Guide
What to do with ashes in Ontario: keep, bury, place or scatter
In short
In Ontario, cremated remains can be kept at home, buried in a licensed cemetery, placed in a niche in a columbarium, or scattered where the rules allow. Burying them outside a licensed cemetery, including in your own garden, is not permitted. There's no deadline to decide: a provider can keep the remains for up to a year, for a deposit refunded if you claim them. To fly with them, use a container that X-rays can see through, such as plastic, cardboard or wood, and check with the airline.
Written by Sofiane B. · Founder, Celebrance
- Your options
- Keep, bury in a cemetery, place in a niche, scatter
- Burial in the garden
- Not permitted outside a licensed cemetery
- Storage by the provider
- Up to a year, deposit refunded
- Flying with ashes
- A container X-rays can see through
On this page
Your four options
After a cremation, or an alkaline hydrolysis (sometimes called water cremation), the remains are placed in a small box or urn with a metal identification tag. The Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) sets out what can be done with them:
- Keep them at home, in the container from the crematorium or in an urn of your choice.
- Bury them in a licensed cemetery, in a grave, after buying interment rights.
- Place them in a niche in a columbarium, after buying the rights to that niche.
- Scatter them, on private land with the owner's written consent, on unoccupied Crown land or water when no sign prohibits it, on municipal land where by-laws allow it, or in a cemetery's scattering grounds: see scattering ashes in Ontario.
Why not in the garden?
Because burial of human remains, including cremated remains, is not permitted outside a licensed cemetery in Ontario. You can still scatter the ashes in your garden, as private land, or keep them at home. A landowner who wants to allow repeated scatterings on the same land must establish it as a cemetery.
Take your time
There is no deadline to decide. A provider can store the remains for up to one year and may ask for a deposit, refunded in full if you claim them within the year. After a year, the provider may use the deposit to bury the remains in the common grounds of a cemetery. The BAO strongly recommends making plans for the remains, so that this doesn't happen by default.
Choosing an urn
You can provide your own urn or buy one from a provider. If the urn will go in a cemetery or a columbarium, check the cemetery's by-laws first: they can set the type and size of container allowed. Before buying interment or scattering rights, each cemetery must give you its price list, its by-laws and any restrictions on the rights, for example on markers.
Travelling with the ashes
- By plane. The container must pass security screening, and screening officers are not permitted to open it. Choose plastic, cardboard, cloth or wood: metal, stone and ceramic are the least likely to be allowed. A funeral home's documents don't replace screening. Some airlines don't allow ashes in checked baggage, so ask yours first.
- Out of Ontario. You must also follow the laws of the province or country where you are taking them. Ask your provider.
A few words for the moment
Whatever you choose, the moment can be a small ceremony: a few words, a reading, a moment of silence. For example:
"We bring you home today. You'll stay with us, as you always have."
"Here, where you were happiest, we say goodbye, and we say thank you."
A celebrant can help write and lead it. Celebrance can connect you with a celebrant from our local network in Ontario, at a price shown upfront, with a replacement if your celebrant becomes unavailable. See our celebrants for funerals and celebrations of life, and our celebration of life ideas.
Sources: thebao.ca: bao cig eng july2025.pdf · thebao.ca: welcome to the bereavement authority of ontarios faq for consumers · ontario.ca: arrange funeral burial cremation alkaline hydrolysis or scattering · catsa-acsta.gc.ca: cremated remains
Frequently asked questions
Can we keep the ashes at home?
Yes. The Bereavement Authority of Ontario says cremated remains must be buried in a licensed cemetery, scattered or kept at home. You can use the container from the crematorium or your own urn.
Can we bury the ashes in our garden?
No. In Ontario, the burial of human remains, including cremated remains, is not permitted outside a licensed cemetery. You can scatter them on private land with the owner's consent instead.
Do we have to decide right away?
No. A provider can store the remains for up to one year and may ask for a deposit, refunded in full if you claim them within the year. After a year, the provider may use the deposit to bury the remains in the common grounds of a cemetery.
Can we take the ashes on a plane?
Yes, if the container passes security screening: choose plastic, cardboard, cloth or wood, not metal, stone or ceramic. Screening officers are not permitted to open it, and a funeral home's documents don't replace screening. Some airlines don't allow ashes in checked baggage: ask yours first.
Can the ashes be divided between family members?
Ask your provider how they can help, for example with several smaller urns. Each part then follows the same rules: kept at home, buried in a cemetery, placed in a niche or scattered where it is allowed.