When Will Illinois Legalize Terramation? HB 5425 Passed the House and Awaits the Senate: What Funeral Directors Should Know (2026) (colloquially referred to as human composting)

A note on regulatory accuracy: NOR legislation and regulations are actively evolving across the country. The information in this guide is drawn from publicly available legislative documentation as of the date above, but bill status, sponsor information, and hearing timelines change as sessions progress. We update these guides as new information becomes available — but for confirmed current status and to understand how pending legislation applies to your specific facility and business model, speak with a TerraCare expert directly. Schedule a discovery call

Illinois has not legalized natural organic reduction (NOR), the process many families know as terramation, but the state has never been closer. On April 17, 2026, the Illinois House passed House Bill 5425, the Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act, by a vote of 64-36. The bill arrived in the Senate on April 21, 2026 and has sat in the Senate Assignments Committee ever since, with no Senate vote. A second bill, Senate Bill 2383, has not moved since April 2025. The 104th General Assembly ends in January 2027, and bills that have not passed both chambers by then die. The fall veto session is the main remaining window this term; otherwise the bill must be reintroduced in 2027. Illinois funeral home operators should not wait for a signing ceremony to start planning.

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Where Illinois HB 5425 and SB 2383 Stand Right Now

Two NOR bills were filed in the 104th General Assembly, which spans 2025 and 2026. Both would create the same Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act. Only one is moving.

The House bill, HB 5425, is the live vehicle. Rep. Mary Beth Canty filed it on February 6, 2026. Its path so far, from the Illinois General Assembly’s bill status page:

• March 24, 2026: The House Energy & Environment Committee voted it out, 18-9.
• April 17, 2026: The House adopted House Floor Amendment 1 and passed the bill 64-36.
• April 21, 2026: The bill arrived in the Senate, with Sen. Celina Villanueva as chief Senate sponsor, and was referred to the Assignments Committee.
• May 2026: Senate co-sponsors were added, including Sen. Mike Simmons as alternate chief co-sponsor on May 6. The last recorded action, on May 21, 2026, was a sponsor change.

The Senate has not sent HB 5425 to a standing committee or voted on it, and the bill did not pass the Senate before the spring session adjourned. In the Illinois Senate, the Assignments Committee decides which committee hears a bill. A bill that stays in Assignments does not advance.

House Floor Amendment 1 changed the bill in two ways operators should note. It set a specific pathogen standard (a reduction chamber must reach at least 131°F for 72 consecutive hours, replacing a reference to federal CDC requirements), and it removed provisions concerning limitations on liability.

The Senate bill, SB 2383, is dormant. Sen. Mike Simmons filed it on February 7, 2025. It was assigned to the Executive Committee on March 4, 2025, sent to End of Life Issues on March 19, 2025, and re-referred to the Assignments Committee on April 11, 2025 under Senate Rule 3-9(a), on the committee deadline. There has been no action since. Its synopsis lists a January 1, 2027 effective date. With Sen. Simmons now listed as a Senate co-sponsor of HB 5425, the House bill is the practical vehicle.

What this means for the calendar. The Illinois House has shown it will pass this bill. The Senate has not acted. The 104th General Assembly ends in January 2027, and bills that have not passed both chambers by then die. The fall veto session is the main remaining window this term. If the Senate does not act, sponsors would need to reintroduce the bill in the 105th General Assembly.

For funeral home operators tracking Illinois NOR legislation, the Illinois General Assembly’s bill status pages for HB 5425 and SB 2383 are the authoritative source for real-time status. Capitol News Illinois provides reliable reporting on day-to-day developments.

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What the Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act Would Actually Authorize

HB 5425 and SB 2383 share the same basic framework: a new, standalone Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act. It is not an amendment to Illinois’s funeral director licensing law. It is its own Act, and it declares itself the comprehensive NOR statute for the state. The details below come from HB 5425 as passed by the House. The Senate could still change them, so treat them as the current blueprint, not final rules.

