Simple Cremation in
Hillsborough County —
$795, Everything Included
A family-owned cremation provider based right here in Hillsborough County. Call any hour and you’ll speak with our owner — not an answering service.
- Licensed Florida cremation provider, based in Tampa
- $795 complete — no add-ons, no mileage fees anywhere in the county
- Owner answers the phone, 24 hours a day
- Arrange entirely online, or in person on S. Falkenburg Road
Hillsborough County, FL — Tampa · Brandon · Riverview · Plant City · Sun City Center
Serving Hillsborough County families from our office at 326 S Falkenburg Road, Tampa — minutes from Brandon, Riverview, and downtown.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
One Price. $795. Nothing Added Later.
Most cremation providers quote a “starting at” price, then add fees for transportation, refrigeration, the county cremation permit, and paperwork. By the time the invoice arrives, families in Hillsborough County are often paying double what they were quoted. We don’t work that way. The price below is the price you pay.
Transfer Into Our Care
Respectful transportation from the place of passing, anywhere within 40 miles — which covers all of Hillsborough County.
Refrigeration
Dignified refrigerated care for up to 10 days, as Florida law requires.
Cremation Permit Fee
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner approval fee is included, not billed to you later.
All Required Paperwork
Death certificate filing, state and county authorizations, and Social Security notification handled by our staff.
Cremation Container
A dignified alternative
container is included
The Cremation Itself
Performed by licensed professionals with full accountability at every step.
Return of Ashes
Your loved one is returned in a Seashore temporary container, ready for pickup or transfer to an urn of your choosing.
Certified copies of the death certificate are issued by the Florida Department of Health and are $15 per copy. Crematory fee covered up to 399 lbs. Full itemized pricing is available in our General Price List.
IF DEATH HAS JUST OCCURRED
What to Do in the First Few Hours in Hillsborough County
The right first step depends on where your loved one passed. Here’s what happens in each situation — and where we step in.
At a Hillsborough County hospital
Hospital staff will notify the attending physician and move your loved one to the hospital’s care area. There is one step the hospital needs from you: tell them which provider you’ve chosen. Ask for the nursing supervisor or security staff and give them our name and phone number — Affordable Cremations of Central Florida, 813-647-3689. That’s all you need to do. Once they have our information, we coordinate the release and transfer directly with the hospital.
Under hospice care
Hospice will contact the on-call nurse to make the official pronouncement. Once that’s complete, hospice staff will ask which provider you’ve chosen. Give them our name and phone number, and we’ll take it from there — including transfers from Melech Hospice House, the Sun City Center Hospice House, and Suncoast Hospice of Hillsborough.
At home or in an assisted living community
If your loved one was under hospice care, call the hospice line first. If not, call 911 — Florida requires that an unexpected death be reported. When first responders arrive, give them our name and phone number and ask them to call us directly; law enforcement coordinates the release with us on scene. Once the scene is cleared and the Medical Examiner has released the case, our transfer team is typically there within 90 minutes.
If the Medical Examiner has taken the case
When a death is sudden, unexpected, or unattended, the District 13 Medical Examiner takes jurisdiction and your loved one is transported to their facility on N 46th Street. There is nothing you need to do at that point — we handle the release paperwork, coordinate directly with their office, and bring your loved one into our care as soon as they authorize release.
Not sure which of these applies?
Call us. We’ll walk you through it in five minutes, any hour.
THE PROCESS
How the Cremation Works in Hillsborough County
Every step below happens in Hillsborough County, coordinated by our staff.
You’re not being handed off between vendors.
We bring your loved one into our care
Our own team makes the transfer — we don't subcontract transfers to a third-party service. Your loved one goes directly into our cremation care center. Typically our team arrives within 90 minutes of dispatch.
The attending physician certifies the cause of death
This is the step that determines your timeline. Florida law requires the certifying physician to complete the medical portion of the death certificate before anything else can move. We submit the request immediately and follow up until it's signed — this is where most delays happen, and where most of our work happens.
The District 13 Medical Examiner reviews and approves
Under Florida Statute 406.11, no cremation in Hillsborough County can take place until the Medical Examiner has reviewed the certified cause of death and issued approval. We file that request electronically through Florida's EDRS system the moment physician certification comes through.
The cremation takes place
Before the cremation begins, our team copies and compares every piece of identification against your loved one and the identification band placed at transfer. Only once that verification is complete, the Medical Examiner's approval is issued, and the state's required 48-hour waiting period has passed does the cremation proceed — carried out by licensed professionals.
Your loved one comes home
Cremated remains are returned to you in a Seashore temporary container, along with certified copies of the death certificate. Pick up at our Tampa office, ask us to arrange delivery, or - if your family is out of state - we can mail your loved one’s cremated remains to you, shipped securely and trackable through USPS. The mailing fee within Florida is $125, and $195 outside of Florida.
How We Make Certain It's Your Loved One
Identification starts the moment our transfer team arrives, when a unique identification band is placed with your loved one. That band stays with them through refrigerated care, and through paperwork.
