.1-2313.1).
What our listings show
- License type and number, exactly as the state publishes it, so you can look it up.
- Licensed since, the state's original issue date. Several California establishments have been licensed since the 1920s. Illinois cemetery licenses date from the start of licensing under the Cemetery Oversight Act, not the age of the cemetery.
- Expiry, where the state publishes one.
- Status reason or discipline, where the state publishes it (Connecticut and Illinois).
- Whether the provider must give a general price list: funeral homes and crematories that sell funeral goods and services under the FTC Funeral Rule, and Virginia cemetery companies under state law.
What the listings don't show
None of the state files includes prices, phone numbers or reviews. We don't estimate or publish prices: call the provider and ask for its general price list, which the Funeral Rule requires it to discuss by phone. Ownership changes don't always show in license files, and many independent-sounding funeral homes belong to larger groups; ask if it matters to you.
Checking a license
Use the state's lookup linked on each listing: the DCA License Search (California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau), the Connecticut eLicense lookup, IDFPR License Look-Up, or DPOR License Lookup. If a provider you are considering doesn't appear here, it may be licensed under a different name, in a state this site doesn't cover yet, or after our last refresh. The official lookup is the final word.
General information only, current as of the date above. The information on Funeral Home License Check is not a recommendation or a guarantee of anyone's work. A license record shows registration status on the date shown, not workmanship, insurance coverage at the time of your job, or suitability for your project. Confirm license, insurance and permits directly before you hire. Rules and programs change; check the official sources linked in this guide.