Understanding the Cremation Timeline

Cremation has many intricacies to ensure that your loved one is treated with compassionate care throughout the entire process. Cremation service providers are experts in arranging the many elements with efficiency and diligence. We’ve created this guide to give you an idea of what to expect while organizing a cremation and the typical timelines.

The Cremation Process Unveiled

The cremation process in Ontario is designed to ensure the body is treated with care and dignity throughout. It can generally be distilled into these 6 steps:

Step 1: Identifying the Body.
Upon arrival at a crematorium or funeral home, the body must be identified to maintain integrity throughout the entire process. Once identified by an authorized representative, an ID tag is issued.

Step 2: Submitting Essential Paperwork and Authorization
Before cremation can begin, essential paperwork must be submitted and approved.

A Cremation Authorization Form (also known as a Cremation Application Form) must be signed by the authorized representative. The form includes important information about the person and ensures that the authorized representative’s wishes are fulfilled.

Next, you’ll need to fill out a Statement of Death form. The funeral establishment will send this and the Medical Certificate of Death to the municipal office for the Official Death Certificate to be issued.

You may need to request or purchase a cremation certificate from the coroner’s office or medical examiner. You’ll need to check with the municipality, region, or county where the death occurred to confirm if this is required, as protocol may vary.

After the paperwork has been filed, it can take up to 72 hours to be granted approval for cremation.

What if the death happened outside of Ontario? Before a cremation can take place, any documentation required in the region where the death occurred must be filled out and kept to be filed with the Government of Ontario upon reentry to the province.

Step 3: Preparing the body for cremation
There are many ways to prepare a body for cremation. Typically, the body is washed and dressed. Embalming is an option if desired and offered by your provider but isn’t required. Any clothing that the person was wearing can be removed and returned to the family if requested. For the cremation itself, the family may select clothing or the body can be shrouded instead.

At this time, any prosthetics and implants are removed. In Ontario, battery-operated devices such as pacemakers and ICDs (Internal Cardiovascular Defibrillators) are removed before the cremation.

Once the body is ready, it’s carefully placed in a casket or container for cremation.

Step 4: Moving the Body into the Cremation Chamber
The body is transported into the cremation chamber and monitored throughout the process. During this time, intense heat reduces the body to bone fragments and ash. After the heating process, there’s a brief cooling period.

Step 5: Inspection and Final Processing
After the cooling process, crematorium staff inspect the remains with a magnet to collect and remove any metal. The remains are then carefully taken from the chamber and processed by pulverizing fragments into the final cremated remains.

Step 6: Transferring Cremated Remains into a Temporary Container or Urn
The cremated remains are carefully transferred into a secure plastic bag and placed in a temporary container or urn. Identification is cross-checked through paperwork, the ID tag, and the remains are ready to be collected.

Average Cremation Timeframes: How Long Does Cremation Take?

The time between when the funeral home or crematorium receives the body and when the cremated remains are ready to be picked up varies between service providers. Generally, this takes anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks. Your provider should be able to give you a precise range for how they work.

Let’s break down the timeline to give you a better idea of what to expect.

Paperwork and authorization: As previously mentioned, paperwork and authorization can take up to 72 hours. Approval might be delayed for several reasons, including if the forms weren’t properly filled out if the death occurred abroad if an autopsy is needed, or if any further investigation is required to detect the cause of death.

Scheduling the cremation: This depends on the crematorium’s schedule and whether you’re having a direct cremation or plan to have a service with the body first. Usually, the cremation is arranged within 2-5 business days of the completed authorization. For families that need an expedited cremation, providers may offer this at an additional cost.

Cremation: Typically, cremation takes 2-3 hours, and the cooling process takes 30 minutes to an hour.

How long does it take to receive cremated remains after cremation? Once the cremation is complete, the remains are usually ready for pickup within 2-5 business days.

At Simple Choice Cremation, after identification by the family, the cremation is scheduled, and the cremated remains are available within approximately 10 days. This can vary depending on the availability of the crematorium. However, in the case that faster completion is needed or preferred, this can be arranged with an express service fee. We also understand that for various reasons, such as physical distance, mobility concerns, or schedules, some families would prefer to have the cremated remains delivered to them versus picking them up, so we offer this as an option.

Factors Influencing Cremation Time

Many factors can affect the length of the actual cremation, including the size of the person, the temperature, and the material of the container used.

Size of person: Cremation may take as little as half an hour, whereas if the person was tall and on the heavier side, it may take closer to 4 hours. The person’s body fat to muscle percentage also contributes to the time.

Temperature: Most crematoriums set the temperature of their cremation chambers between 1400-1600°F. If the crematorium’s required practice is to set the temperature on the lower end, it’ll take longer than those that choose to set it higher.

Material of the container: Caskets made of hardwood or oak will add to the cremation time compared to materials like cardboard.

Customizing Cremation Timelines

Choosing cremation offers flexibility with the timeline so you can honour the person in the most meaningful way to you and your family.

If you’d like a funeral ceremony with the body present or visitation before cremation, this may naturally extend the overall timeline we’ve described above.

In contrast, you can ask if your cremation services provider offers expedited cremations at an additional cost for an even shorter timeline.

However you’d like to memorialize your loved one, there’s a way to make it happen.

Coping with Waiting: Emotional Support

Waiting for your loved one’s remains can be challenging, especially as the grieving process is very fresh. Even when the death is expected, you may experience a wide range of emotions.

Friends, family, or grief support groups can offer you support and lend an ear. If you’d like assistance navigating your grief, asking for guidance from a grief counsellor can be a helpful way to start your journey. Your service provider may be able to assist with resources that are local to you.

Comfort in Understanding the Cremation Timeline

Understanding the cremation timeline can give you the comfort of knowing what to expect and a clear idea of what’s happening at each stage. If you’re planning a cremation, please read our guide, Questions to Ask Your Cremation Service Provider.