Is Human Composting Legal in New York State?
Human composting — formally known as natural organic reduction, or NOR — has been legal in New York State since March 2023. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the legislation on December 30, 2022, making New York the sixth state to authorize the practice, and the law took effect ninety days later at the end of March 2023.
Legal, however, does not yet mean available. As of 2026, no natural organic reduction facility has opened in New York — and the reason is written directly into the statute. This guide explains what the law actually says, who regulates it, why no facility has opened yet, and what New Yorkers who want this option can do right now.
What the New York Law Says
New York's NOR law came from two companion bills: Assembly Bill A382, sponsored by Assemblymember Amy Paulin, and Senate Bill S5535, sponsored by Senator Leroy Comrie. Both passed with wide margins — 61 to 2 in the Assembly and 64 to 2 in the Senate — and were signed on December 30, 2022.
The legislation amended New York's Not-for-Profit Corporation Law, Article 15, which governs public cemetery corporations. That placement is not a technicality. It is the single most consequential decision the legislature made, and it shapes everything about how human composting will work in this state.
The law defines natural organic reduction as "the contained, accelerated conversion of human remains to soil through biological decomposition using aerobic conditions." It establishes NOR as a legally recognized form of disposition alongside burial and cremation, and it adds "natural organic reduction facility" to the statutory definition of a cemetery.
Why No Human Composting Facility Has Opened in New York
Here is the fact that explains almost everything about the pace of natural organic reduction in New York, and the one most often left out of national coverage:
In New York, a natural organic reduction facility must be operated by a not-for-profit cemetery corporation. A for-profit human composting company cannot legally operate a facility in this state.
This follows from three provisions working together. NPCL Section 1503 restricts NOR facility operation to cemetery corporations. Section 1505(c) establishes that a cemetery corporation is a charitable corporation. Section 1506-A bars cemetery corporations from paying dividends or profits to individuals, from selling or leasing their real property to for-profit entities, and from using cemetery funds for non-cemetery purposes.
The practical effect is significant. In Washington State, where NOR was first legalized in 2019, providers such as Recompose and Return Home operate as for-profit companies. That model is unavailable in New York. Any organization wanting to offer human composting here must incorporate as a not-for-profit, secure Cemetery Board endorsement on its certificate of incorporation, file in the county clerk's office, and operate permanently under the trust fund and reporting obligations that govern every cemetery in the state.
That is a higher barrier than most states impose. It is also, arguably, a stronger consumer protection framework — it means no New York NOR provider can be structured to extract profit from grieving families, and every provider is subject to the same state supervision as a cemetery.
Who Regulates Natural Organic Reduction in New York
The Cemetery Board, within the Division of Cemeteries at the New York State Department of State, is the regulating authority. It approves or denies incorporation of cemetery corporations, approves or denies applications to operate NOR facilities, promulgates the governing regulations, conducts inspections, and holds ongoing supervisory authority.
Two other agencies have defined but narrower roles. Under Section 1518(k), the Cemetery Board may promulgate NOR regulations in consultation with the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Conservation. Separately, the Department of Health's authority appears through Public Health Law Section 4145, which governs the burial and removal permit that must be annotated for disposition by natural organic reduction, and Section 4201, which defines who holds the right to control disposition.
If you have read elsewhere that three agencies share regulatory responsibility for NOR facilities in New York, that is a common misreading. The Cemetery Board handles approval and oversight.
What a Provider Must Submit to Open a Facility
NPCL Section 1505-B sets out exactly what a cemetery corporation must file with the Cemetery Board before it can operate a natural organic reduction facility. Six items:
A list of the directors, employees, and certificate holders of the cemetery corporation
A certified survey of the site and its location within the county
A business plan covering expected annual reductions, the number of vessels and their manufacturer, capital costs and financing, anticipated staffing, services offered, and pricing
A description of the facility's impact on any other NOR facilities in the county and on the surrounding community
Plans, designs, and costs for any structure to be built or retrofitted
A description of every other approval or permit required under state or local law
Item six carries a hard condition: no facility will be approved until all other required approvals and permits have already been obtained. Environmental review, local zoning, and health permits come first. Cemetery Board approval comes last.