NOR would become a recognized method of final disposition. The bill defines final disposition to include burial, cremation, and natural organic reduction. It defines NOR as transforming a human body into soil through natural decomposition, accelerated by adding organic materials such as straw or wood chips, inside stainless steel, leakproof vessels that promote aerobic reduction and allow continuous monitoring. Facilities must vent the vessels to a biofiltration system.

Who could operate a facility. Eligibility is broad. Any person doing business in Illinois, or any cemetery, crematory, funeral establishment, corporation, partnership, joint venture, voluntary organization, or other entity, could build and operate a NOR facility. A facility could sit on or next to a cemetery, crematory, or funeral establishment, or anywhere else local zoning allows. That is a sharp contrast with New York, where only cemetery corporations may operate NOR facilities. Under the Illinois bill, a funeral home could hold the license itself rather than partnering with a cemetery.

Licensing by the Illinois Comptroller. NOR could be performed only in a facility run by a disposition authority licensed by the Illinois Comptroller. Applications go to the Comptroller with a $100 fee and must describe the facility’s structure, equipment, and technical process. Licenses are renewed every five years. Each disposition authority files an annual report with the Comptroller by March 15, with a $25 fee plus $5 for each reduction performed that year. The Comptroller may inspect facility records, discipline licensees, and write the rules needed to administer the Act. Facilities would also need any other local, state, and federal health and environmental permits that apply.

Funeral directors stay central. From the moment remains arrive until reduction inside the chamber is complete, handling must be under the immediate, direct supervision of a licensed funeral director (or funeral director and embalmer). Every disposition authority must employ or contract with a funeral director to arrange NOR at-need with the public, transport remains to the facility, and process the paperwork. If a family discloses hazardous implants on the authorization form, the funeral director is responsible for making sure they are removed before the remains are delivered.

Training and certification. NOR operators who complete training and certification through a program recognized by the Comptroller may handle remains after reduction is complete, including processing and placing the soil in an urn. The certification must be displayed at the facility, and everyone performing NOR services must complete at least two hours of NOR continuing education every five years. The Comptroller may recognize courses from death care trade associations or from manufacturers of NOR equipment.

Process standards. The bill sets concrete operating rules, including:

• Material in the chamber must reach and hold at least 131°F for 72 consecutive hours.
• Reduction generally may not begin until 24 hours after death, and not until the coroner or medical examiner has issued a NOR permit.
• Embalmed remains, and remains treated with nuclear medicine, may not be accepted.
• Remains that cannot be reduced within 24 hours of custody must be held in a refrigeration unit that stays below 40°F and holds at least three bodies.
• Only one person’s remains may be in a chamber at a time.
• The resulting soil must be tested by an accredited third-party laboratory for pathogens (fecal coliform and salmonella) and metals such as arsenic, lead, and mercury, starting with every one of a facility’s first 20 reductions and then on a declining schedule. Soil that exceeds the limits may not be released.

Recordkeeping. Disposition authorities would keep signed receipts at delivery and at release of the soil, a permanent record of each reduction (decedent, date, estimated weight, and final disposition), an identification system that tracks remains through every phase, and the burial transit permit filings.

Disposition of the soil. Families could place the soil in a grave, crypt, or niche, scatter it in a designated scattering area, or integrate it into soil on land where they have written permission from the property owner or governing agency. The bill prohibits selling the soil for commercial purposes or using it to grow food for people or livestock. Soil left unclaimed for 60 days may be placed in a cemetery or on protected conservation land.

Preneed arrangements are allowed. Individuals could authorize their own NOR in advance on a preneed basis, and any preneed contract that includes NOR must specify the final disposition of the soil. This is a meaningful difference from Maine, which prohibits preneed NOR agreements.

Enforcement and penalties. The Comptroller could fine licensees up to $5,000 per violation, place them on probation, suspend or revoke licenses, and summarily suspend a license when a facility poses an imminent danger to the public. Operating an unlicensed NOR facility would be a Class A misdemeanor, and violating the bill’s reduction procedures would be a Class 4 felony.

