nor education 10 min read

By TerraCare

The NOR Industry in 2026 (colloquially referred to as human composting)

As of April 2026, the NOR industry has 14 legal states, a growing roster of commercial providers, and accelerating legislative momentum. Natural organic reduction (NOR) — commonly called terramation or natural organic reduction — went from zero legal jurisdictions to a recognized end-of-life industry in less than a decade. Below is a full picture of where the industry stands today: what’s been built, what’s still missing, and what growth looks like from here.

A practice that existed nowhere in law just seven years ago has grown into a small but accelerating industry, with commercial providers operating in multiple states, funeral homes beginning to adopt the technology, and legislative momentum building nationwide.

What is the state of the NOR terramation industry in 2026?

As of April 2026, 14 U.S. states have legalized NOR (with CA, NY, and NJ legal but not yet operational), commercial providers operate in 11 states, and 5 states legalized NOR in 2024 alone — the largest single-year expansion. NOR still represents a small fraction of total dispositions (thousands of cumulative cases versus ~2 million annual cremations), but the structural drivers — consumer demand, cremation normalization, environmental awareness, and funeral home adoption — all point toward continued growth.

  • 14 U.S. states have legalized NOR as of April 2026: WA, CO, OR, VT, CA, NY, NV, AZ, MD, DE, MN, ME, GA, and NJ — with CA, NY, and NJ legal but not yet operational.
  • Five states legalized NOR in 2024 alone — the largest single-year expansion and a clear signal that NOR has crossed into mainstream political acceptance.
  • NOR accounts for thousands of cumulative cases since commercial operations began in 2021, compared to approximately 2 million annual cremations — it is early on a long growth curve.
  • The CANA NOROC certification ($300, 4.0 CE hours, self-paced online) is the funeral industry's first major professional credential for NOR operators.
  • Funeral home adoption through equipment programs like TerraCare's Chrysalis™ is the key scaling mechanism — most Americans access death care through existing funeral homes, not standalone facilities.
  • Open questions include interstate soil transport rules, pre-need contract frameworks, insurance coverage for NOR, and when California (the largest U.S. market) becomes operational in 2027.

How Many States Have Legalized NOR?

As of April 2026, 14 states have passed legislation legalizing natural organic reduction: Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California, New York, Nevada, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, Georgia, and New Jersey.

Washington led the way in 2019, when Governor Jay Inslee signed SB 5001 — the first NOR law in the world. Colorado and Oregon followed in 2021, Vermont in 2022, and the pace accelerated from there. Five states passed NOR legislation in 2024 alone (Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, and Maine), and Georgia and New Jersey joined in 2025.

Three of those 14 states — California, New York, and New Jersey — are legal but not yet operational. California’s law (AB-351) takes effect January 1, 2027. New York and New Jersey are working through their regulatory processes. For current state-by-state status, see the complete state guides.

Beyond the 14 legal states, Oklahoma’s HB 3660 passed the Oklahoma House 59-37 in March 2026 and is currently pending in the Oklahoma Senate — making it the most advanced pending-state bill in the country, but not yet law.

Who Are the NOR Providers Operating Today?

The NOR industry is still small enough that you can name most of its commercial providers. A few have emerged as flagship operations in Washington state, where the industry began in 2021 when the first commercial NOR facilities opened. These Washington-based providers were the world’s first commercial NOR operations and remain among the most prominent in terms of public profile, media coverage, and consumer awareness. Additional providers have opened in Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Maryland, and other operational states as legislation has enabled them.

These providers operate as standalone NOR facilities — purpose-built operations where families come specifically for terramation. The next frontier is funeral home adoption: traditional funeral homes adding NOR as a service option through partnerships and equipment programs. TerraCare Partners provides the equipment and support infrastructure that allows funeral homes to offer NOR without building a standalone facility. This model, still early, represents a significant expansion path for the industry.

How Big Is the NOR Industry Today?

Honest answer: small. NOR remains a fraction of a fraction of total U.S. dispositions. The national cremation rate reached 63.4% in 2025 (NFDA 2025 Cremation & Burial Report), which itself represents decades of behavioral shift. Traditional burial still accounts for roughly a third of dispositions. NOR accounts for a few thousand cases per year — orders of magnitude below cremation’s approximately 2 million annual cases.

But the trajectory matters. In 2019, NOR had zero legal states and zero commercial providers. In 2026, it has 14 legal states, operational providers in most of them, and growing consumer awareness. The industry is on the early part of what could be a long growth curve.

For context: cremation itself was below 5% of U.S. dispositions in the 1970s and took decades to reach majority status. NOR is earlier on that curve today than cremation was in 1980.

What Is Driving the Legislative Momentum?

Five states passed NOR legislation in 2024 alone — more than in any previous year. Several factors appear to be contributing:

Consumer demand signals. Families who want terramation but live in non-legal states create political pressure. As awareness grows, so does the constituency for legalization.

Cremation normalization. The same values that drove cremation’s rise — cost, simplicity, environmental preference — are driving interest in NOR. The 63.4% national cremation rate (NFDA 2025) demonstrates that Americans have already shown they’ll choose alternatives to traditional burial when those alternatives are made available.

Legislative cross-pollination. State advocates have become better at adapting successful bill language from states like Washington and Colorado. The legislative process is getting more efficient with each new state.

