Cemetery and Crematory Regulation
Cemetery authority and licensure
Cemeteries operate under the Cemetery Act and are regulated by the Cemetery and Funeral Bureau. A cemetery authority must be licensed, maintain maps and interment records, and manage endowment care funds. Candidates should distinguish endowment care (a portion of plot sale set aside for perpetual maintenance) from operating revenue-a classic trap is treating endowment care funds as spendable operating money. Endowment care funds are held in trust and invested under statutory limits.
Crematory operations
Crematories require licensure and must follow strict operating rules: positive identification of the decedent, written authorization for cremation, a defined waiting period, and a metal-tag identification process to ensure the correct remains are returned. Questions often test the crematory operator's duties versus the funeral director's, and the requirement to obtain authorization from the legally authorized person.
Records and consumer rights
Cemeteries and crematories must keep records of interments, disinterments, and cremations, and provide consumers with required disclosures before sale of interment rights or cremation services. Disinterment requires proper authorization and permits.
Rule of thumb
For cemetery/crematory questions, separate care funds (trusted, perpetual) from operations (spendable) and confirm authorization plus identification for every cremation. Example: a plot sale price includes an endowment care component that must be deposited to the care fund, not used for payroll.