UNSPSC 85171502: Cremation service for human remains

Cremation is the practice of disposing of a human body by burning it, which is often done in a place called a crematorium. Along with burial, cremation is an increasingly popular alternative to the final disposal of a corpse.

UNSPSC 85171502 Cremation service for human remains is a Commodity code capturing state and local government procurement of end-of-life disposition services, specifically cremation of deceased individuals under medical examiner, coroner, or county health department jurisdiction. State and local agencies buy direct cremation services for unclaimed, indigent, and abandoned decedents; mass fatality response capability including mortuary strike teams with licensed funeral directors and cremation competencies; and ancillary services such as body removal, transportation, cold storage, and remains handling and identification. Recent solicitations show counties and states procuring cremation on an as-needed basis under individual unit pricing, with some jurisdictions establishing pools of multiple vendors to ensure redundancy and service availability across geographic regions.

Issuing bodies include county medical examiners' offices, county health departments, state health and human services agencies, state departments of corrections, and higher education institutions. Texas counties—Sarasota, Collin, Hays, Harris, and Pinellas—dominate recent activity, alongside statewide procurements by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and state-level services in Illinois, Georgia, California, and Florida. Sarasota County is soliciting body removal and transport services across three counties under IFB 262887MH with response due August 4, 2026. Texas Health and Human Services Commission is seeking mortuary strike teams and mass fatality response resources under IFB HHS0017352 with response due July 17, 2026 and historical spend of $269,485.68. Collin County Medical Examiner's Office posted an RFQ for cremation services (Quote 2026-286) due June 18, 2026 for approximately twenty unclaimed decedents annually at an estimated $17,500 annually. Harris County Housing and Community Development Department is soliciting mortuary services for approximately 1,300 cremations and burials annually under RFP due April 20, 2026 with service commencement January 1, 2027. Pinellas County, Florida posted RFP 26-0292-RFP for indigent burial and cremation services serving approximately 1,060 calls annually with proposals due April 14, 2026 and annual funding not to exceed $550,000. The Illinois Department of Corrections at Centralia has issued multiple three-year burial services RFQs with small business set-asides (RFQ B51807 due April 10, 2026; RFQ B51519 due April 1, 2026; RFQ B51388 due March 11, 2026). A pre-advertisement notice from Broward County, Florida signals an upcoming competitive solicitation for multiple open-end cremation and unclaimed remains contracts; vendors may register in the BPRO system to receive formal solicitation notice. The Georgia Department of Corrections originally solicited offender burial services (RFQ GDC0001197) but cancelled the opportunity on April 20, 2026 to redevelop requirements.