Informational research, not legal advice. Current as of the
source retrieval dates (principally August 6, 2026). Every rule below was
independently adjudicated against archived primary-source text and published only
on agreement of at least two of three adjudicators; each state's
Confidence & disputes section discloses the exceptions.
Authorization & consent
Except for a valid self-authorization or stated statutory exception, cremation and alkaline hydrolysis require the authorizing agent's prior written consent; oral consent is allowed for embalming, not for cremation (A.R.S. § 32-1365.02(A)-(C)).
A legally competent adult may authorize the adult's own cremation in a written, signed document, and a funeral establishment or crematory acting in good faith on that document may proceed without additional consent (A.R.S. § 32-1365.01).
The authorizing-agent order incorporates A.R.S. § 36-831: spouse; expressly authorized health-care or durable-power-of-attorney agent; parents of a minor; adult children; parent; adult sibling; adult grandchild; grandparent; an adult who showed special care and concern; guardian; another authorized person; a willing person or organization; and, for certain prisoners, the Department of Corrections (A.R.S. § 32-1365.02(D), § 36-831(A)).
One member of a same-priority class may arrange disposition unless aware of an objection; if an objection is known, a majority of reasonably available members of that class must decide (A.R.S. § 32-1365.02(D), § 36-831(D)).
An authorizing agent is presumed not reasonably available after due diligence fails to make contact or the person does not make final arrangements within 15 days after initial contact; the right then passes to the next class, subject to restoration if the earlier person acts before disposition (A.R.S. § 32-1365.02(H)-(K)).
Disposition disputes must be resolved by the parties or a court, and a crematory, cemetery, alkaline-hydrolysis facility, or funeral establishment is not liable for refusing the remains or withholding disposition until it receives a court order or other suitable confirmation of resolution (A.R.S. § 32-1365.02(J)).
A crematory may not cremate before obtaining both the county medical examiner's certification and, absent a valid decedent self-authorization, the authorizing agent's express written consent (A.R.S. § 32-1398(3)).
A crematory may not sell or offer a cremation that was not arranged by a licensed funeral establishment, although it may charge a cremation fee (A.R.S. § 32-1398(1)).
Timing & permits
Anyone intending cremation or alkaline hydrolysis must notify the county medical examiner, who reviews the death certificate and certifies that it discloses no evidence of foul play or violence (A.R.S. § 11-599).
When cause of death is pending, final disposition may not occur until the medical examiner releases the remains; the cited statutes impose this clearance and permit sequence but no universal 24- or 48-hour minimum wait (A.R.S. § 36-325(E), § 11-599, § 36-326(A)).
A funeral establishment or responsible person taking possession must obtain a disposition-transit permit from a registrar before final disposition or removal from Arizona (A.R.S. § 36-326(A), (G)-(H)).
Identification & chain of custody
Cremating more than one body at once in one retort requires the authorizing agents' express written consent (A.R.S. § 32-1398(5)).
Before a second body or its cremains enter a retort or processor, the crematory must make reasonable efforts to remove the prior bone fragments or soil unless the agents expressly consent in writing; incidental unavoidable residue is excepted (A.R.S. § 32-1398(6)-(7)).
Handling & disposition
The Arizona Department of Health Services licenses crematories under article 6 and is authorized to adopt crematory standards of practice and rules (A.R.S. § 32-1393, § 32-1399).
A crematory must maintain a secure holding facility compliant with health law, preserve human dignity, operate sanitary and professional equipment under building and environmental codes, and employ a licensed responsible cremationist to manage daily compliance (A.R.S. § 32-1394).
A crematory may not retain accumulated human residue from equipment or containers and must dispose of it in a cemetery under cemetery rules and applicable local ordinances (A.R.S. § 32-1398(8)).
Embalmed, disinterred, or unembalmed remains shipped by common carrier for burial, cremation, or funeral services must be placed in a suitable transport container; unembalmed remains are not subject to a 24-hour shipping deadline (A.R.S. § 36-326(E)).
