Request a certificate to cremate a body or ship a body out of province

Overview

In Ontario, you need a certificate approved by a coroner to legally cremate a body or ship a body outside of the province.

As of October 24, 2016, service providers are required to apply for these certificates online.

How to request a certificate

To request a certificate for cremation or a certificate to ship a body outside of Ontario, you must be a legal operator of a:

• licenced funeral home
• transfer service
• crematorium

Families may also apply directly for cremation certificates. For more information, please visit the Office of the Chief Coroner website.

You need a ServiceOntario account and ONe-key ID to log-in, complete and submit your request for a certificate. If you don’t have one, you can create an account when you request a certificate.

Before you request a certificate, make sure you have:

• your individual/personal licence number (e.g. funeral director licence number)
• the operating name of your business/organization
• the operator licence number issued by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, which authorizes you to provide funeral/cremation services
• the address and date of birth of the deceased provided on the Statement of Death form (Form 15) or by the family of the deceased
• the name of the coroner who is on-call and available to review your certificate request
• an electronic or scanned copy of the:
  • Medical certificate of death
  • Medical certificate of stillbirth
  • Non-Ontario Death certificate (this is the certificate of death issued by jurisdictions outside of Ontario)
  • Warrant to Bury the Body of a Deceased Person

Request a cremation certificate

Request out of province body shipment certificate

Contact us

If you need technical assistance requesting a certificate online, please contact ServiceOntario at:

• Toronto:416-212-8888
• 1-888-745-8888

For quick access choose options 5-3-1-0 when prompted

• 1-800-268-7095 (TTY/Teletypewriter users only – toll-free)
• 416-325-3408 (TTY/Teletypewriter users only – Toronto)
• Email: ServiceOntarioAccount@ontario.ca

For program-specific inquiries about Cremation and Out-of-Province Body Shipment Certificates, please contact the Office of the Chief Coroner at:

• Toronto:416-314-4000
• 1-877-991-9959
• Email: OCC.inquiries@ontario.ca
• Mail:
  
  Forensic Services and Coroner’s Complex
  25 Morton Shulman Avenue
  Toronto, ON
  M3M 0B1