Spreading ashes in the ocean is legal throughout the United States, and you don’t need to apply for a permit or pay a fee in advance. Under a general permit issued by the EPA through the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, families can release cremated remains at sea as long as the scattering happens at least three nautical miles from shore, uses only biodegradable materials, and is reported to the EPA within 30 days.1US EPA. Burial at Sea
The Three-Nautical-Mile Rule
Distance from land is the central requirement. Ashes must be released at least three nautical miles from the nearest shoreline, measured from the baseline of the territorial sea. Unlike a full-body burial at sea, which requires water at least 600 feet deep, cremated remains can be released in ocean waters of any depth so long as you’re far enough offshore.2eCFR. 40 CFR 229.1 Burial at Sea
Three nautical miles is roughly 3.5 standard miles. Reaching that point almost always means chartering a boat or hiring a service that specializes in scattering voyages. A dedicated ceremony with a licensed captain generally runs a few hundred dollars to around a thousand, depending on the port and the size of the party. Some companies offer unattended scattering at a lower price, taking the remains out on your behalf and reporting the coordinates back to you afterward.
Why You Can’t Scatter From the Beach
This catches many families off guard. Walking into the surf or releasing ashes from a pier, dock, or the sand does not satisfy the three-nautical-mile requirement. The EPA specifically lists placement of remains within three nautical miles of shore as an activity that is not authorized under the general permit.1US EPA. Burial at Sea
Enforcement at beaches is rare in practice, and there’s a real gap between what families often do and what the regulation says. If full compliance with federal law matters to you, a vessel trip past the three-mile mark is the only route for ocean scattering.
What You Can Put in the Water
Anything that enters the ocean during the ceremony has to break down naturally and quickly. Containers used to hold the ashes must be made from biodegradable material such as paper, cardboard, sand, salt, or unfinished wood. Plastic of any kind is prohibited, the container cannot float, and it should degrade in a relatively short time in seawater.1US EPA. Burial at Sea
Standard urns made of metal, ceramic, glass, or plastic cannot go in the water. If the remains arrived in one of those, transfer them into a biodegradable vessel before the ceremony (or scatter them directly) and bring the permanent urn back to shore.
Flowers and wreaths are welcome, but they must be entirely natural. No plastic stems, no metal wire frames, no synthetic ribbons, no foam.2eCFR. 40 CFR 229.1 Burial at Sea Real petals and leaves will decompose; the plastic clip holding them together will not. When ordering from a florist, ask specifically for a sea-safe arrangement.
The permit also prohibits placing monuments or markers of any kind in the water, including tombstones, gravestones, artificial reefs, and mausoleums.
Scattering From an Aircraft
The general permit at 40 CFR 229.1 covers remains transported by either vessel or aircraft, so scattering from a plane or helicopter is legal as long as the release happens at least three nautical miles offshore.2eCFR. 40 CFR 229.1 Burial at Sea Federal aviation rules prohibit dropping objects from aircraft when they could harm people or property on the ground. Cremated ashes aren’t considered hazardous, so releasing them in flight is permitted. The key is to keep the container inside the aircraft and release only the ashes themselves.
Aerial scattering services operate in most coastal areas. Costs typically run higher than a boat charter because you’re covering aircraft operating expenses.
Reporting the Scattering to the EPA
Within 30 days of the ceremony, you must notify the EPA. This is mandatory, and it’s the only administrative step the law requires. No advance application, no pre-approval, no fee. Just a post-event report.2eCFR. 40 CFR 229.1 Burial at Sea
The report goes to the EPA Regional Administrator for the region where your vessel or aircraft departed. The EPA provides a free online Burial at Sea Reporting Tool that walks you through it.1US EPA. Burial at Sea You’ll need:
- The name of the deceased
- The date of the burial
- The departure location
- The type of remains (cremated or non-cremated)
- The distance from the baseline
- The coordinates of the burial location
- Contact information for the person who arranged the burial and the person responsible for the vessel
If you don’t have exact GPS coordinates, the reporting tool includes an interactive map you can click to identify the approximate location.3US EPA. Burial at Sea Reporting Tool Fact Sheet
Penalties for Skipping the Rules
The penalties under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act are steeper than most people expect for what feels like a private ceremonial act. A civil violation carries a fine of up to $50,000 per offense at the statutory base amount.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 33 US Code 1415 – Penalties After inflation adjustments, that figure currently exceeds $248,000 per violation.5eCFR. 40 CFR 19.4 Statutory Civil Monetary Penalties, as Adjusted for Inflation, and Tables Each day of a continuing violation counts as a separate offense.
Knowingly violating the law can also trigger criminal penalties, including fines and up to five years in prison.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 33 US Code 1415 – Penalties In setting a fine, the EPA weighs the seriousness of the violation, any prior violations, and whether the person made a good-faith effort to comply after being notified. The EPA is not patrolling coastlines looking for families with urns, but the penalties are real and the reporting requirement is not optional.
Lakes, Rivers, and Other Inland Waters
The federal three-nautical-mile rule applies only to ocean waters. Scattering in a lake, river, bay, or sound falls outside the EPA general permit, and state law takes over.1US EPA. Burial at Sea Some states authorize inland scattering under their own environmental or health rules, sometimes tied to the federal Clean Water Act.
Requirements vary a lot. Some states impose few restrictions on inland waterways. Others require written permission from a landowner if you’re accessing the water across private property, or from a parks agency if the waterway sits inside a state or national park. Before scattering in any body of water other than the open ocean, check with your state’s environmental or health agency.
States can also add rules on top of the federal ocean permit, such as regulating transportation of remains on land to the departure port.1US EPA. Burial at Sea
Free Military Burial at Sea
The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard both conduct burials at sea at no cost aboard active vessels during regular operations. Families do not typically attend, but they receive official notification and the coordinates once the ceremony is complete.
The Navy program is open to current and retired members of any uniformed service, former members who were honorably discharged, civilian marine personnel of the Military Sealift Command, and dependents of any of these groups. The primary next of kin requests a burial-at-sea packet from the MyNavy Career Center at 1-833-330-6622 and submits it with a death certificate, the cremation certificate or burial transit permit, and a DD Form 214 or equivalent discharge paperwork. Remains ship to one of five Navy ports, and the ceremony takes place when a vessel’s schedule permits, typically 12 to 18 months after the remains arrive.6MyNavy HR. Burial at Sea
The Coast Guard runs a similar program for active duty members, retirees, reservists, and their dependents. Requests go to the Burial at Sea Coordinator at the Coast Guard Base in San Pedro, California, with the same supporting documents.7U.S. Coast Guard. Request Authorization Form Burial at Sea Program
Pet Ashes Are Not Covered
The general permit covers human remains only. Placement of non-human remains, including pets, is not authorized, and pet ashes cannot be mixed with a person’s cremated remains and scattered under the permit.1US EPA. Burial at Sea Disposing of anything the general permit doesn’t cover would technically require a separate individual permit from the EPA, a far more involved process than the automatic authorization families use for human ashes.