The effective date is still open. HB 5425’s text says the Act takes effect June 1, 2026, a date that has already passed. Any version the Senate passes and the governor signs would need a new effective date, so the real start date will be whatever the final bill sets. (SB 2383 lists January 1, 2027.) Either way, the first licenses would depend on how quickly the Comptroller builds its application process and rules. Based on how other states have rolled out NOR, a reasonable planning assumption is at least six to twelve months from signing to the first license. Treat that as an assumption, not a schedule.

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What Would It Take for Illinois to Legalize Natural Organic Reduction?

This is the question every Illinois funeral director planning for the future wants answered honestly. The truthful answer: the House has done its part, and everything now depends on the Senate and the calendar.

The optimistic scenario assumes Senate Assignments sends HB 5425 to a committee during the fall veto session, the committee and the full Senate pass it, the House agrees to any Senate changes (including the new effective date the bill now needs), and the governor signs. Under this path, Illinois would become the 15th state to legalize NOR. Operators would then apply to the Comptroller once its licensing process is in place, and the first Illinois facilities would open in 2027 at the earliest.

The realistic scenario is that the veto session ends without Senate action, HB 5425 dies when the 104th General Assembly ends in January 2027, and sponsors reintroduce the bill in the 105th General Assembly. The new bill would have to pass both chambers again, but sponsors would have the 2026 House vote and the amended text to build on. A 2027 signing becomes the earliest realistic path, with operations beginning in late 2027 or 2028 depending on how quickly the Comptroller builds its licensing process.

The pessimistic scenario is one that Illinois operators should not dismiss: a reintroduced bill stalls in the Senate again, or a bill reaches the governor and is vetoed. That would push Illinois legalization to 2028 or beyond.

The Senate is the key variable. The first signal to watch is whether Senate Assignments refers HB 5425 to a standing committee. A Senate committee hearing and vote would be the strongest sign of momentum this term. If nothing happens by the end of the veto session, watch for the bill’s reintroduction early in the 105th General Assembly.

For context, compare Oklahoma’s experience with HB 3660 in 2026. It passed the Oklahoma House 59-37 on March 24, passed the Senate 28-18 on May 5, and won final House approval 58-35 on May 6, only to be vetoed by the governor on May 12, 2026. NOR is not legal in Oklahoma. Passing both chambers is not the finish line. See our overview of Oklahoma’s HB 3660 for the full trajectory.

Where the Opposition Stands

The most visible organized opposition in Illinois has come from the Catholic Conference of Illinois, the public policy voice of the Catholic bishops of Illinois. The Conference has opposed NOR legislation in Illinois and in other states on religious grounds, arguing that the process is inconsistent with Catholic teaching on the dignity of the human body and proper burial. NOR is nonetheless now legal in 14 states, including Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Maine. For Illinois operators, organized opposition is one of the factors that makes the Senate outcome uncertain, and planning should account for that uncertainty.

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Why Illinois Funeral Directors Should Be Paying Attention Now

Illinois is the sixth-largest state in the country by population. When NOR becomes legal here, the market will be significant.

The national cremation rate is projected at 63.4% for 2025 (NFDA 2025 Cremation & Burial Report), reflecting a fundamental shift in how American families think about end-of-life disposition. Families are already choosing lighter-footprint, non-traditional options. Natural organic reduction is the next logical step for a meaningful segment of those families.

Illinois families who want NOR today have no in-state option. They must arrange it through a licensed facility in a state where NOR is legal and available, such as Washington or Colorado, with their funeral home coordinating transport. That represents existing, unmet demand: families who have already decided they want terramation but cannot access it locally. When Illinois legalizes, those families do not need to be convinced; they need a local provider.

Legal status is not the same as availability. Minnesota, a fellow Midwestern state, legalized NOR in 2024, and its law took effect July 1, 2025. The Minnesota Department of Health adopted its NOR rules in October 2026; they take effect once the adoption notice is published in the State Register. No Minnesota facility is confirmed to be operating yet. The gap between a signed law and an open facility is where preparation pays off.