Environmental awareness. Climate-conscious consumers are increasingly interested in end-of-life choices that reduce their environmental footprint. NOR’s soil-return outcome — which can actively benefit ecosystems — fits this frame in a way that cremation does not.

What Is Still Unresolved?

Despite real progress, the NOR industry has several open questions that will shape its next phase:

Soil use and interstate transport. Most NOR laws regulate the disposition of the resulting soil, and rules vary by state. Interstate transport of NOR soil — relevant for families who want to use soil in a state other than where the process occurred — remains a patchwork of state-specific interpretations rather than a unified federal framework.

Pre-need frameworks. Pre-need funeral contracts, which allow families to pay in advance for funeral services, are regulated at the state level. NOR-specific pre-need rules are still developing in many states, creating complexity for families who want to pre-plan a terramation.

Insurance coverage. Life insurance proceeds are commonly used to pay for funeral expenses. How insurance companies treat NOR in their claim processes is still evolving.

Funeral home adoption. Most NOR today is delivered through standalone facilities. For the industry to scale to its potential, traditional funeral homes need pathways to offer NOR. Equipment costs, training requirements, and regulatory licensing are all factors in that adoption process. Organizations like TerraCare Partners are building the infrastructure to make funeral home adoption practical, but widespread adoption is still ahead.

What Does the Consumer Awareness Picture Look Like?

High interest, low familiarity. Surveys consistently show that the majority of Americans have not heard of natural organic reduction or terramation. Among those who have heard of it, interest tends to be positive — particularly among younger demographics and those with environmental values. But “interested when asked” is different from “actively planning.”

This gap between potential demand and actual uptake is one of the defining characteristics of the NOR industry in 2026. The industry is in the awareness-building phase, not the scaling phase. Consumer education — articles like this one, media coverage, word-of-mouth — is how that gap closes.

What Does the Next Phase of NOR Growth Look Like?

Several developments would accelerate NOR’s growth from niche to mainstream:

More states legalizing. Each new legal state opens a new market. California alone — when it becomes operational in 2027 — will add the largest consumer market in the country to the NOR landscape.

Funeral home adoption at scale. The standalone-facility model is not designed to serve the full U.S. death-care market. Funeral homes are the existing distribution network for end-of-life services. When a critical mass of funeral homes offer NOR as a standard option, the service becomes accessible to far more families.

Pre-need normalization. When families can pre-plan and pre-pay for terramation with the same ease as cremation, pre-planning becomes a driver of growth rather than a barrier.

Consumer education. As public awareness rises, so does expressed demand — which in turn accelerates legislation, investment, and adoption.

The NOR industry in 2026 is small, real, and building. The fundamentals — consumer preferences shifting toward sustainability, cremation demonstrating that Americans will choose alternatives to traditional burial, legislative momentum accelerating — point in one direction. The open questions are how fast, not whether.

For a broader look at the history behind where the industry stands today, see our complete guide to natural organic reduction.

If you’re a funeral professional interested in what NOR adoption looks like in practice, the TerraCare Partners FAQ addresses the operational questions funeral homes commonly ask.

To understand how the state count grew from one to fourteen, see How Washington Became First to Legalize Terramation and the NOR Legislation Timeline.

How many states have legalized natural organic reduction?

As of April 2026, 14 states have legalized NOR: Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, California, New York, Nevada, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, Georgia, and New Jersey. Three of those — California, New York, and New Jersey — are legal but not yet operational.

Who are the main NOR providers in the United States?

Several established NOR providers have been operational since 2021, primarily in Washington state, with additional providers operating in Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Maryland, and other legal states. TerraCare Partners supports funeral homes seeking to add NOR as an in-house service option.

Is NOR available in my state?

NOR is available to families in the 11 operational legal states: Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, Nevada, Arizona, Maryland, Delaware, Minnesota, Maine, and Georgia. California, New York, and New Jersey have passed NOR laws but are not yet operational. Families in other states would need to transport remains to a legal state. See the state guides for current status.

Why are only some funeral homes offering NOR?

Most NOR is currently offered through standalone facilities purpose-built for the process. Traditional funeral homes have been slower to adopt NOR because of equipment costs, facility requirements, and state licensing requirements. This is changing as equipment providers like TerraCare Partners develop programs specifically designed for funeral home adoption.

How does NOR growth compare to cremation’s growth?

Cremation was below 5% of U.S. dispositions in the 1970s and took several decades to reach the current 63.4% rate (NFDA 2025). NOR is earlier on that growth curve — currently a small fraction of total dispositions — but with similar structural drivers: cost, simplicity, environmental preference, and shifting cultural attitudes about death.

Learn more about terramation providers near you — contact TerraCare Partners to explore options in your area.

Ready to explore terramation options? Contact TerraCare Partners — reach out today and we can connect you with licensed providers and answer your questions.

Sources

  1. NFDA 2025 Cremation & Burial Report — https://nfda.org/news/statistics
  2. Washington State SB 5001 (2019) — https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5001&Year=2019
  3. Washington State Department of Health — WAC 246-500 Natural Organic Reduction — https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-500
  4. NFDA — Cremation & Burial Statistics — https://nfda.org/news/statistics
  5. TerraCare Partners — NOR Education — https://terracareprogram.com/blog/nor-education/
  6. Green Burial Council — https://www.greenburialcouncil.org
  7. Oklahoma Legislature — HB 3660 — https://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=HB3660&Session=2600