Crematorium licence

A buyer of a funeral home that has its own cremation operation meets this separate licence. Ontario’s Act treats funeral services and crematorium services as different licensed services, so check which licences the business holds. Start with how to buy a funeral home in Ontario.

Ontario and British Columbia

Section 6(1) of Ontario’s Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 says no person shall operate a crematorium, or hold themself out as its operator, unless licensed to do so. Section 6(3) bars cremating a human body anywhere but a crematorium operated by a licensed person, and s.14(2) says a licence is not transferable. The Act also requires approval to establish a crematorium, from the local municipality or, for Crown land without municipal organization, the Minister of Natural Resources. In British Columbia, the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act defines an operator as a person who owns or operates a place of interment or crematorium, and s.55(1), subject to s.55(5), says a person must not act as or purport to be an operator unless licensed for that purpose or exempt by regulation from the requirement to be licensed. This entry covers Ontario and British Columbia only; check the rules where the business is.

What to ask

• Whether the business operates a crematorium itself or uses another operator’s.
• Which entity holds the licence, and whether the buyer must apply for its own because an Ontario licence is not transferable.
• Whether the municipal approval and any conditions on the licence are on file.

Compare the funeral establishment licence.