First-mover advantage is real. Funeral homes that build staff knowledge, assess facility requirements, and establish provider relationships before legalization will be ready to move the moment the law changes. Operators who wait until after the governor signs start months behind on licensing applications, equipment, and training.

Our NOR legislation tracker covers every pending state, and our state guides for where NOR is already legal show what the landscape looks like in states that have cleared the legislative hurdle.

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How Illinois Funeral Homes Can Prepare Before Legalization

Illinois NOR is not legal yet, and nothing in this article should be read as guidance to offer NOR services in Illinois today. What follows is preparation: the kind of planning that distinguishes operators who thrive on Day 1 from those who are scrambling six months after the law changes.

1. Monitor the bill in real time. Bookmark the Illinois General Assembly’s bill status pages for HB 5425 and SB 2383. The signals that matter are a Senate committee referral for HB 5425 during the fall veto session or, if the session ends without action, the bill’s reintroduction in the 105th General Assembly. Subscribe to Capitol News Illinois for legislative coverage.

2. Begin staff education now. Training your funeral directors and staff on how NOR works (the science, the process, the family conversation) does not require the law to be in place. HB 5425 would require Comptroller-recognized training for NOR operators and ongoing continuing education, so a team that already understands the process starts ahead. See our guide to staff training requirements for TerraCare partners.

3. Conduct a preliminary facility assessment. NOR requires dedicated space and specific equipment. Understanding your current facility’s compatibility is a planning exercise that costs nothing legally and saves significant time when a launch timeline becomes real. Under HB 5425 as written, look at:

• Floor space and structural capacity for NOR vessels
• Ventilation, since vessels must vent to a biofiltration system
• Refrigeration, since remains not reduced within 24 hours of custody must be held in a unit that stays below 40°F and holds at least three bodies
• Zoning, since a facility may sit on or next to a funeral establishment, cemetery, or crematory, or anywhere local zoning allows

4. Survey your client families. A simple inquiry, such as “If Illinois offered natural organic reduction as an alternative to cremation or burial, would you want to know more?”, gives you real data from your own community and a planning baseline for demand.

5. Connect with NOR providers early. Equipment, certification programs, and partnership agreements all involve planning time. Operators who begin those conversations while the law is still pending are in a fundamentally different position than those who start the week after a bill is signed.

6. Build your referral network. Local end-of-life and green-burial advocates who support NOR legislation are also a future referral channel. They direct families toward funeral homes that offer the services their members want.

Our preparation checklist for funeral homes in pending NOR states walks through each of these steps in detail, with timelines and resource recommendations.

If you want to be positioned when Illinois legalizes, not scrambling after the fact, connect with us at TerraCare Partners. We work with funeral homes in pending states to build the operational foundation now, so you can launch with confidence the moment the law allows.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Illinois Natural Organic Reduction Legislation

Q: Is natural organic reduction legal in Illinois?

No. As of October 16, 2026, natural organic reduction (NOR), also called terramation, is not legal in Illinois, and Illinois funeral homes cannot offer it in the state. HB 5425, the Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act, passed the Illinois House 64-36 on April 17, 2026 and is waiting in the Senate Assignments Committee. The Senate’s own bill, SB 2383, has not moved since April 2025.

Q: What is Illinois HB 5425?

HB 5425 is the House bill that would create the Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act. Rep. Mary Beth Canty is the sponsor. It cleared the House Energy & Environment Committee 18-9 on March 24, 2026 and passed the full House 64-36 on April 17, 2026, after the House adopted an amendment setting a 131°F, 72-consecutive-hour pathogen standard. Its chief Senate sponsor is Sen. Celina Villanueva. It has not had a Senate committee hearing or vote. A previous version of this article called the House bill HB 5507; HB 5507 is an unrelated school food bill.

Q: What is Illinois SB 2383?

SB 2383 is the Senate bill that would create the same Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act. Sen. Mike Simmons filed it on February 7, 2025. It was assigned to the Executive Committee on March 4, 2025 and re-referred to the Assignments Committee on April 11, 2025 under Senate Rule 3-9(a), with no action since. Its synopsis lists a January 1, 2027 effective date. Sen. Simmons is now also a Senate co-sponsor of HB 5425, which is the bill to watch.