Alternative processes
Arizona defines cremation to include reduction of human remains to bone fragments or soil by combustion, evaporation, or natural organic reduction, and defines cremated remains to include the resulting bone fragments or soil (A.R.S. § 32-1301(18)-(19)).
Unclaimed remains
If no statutory priority person is willing, financially able, or locatable after reasonable efforts, the county where death occurred must bury the body or place the body or cremains in a permanent-care crypt and may recover costs from the estate (A.R.S. § 36-831(C), (G)).
A holder that has possessed unclaimed cremains for at least one year, received no claim from a priority person, and reasonably tried to locate a relative may release verification information to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or a veterans service organization (A.R.S. § 36-831(K)).
After eligibility confirmation, the holder may transfer the cremains to a veterans service organization, which must ensure interment in or transport to a veterans cemetery; the transfer and interment statutes provide civil-liability immunity (A.R.S. § 36-831(K)-(L)).
The one-year provision authorizes veteran-status verification and transfer; by its text it does not create a general one-year right to scatter, discard, or otherwise dispose of every ordinary unclaimed cremains case (A.R.S. § 36-831(K)).
Records
A funeral establishment must retain price lists, statements of funeral goods and services, and other funeral-arrangement or direction documents for three years after preparation (A.R.S. § 32-1385).
Penalties & liability
Unless another penalty applies, intentionally and knowingly violating the funeral-services chapter is a class 2 misdemeanor (A.R.S. § 32-1365(B)).
After exercising due diligence, a disposition provider has an affirmative defense for good-faith reliance on a person claiming to be the authorizing agent, and that reliance is presumed good faith absent actual knowledge that the claim is false (A.R.S. § 32-1365.02(G)).
Recent & pending changes
House Bill 2081, enacted in 2024, added natural organic reduction to the statutory cremation framework, so the same consent, examiner-clearance, licensing, and disposition provisions apply to that process unless a provision distinguishes it (Ariz. HB 2081 (2024), A.R.S. § 32-1301).
Confidence & disputes
Verdict tally: 27 CONFIRMED, 1 REJECTED, across 28 adjudicated claims. All three adjudicators voted on every claim — council, codex, and agy; no claim records codex as NOT_RUN.
REJECTED — AZ-003: "A person may not operate or advertise a crematory without a crematory license, and crematory employees who perform cremations must complete Department-approved cremation training" (A.R.S. § 32-1393). All three adjudicators (council, codex, agy) voted DISAGREE; the recorded codex reason is that § 32-1393(B) requires "appropriate training," not Department-approved cremation training, and that subsection (A) contains a certificate-of-authority exception the claim omits. Excluded from the sections above.
Codex dissent — AZ-016 (crematory may not sell a cremation not arranged by a licensed funeral establishment): codex objects that § 32-1398(A)(1) expressly begins "Unless otherwise allowed by law," an exception the claim omits. Published under the 2-of-3 rule.
Codex dissent — AZ-007 (authorizing-agent hierarchy): codex objects that the hierarchy is incomplete because § 36-831(A)(1) qualifies spousal priority, (A)(12) conditions the willing-person tier, and (I)-(J) provide priority overrides. Published under the 2-of-3 rule.
Codex dissent — AZ-005 (self-authorization of one's own cremation): codex objects that § 32-1365.01(B)-(E) also requires the document to be dated and notarized or properly witnessed, with reliance limited to an apparently genuine document conforming to the section. Published under the 2-of-3 rule.
Codex dissent — AZ-027 (HB 2081 adding natural organic reduction): codex objects that the cited HB 2081 source is an official House summary marked only "Transmitted to the Governor," which does not establish the claimed 2024 enactment or every asserted cross-title consequence. Published under the 2-of-3 rule.
No claim in the pack states a future effective date; the only currency qualification visible in claim text is the "At December 31, 2025" measurement date on the SCI footprint claim (SCI-AZ-FOOTPRINT), which states no regulatory rule and is not used above.