Table of Contents Sec. 19a-320. (Formerly Sec. 19-165). Erection and maintenance of crematories. Fees. (a) Any resident of this state, or any corporation formed under the law of
this state, may erect, maintain and conduct a crematory in this state and provide the
necessary appliances and facilities for the disposal by incineration of the bodies of the
dead, in accordance with the provisions of this section. The location of such crematory
shall be within the confines of an established cemetery containing not less than twenty
acres, which cemetery shall have been in existence and operation for at least five years
immediately preceding the time of the erection of such crematory, or shall be within
the confines of a plot of land approved for the location of a crematory by the selectmen
of any town, the mayor and council or board of aldermen of any city and the warden
and burgesses of any borough; provided, in any town, city or borough having a zoning
commission, such commission shall have the authority to grant such approval. On and
after October 1, 1998, no crematory which is not operating on October 1, 1998, shall
be located within five hundred feet of any residential structure or land used for residential
purposes not owned by the owner of the crematory. Sec. 19a-321. (Formerly Sec. 19-166). Crematories at public institutions. Any
public institution in this state may erect and maintain a crematory for the incineration
after death of the bodies of those connected with the institution officially or as inmates,
and such others as may be deemed advisable by the administrative head of such institution. Such crematories shall be erected, maintained and conducted in accordance with
the provisions of this chapter, and all crematories shall be made subject to the restrictions
herein provided. No body shall be cremated in any such crematory if the body is claimed
and removed, within seven days after receipt of notice, by relatives or interested friends
or by the authorities of the town responsible for the burial of such person, but any body
may be cremated with the consent of such relatives, friends or town authorities. Sec. 19a-322. (Formerly Sec. 19-167). Records and certificates. The managers
of each crematory shall keep books of record, which shall be open at reasonable times
for inspection, in which shall be entered the name, age, sex and residence of each person
whose body is cremated, together with the authority for such cremation and the disposition of the ashes. The owner or superintendent shall immediately forward to the registrar
by whom the permit required by section 19a-323 was issued a certified duplicate of
such record, which duplicate the registrar shall keep on file and record with other vital
statistics. When any body is removed from this state for the purpose of cremation, the
person having the legal custody and control of such body shall cause a certificate to be
procured from the person in charge of the crematory in which such body is incinerated,
stating the facts called for in this section, and cause such certificate to be filed for record
with the registrar by whom the permit was issued. Sec. 19a-323. (Formerly Sec. 19-168). Cremation authorized. Cremation certificate required. Fee payable in certain cases. The body of any deceased person may
be disposed of by incineration or cremation in this state or may be removed from the
state for such purpose. If death occurred in this state, the death certificate required by
law shall be filed with the registrar of vital statistics for the town in which such person
died, if known, or, if not known, for the town in which the body was found, and a
cremation certificate from the Chief Medical Examiner, Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, associate medical examiner, or an authorized assistant medical examiner, stating
that he has made inquiry into the cause and manner of death and is of the opinion that
no further examination or judicial inquiry is necessary, shall be filed with the registrar
of vital statistics of the town in which such person died, if known, or, if not known, of
the town in which the body was found, or with the registrar of vital statistics of the town
in which the funeral director having charge of the body is located. The estate of the
deceased person, if any, shall pay the sum of forty dollars for the issuance of the cremation certificate or an amount equivalent to the compensation then being paid by the state
to authorized assistant medical examiners, if greater. Upon receiving such certificate,
the registrar shall issue a permit for the cremation of such body; except that no such
certificate shall be required for a permit to cremate the remains of bodies pursuant to
section 19a-270a and except that, when the cremation certificate is issued in a town
other than that where the person died, the registrar of vital statistics for such other town
shall ascertain from the original removal permit that the certificates required by the state
statutes have been received and recorded, that the body has been prepared in accordance
with the Public Health Code and that the entry regarding the place of disposal is correct.
Whenever the registrar finds that the place of disposal is incorrect, he shall issue a
corrected removal permit and, after inscribing and recording the original permit in the
manner prescribed for sextons' reports under section 7-72, shall then immediately give
written notice to the registrar for the town where the death occurred of the change in
place of disposal stating the name and place of the crematory and the date of cremation.
Such written notice shall be sufficient authorization to correct these items on the original
certificate of death. No body shall be cremated until at least forty-eight hours after death,
unless such death was the result of communicable disease, and no body shall be received
by any crematory unless accompanied by the permit provided for in this section. The
fee for a cremation permit shall be three dollars and for the written notice one dollar.
The Department of Public Health shall provide forms for such permits, which shall not
be the same as for regular burial permits, and such blanks and books as may be required
by the registrars. Sec. 19a-324. (Formerly Sec. 19-169). Penalty. Any person who makes any false
statement in procuring any permit required by chapter 93 or by this chapter, or who
removes any body from this state for the purpose of cremation upon an ordinary removal
permit, or who violates any provision of this chapter, shall be fined not more than five
hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than five years.
Sec. 19a-320. (Formerly Sec. 19-165). Erection and maintenance of crematories. Fees.
Sec. 19a-321. (Formerly Sec. 19-166). Crematories at public institutions.
Sec. 19a-322. (Formerly Sec. 19-167). Records and certificates.