Q: When could Illinois legalize terramation?

The earliest path is Senate passage of HB 5425 during the fall veto session, House agreement to any Senate changes, and the governor’s signature. If HB 5425 has not passed both chambers before the 104th General Assembly ends in January 2027, it dies and must be reintroduced in the 105th General Assembly, which makes 2027 the earliest realistic year for a new law. The bill’s current text lists a June 1, 2026 effective date, which has passed, so the effective date will be whatever the final bill sets. Licensing through the Illinois Comptroller would follow; a reasonable planning assumption is at least six to twelve months from signing to the first license.

Q: Can Illinois funeral homes offer NOR to families now?

No. Until the Illinois General Assembly passes NOR legislation and the governor signs it into law, natural organic reduction is not an authorized method of final disposition in Illinois. Funeral homes that perform NOR in Illinois before legalization would be operating outside current state law. Families who want NOR today must use a licensed facility in a state where it is legal and available, such as Washington or Colorado. Preparation, staff education, and facility planning are all appropriate now; in-state NOR services are not.

Q: What states near Illinois have already legalized NOR?

None of the states bordering Illinois (Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, and Indiana) has legalized NOR. Minnesota, the nearest legal state to northern Illinois, legalized NOR in 2024 and its law took effect July 1, 2025, but no Minnesota facility is confirmed to be operating yet. NOR is legal in 14 states: Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California, New York, Nevada, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, Georgia, and New Jersey. Legal status is not the same as availability: in several of those states no licensed in-state facility is operating yet, and California’s law does not take effect until January 1, 2027. Washington, Colorado, and Oregon have long-established providers. Oklahoma’s legislature passed HB 3660 in 2026, but the governor vetoed it on May 12, 2026, so NOR is not legal there. See the full picture at our guide to where NOR is already legal.

Q: Who would regulate NOR facilities in Illinois if the bill passes?

Under HB 5425 as passed by the House, the Illinois Comptroller would license and regulate NOR facilities. Each facility must be run by a disposition authority licensed by the Comptroller, which files an annual report with a $25 fee plus $5 for each reduction. The Comptroller could recognize training programs, inspect records, discipline licensees, and adopt rules. Licensed funeral directors would still supervise the handling of remains through reduction, and each disposition authority must employ or contract with a funeral director. The final structure depends on the bill’s language if the Senate amends it.

Q: Could Illinois families prearrange NOR?

Under HB 5425 as written, yes. Individuals could authorize their own NOR in advance on a preneed basis, and any preneed contract that includes NOR must specify the final disposition of the soil. Maine, by contrast, prohibits preneed NOR agreements. Preneed NOR would become available in Illinois only after a bill is enacted.

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The funeral homes that move first, in staff education, facility assessment, and provider relationships, will have a real competitive advantage when Illinois joins the 14 states that have already legalized natural organic reduction. Don’t wait for the Senate vote.

Follow the progress of Illinois terramation legislation at the NOR legislation tracker, and contact TerraCare Partners to get on our waitlist and start building your program now.

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Sources

1. Illinois General Assembly. HB 5425, Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act, 104th General Assembly (2025-2026): bill status, synopsis, votes, and House-passed (engrossed) text. ilga.gov
2. Illinois General Assembly. SB 2383, Natural Organic Reduction Regulation Act, 104th General Assembly (2025-2026). ilga.gov
3. Oklahoma Legislature. HB 3660 (2026 session), bill status. oklegislature.gov
4. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Rule status, R-04882 (natural organic reduction rules). revisor.mn.gov
5. New York Department of State. Notice of Adoption, 19 NYCRR Parts 203 and 204 (Natural Organic Reduction). dos.ny.gov
6. Catholic Conference of Illinois. Policy positions on end-of-life legislation. illinoiscatholic.org
7. National Funeral Directors Association. 2025 Cremation & Burial Report. nfda.org

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TerraCare Partners | Last Updated: October 16, 2026