Once a submission is complete, the Board has 90 days to approve or deny. It may request additional information within 35 days of receipt, and the submission is not considered complete until that information arrives.
What the Regulations Require of the Process Itself
The Division of Cemeteries has issued draft regulations, 19 NYCRR Part 204, that govern how the process must be carried out. They remain in draft status, so confirm current standing with the Division before relying on them, but they indicate the direction of New York's requirements:
Permitted additions are limited. Only water, oxygen or air, and bulking agents such as chipped or shredded woody vegetation may be added to the remains in the vessel.
Pathogen reduction is measured, not assumed. One approved method requires maintaining remains at 55°C (131°F) or higher for at least 72 hours, verified by a certified laboratory. If testing fails, the process must be repeated and retested before anything leaves the facility.
There is a maximum processing time. Nine months from acceptance of remains to distribution of soil, unless the Division approves longer for good cause. In practice, most NOR processes run far shorter than this ceiling.
Remains must be maintained under aerobic conditions throughout composting, and the facility must follow CDC and New York State Department of Health infection control policies at all times.
The statute also adds operational requirements. Staff conducting the daily NOR process must be certified by an organization approved by the Division of Cemeteries, with certification renewed every five years and proof posted in the facility. If an authorizing agent does not claim the resulting soil within 120 days, the cemetery corporation may dispose of it in a permitted manner and must keep a permanent record of where.
Where Things Stand in New York in 2026
Natural organic reduction is legal and regulated in New York. No facility is operating yet. Here is the honest picture:
Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn. Green-Wood has partnered with the German company Meine Erde and is targeting early 2027 to become the first cemetery in New York to offer human composting. Meine Erde's system uses pods on a bed of hay, straw, and alfalfa, producing roughly 160 pounds of soil in about 40 days. As an established not-for-profit cemetery corporation, Green-Wood is already structured for what the law requires—which is precisely why it is furthest along.
Earth Funeral. Earth Funeral serves New York families but does not operate a New York facility and has not announced one. Remains are transported through licensed New York funeral establishments to the company's Maryland facility, where the soil transformation takes place, then returned. This is legal, and it works, but it means bodies leave the state.
Recompose and Return Home. Both serve New York families from Washington State on a similar out-of-state transport model.
Renewed Roots. We have filed our articles of incorporation and are working through the steps to receive 501(c)(3) status.
The state of things, plainly: a New Yorker who wants natural organic reduction today can have it, but the process almost certainly involves transporting their loved one out of state, with the added cost and logistics that entails.
What This Means If You Are Planning Ahead
Legality does not equal availability, and that gap is where most New Yorkers currently sit. Three things are worth doing now.
Understand the option properly. Natural organic reduction is not a variation on cremation or burial. It is a distinct form of disposition with its own regulatory framework, timeline, and outcome—soil rather than ashes. Learning what it actually involves is the prerequisite to choosing it.
Document your preference. New York recognizes your right to control your own disposition through Public Health Law Section 4201. Recording your wish for natural organic reduction in your end-of-life planning documents, and telling the people who will carry it out, is what makes the preference actionable when it matters. A wish nobody knows about is not a plan.
Stay connected to providers. The regulatory framework is in place, and the infrastructure is being built. Families who understand their options early—and stay engaged as facilities move through approval—will shape what sustainable death care looks like in this state.
Stay Informed as New York's NOR Landscape Develops
We publish updates as New York's natural organic reduction framework moves from law to working infrastructure. Join our newsletter for regulatory developments, facility timelines, and guidance on documenting your preference for NOR.
This article summarizes New York law for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Statutory text and regulations change; 19 NYCRR Part 204 remains in draft status. Verify current requirements with the New York State Division of Cemeteries or consult a New York attorney experienced in cemetery law before making legal or business decisions.
Frederick Zindell is the founder of Renewed Roots, a New York death care organization working to bring natural organic reduction to New York State. He has followed New York's NOR regulatory development since the legislation's earliest stages. Read more about why Renewed Roots exists.