Sec. 19a-323. (Formerly Sec. 19-168). Cremation authorized. Cremation certificate required. Fee payable in certain cases.
Sec. 19a-324. (Formerly Sec. 19-169). Penalty.
Secs. 19a-325 to 19a-328.
(b) Application for such approval shall be made in writing to the local authority
specified in subsection (a) and a hearing shall be held within the town, city or borough
in which such location is situated within sixty-five days from the date of receipt of such
application. Notice of such hearing shall be given to such applicant by mail, postage
paid, to the address given on the application, and to the Commissioner of Public Health,
and by publication twice in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the town,
city or borough at intervals of not less than two days, the first being not more than fifteen
days nor less than ten days, and the second being not less than two days before such
hearing. The local authority shall approve or deny such application within sixty-five
days after such hearing, provided an extension of time not to exceed a further period of
sixty-five days may be had with the consent of the applicant. The grounds for its action
shall be stated in the records of the authority. Each applicant shall pay a fee of ten dollars,
together with the costs of the publication of such notice and the reasonable expense of
such hearing, to the treasurer of such town, city or borough.
(c) No such crematory shall be erected until the plans therefor have been filed with
and approved by the Department of Public Health; and no such crematory shall be used
until it has been inspected and approved by said department and a fee of one thousand
dollars is paid to the Department of Public Health for its inspection and approval.
(1949 Rev., S. 4723; 1971, P.A. 862, S. 11; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 10, 117; P.A. 93-
381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 98-216, S. 1.)
History: 1971 act divided section into subsections and added provisions detailing application, hearing and approval
procedures, deleting previous general provision stating that hearing after published notice is necessary for approval; P.A.
77-614 replaced commissioner and department of health with commissioner and department of health services, effective
January 1, 1979; Sec. 19-165 transferred to Sec. 19a-320 in 1983; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (c) to establish
a fee of one thousand dollars for inspection and approval; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health
services with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257
replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of
Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 98-216 amended Subdiv. (a) by adding provision prohibiting location of a
crematory within five hundred feet of a residential structure or land used for residential purposes not owned by the owner
of the crematory.
See Sec. 19a-91 re transportation of bodies.
(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)
(1949 Rev., S. 4724; 1953, S. 2362d.)
History: Sec. 19-166 transferred to Sec. 19a-321 in 1983.
See Sec. 19a-270 re use of bodies for anatomical purposes.
See Sec. 19a-282 re circumstances under which delivery of bodies is prohibited.
(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)
(1949 Rev., S. 4725.)
History: Sec. 19-167 transferred to Sec. 19a-322 in 1983.
(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)
(1949 Rev., S. 4726; 1953, S. 2363d; 1959, P.A. 423; 1961, P.A. 227; 1963, P.A. 470; February, 1965, P.A. 48, S. 1;
1969, P.A. 699, S. 27; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 79-47, S. 6; P.A. 83-565, S. 1, 2; P.A. 90-158, S. 1; P.A. 91-89; P.A.
93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58.)
History: 1959 act deleted requirements that cremation certificate be under oath, that certificate be from director of
health when death resulted from natural causes and for certificate from coroner and added provision re sum payable to
medical examiner; 1961 act specified registrar of vital statistics and medical examiner be those for town in which person
died or where funeral director having charge of the body is located, added provision for filing of and fee for cremation
certificate, requiring registrar of other town to ascertain that the certificates have been received and recorded and the body
prepared prior to issuing permit and that forms be provided by state health department rather than vital statistics bureau;
1963 act added reference to bodies cremated pursuant to Sec. 19-141 and changed technical language; 1965 act added
provision that registrar of other town ascertain that place of disposal entry is correct, provision for issuance of corrected
removal permit and for manner of inscribing and recording original permit, and deleted requirement that notice of registrar
of other town be on a form supplied by state health department; 1969 act clarified provisions by streamlining language
and adding reference to towns where bodies found but where deceased person did not necessarily die and deleted proviso
re cremation upon authority of permit issued by another state; P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department
of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-47 clarified language, replaced "certificate of death" with "death
certificate" and "deputy medical examiner" with "deputy chief medical examiner" and added associate medical examiners
as issuers of cremation certificates; Sec. 19-168 transferred to Sec. 19a-323 in 1983; P.A. 83-565 provided with respect
to examination of the body and issuance of a cremation certificate, as required in cases of cremation, that estate of deceased,
in lieu of previous fee of ten dollars, pay a fee of forty dollars or an amount equivalent to that paid to assistant medical
examiners for such examination and certificate, if greater, except that no fee shall be required for the examination and
certificate in cases of (1) violent death, (2) sudden death not caused by recognizable disease, (3) death under suspicious
circumstances, (4) death related to disease resulting from employment or accident while employed and (5) death related
to disease which may constitute a threat to public health; P.A. 90-158 removed language concerning external examination
of the body by a medical examiner; P.A. 91-89 raised fee for cremation permit from fifty cents to three dollars; P.A. 93-
381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993;
P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and
Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995.
See Sec. 7-62b et seq. re procedures for death certificates, burial permits, burials, disinterments, etc.
(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)
(1949 Rev., S. 4727.)
History: Sec. 19-169 transferred to Sec. 19a-324 in 1983.
(Return to TOC) (Return to Chapters) (Return to Titles)