Green Burial Council: What Its Certification Means and How to Check a Provider

The Green Burial Council (GBC) is a nonprofit that certifies cemeteries, funeral homes and products for natural burial. It is not a government regulator, and certification is voluntary. Its cemetery levels are hybrid, natural and conservation. It certifies only burial of the body, not cremation, aquamation or human composting.

What is the Green Burial Council?

The GBC was founded in 2005 as a nonprofit to set standards for the green burial movement and give consumers a way to tell real green burial from marketing. It runs a certification program and publishes provider maps and planning guides. An educational arm, Green Burial Council International, was formed in 2015.

It certifies four things:

• Cemeteries, at three levels (below).
• Funeral homes, under a Funeral Service Provider Standard (the current version is dated 2025).
• Burial products, such as caskets, shrouds and urns.
• Body care products, such as nontoxic chemicals for bodies that are embalmed.

Providers apply, submit documents and pay a fee. The GBC lists $445 for the first location of a cemetery or funeral home. Certified providers get a certificate and a listing in the GBC directory. The documents it asks for include a funeral home's General Price List and container price list, and a cemetery's rules and an endowment affidavit. A cemetery also provides an environmental impact study, and proof of conservation trust status if it applies.

The GBC says its certification covers the full-body burial of human remains. It does not set standards for flame cremation, aquamation or human composting, and it cannot certify a provider that offers only those services.

What are the three levels of GBC cemetery certification?

A hybrid section is often the easiest to find and may let you be buried near relatives. A natural or conservation ground is a bigger commitment to the land. The Conservation Burial Alliance publishes standards for conservation grounds, including a legally binding and permanent land agreement, a stewardship endowment of at least 10% of plot sales, and an average of no more than 300 burials per acre. For the full picture, see our conservation cemetery guide and natural burial grounds guide.

What do GBC standards require for burial?

Across levels, the GBC describes green burial as burial of an unembalmed body in biodegradable materials, with no vault. In particular:

• No vault. The GBC says vaults are prohibited in all types of green burial cemeteries. The Conservation Burial Alliance standard also bans partial or inverted vaults, concrete boxes, slabs and partitioned liners, so a vault turned upside down does not qualify.
• Biodegradable containers. Containers must be made of plant-derived, natural, animal or unfired earthen materials, with no toxic finishes, adhesives or dyes. A shroud counts.
• No toxic embalming. The GBC says embalming is rarely required by law and never legally necessary for a viewing. Conservation grounds may accept bodies embalmed only with GBC-approved nontoxic chemicals.
• Markers that fit the land. The GBC says GPS units, native stone markers or mapping may be used, and natural and conservation cemeteries limit markers based on ecological impact.
• Depth. The GBC describes about 3.5 to 4 feet as the ideal depth for decomposition, and says graves are covered with at least 18 inches of soil. Burial depth rules differ by state.

How do you check whether a provider is certified?

Anyone can use the words "green" or "natural". The FTC's Green Guides say it is deceptive to misrepresent that a product or service offers a general environmental benefit, but the GBC's provider directory is a clearer test.

1. Search the GBC's cemetery and funeral home provider maps on its website, or call 888-966-3330.
2. Ask the provider which level it holds (hybrid, natural or conservation) and what its green burial rules are.
3. Ask for the rules and prices in writing. The FTC Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to give you a General Price List, and our General Price List guide explains how to read one.
4. For a conservation ground, ask who holds the conservation easement.
5. If a provider follows green practices but is not certified, ask what it does differently. Certification is voluntary and costs money, so absence from the map is not proof of a problem, but it means you have to check the details yourself.

What does a GBC-style burial cost?

The GBC does not set prices. The Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) says a grave at a green cemetery typically costs $1,000 to $4,000 for a body and $200 to $1,000 for cremated remains, and that funeral home charges are often around $2,000 but can be $5,000 or more. The GBC says green burial can cost less than, the same as, or more than a conventional funeral. You save on vaults, embalming and an elaborate casket, but conservation grounds may charge more for land protection.

Do laws allow green burial, and what about embalming?

A conventional cemetery may require a vault, though the FTC says outer burial containers are not required by state law anywhere in the US. The FTC also says no state law requires routine embalming for every death, and the Funeral Rule says a funeral home must not claim otherwise.

State rules differ on how long a body can wait before embalming or refrigeration is needed. The GBC says the time between death and the need for preservation is typically 24 to 72 hours. Our guides to whether embalming is required and viewings without embalming explain the options.

What are the limits of GBC certification?

• It covers burial only. For cremation-based options, see our guides to eco-friendly cremation and aquamation vs cremation.
• It is not a law. Certified or not, a provider must follow state and local rules and the FTC Funeral Rule.
• It does not guarantee a price. Compare itemized price lists from several providers.
• Directories change. Providers join and leave, and sites can stop taking new burial contracts. Confirm before you buy.

What to do next

1. Look up cemeteries near you on the GBC map and note their levels.
2. Call one or two and ask for their written rules, price list and accepted containers.
3. Ask a local funeral home whether it has done natural burials, and request its General Price List.
4. Write down your wishes and tell your family. Our green burial guide walks through planning.