Before any cremation takes place, our team copies and compares every identifying document against your loved one and against that band. The crematory issues a metal ID tag with a unique number, that is assigned to the loved one. If anything doesn’t match — a misspelled name, a wrong date, a single transposed digit — the cremation stops. Nothing proceeds until the discrepancy is resolved and every piece of information has been re-verified.
Your family can request a copy of this document from us if you wish.
Working With Local Authorities
Coordinating With the District 13 Medical Examiner
Hillsborough County is served by the District 13 Medical Examiner’s Office. Every cremation performed in this county — not just investigated deaths — requires their written approval before it can proceed. We file these requests daily and know exactly what District 13 needs to issue an approval without a second round of questions.
- Cremation approval requests filed electronically, same day
- Release paperwork handled on your behalf for Medical Examiner cases
- Approval fee included in your $795 — never billed separately
Hillsborough County Medical Examiner — District 13
11025 N 46th Street, Tampa, FL 33617
(813)914-4500
hcfl.gov/departments/medical-examiner
The Medical Examiner’s Office is a Hillsborough County government agency. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by their office; this information is provided for families who need it.
SERVING LOCALLY
We Transfer From Care Facilities Across Hillsborough County
Our team makes transfers from hospitals, hospice houses, nursing homes, assisted living communities, and private residences throughout the county. Because we know each facility’s release procedures and paperwork requirements, families don’t have to coordinate anything themselves — just give staff our name.
Hospice Care Centers
LifePath Hospice — Melech Hospice House
11125 N 52nd St, Temple Terrace, FL 33617
(813) 984-2200
LifePath Hospice — Sun City Center Hospice House
3723 Upper Creek Dr, Ruskin, FL 33573
(813) 877-2200
Suncoast Hospice of Hillsborough at St. Joseph’s
3001 W Dr. MLK Jr Blvd, Tampa, FL 33607
(813) 870-4910
Hospitals
Tampa General Hospital
1 Tampa General Cir, Tampa, FL 33606
AdventHealth Tampa
3100 E Fletcher Ave, Tampa, FL 33613
AdventHealth Carrollwood
7171 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33614
AdventHealth Riverview
9330 US-301, Riverview, FL 33578
St. Joseph’s Hospital
Tampa | 3001 W Dr. MLK Jr Blvd, Tampa, FL 33607
St. Joseph’s Hospital — South
6901 Simmons Loop, Riverview, FL 33578
St. Joseph’s Hospital — North
4211 Van Dyke Rd, Lutz, FL 33558
HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital
2901 W Swann Ave, Tampa, FL 33609
HCA Florida SouthShore Hospital
4016 Sun City Center Blvd, Sun City Center, FL 33573
HCA Florida Brandon Hospital
119 Oakfield Drive Brandon, FL 33511
South Florida Baptist Hospital
3202 N Park Road, Plant City FL 33563
SUPPORT AREA
Every City and ZIP Code in Hillsborough County
We serve all of Hillsborough County — and because our office sits inside the county, every ZIP code below falls within the 40-mile transfer radius included in the $795 price. There are no mileage surcharges anywhere in Hillsborough County.
Don’t see your ZIP code?
We likely still serve you — we cover surrounding Central Florida counties too.
Call 24/7
(813) 647-3689
Why Hillsborough County Families Call Us
You'll speak to the owner
When calling 813-647-3689 at any hour, callers reach the individual directly managing care. If the owner is on another line, a trained team answers right away to avoid voicemail entirely.
We're based in the county we serve
Our office and licensed facility are at 326 S Falkenburg Road in Tampa. We're not routing your loved one to a facility in another county or subcontracting the transfer to a removal service.
$795, and that's the whole number
The Florida state average for direct cremation runs well over $1,700, and many Tampa-area providers quote a low headline price that grows once permits, mileage, and paperwork fees are added. Ours doesn't grow.
Arrange from anywhere
Many families are managing this from out of state. Our entire arrangement process can be completed online and signed electronically — no office visit required, though you're always welcome to come in.
What Others Say About Us
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does cremation cost in Hillsborough County?
Direct cremation with Affordable Cremations of Central Florida is $795 for families anywhere in Hillsborough County. That price includes transfer from the place of passing, refrigerated care, the alternative cremation container, the cremation itself, the Medical Examiner approval fee, and return of the cremated remains. Certified copies of the death certificate are billed at the state’s cost. The Florida state average for direct cremation is more than double this.
Does the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner have to approve a cremation?
Yes. Under Florida Statute 406.11, the District 13 Medical Examiner must review the certified cause of death and issue written approval before any cremation can take place in Hillsborough County — even when the death was expected and the Medical Examiner never investigated it. We file this request electronically through Florida’s EDRS system as soon as the attending physician certifies the death, and the approval fee is included in our $795 price.
How long does cremation take in Hillsborough County?
Most families receive their loved one’s cremated remains and death certificates within 7 to 10 business days. The cremation itself takes only a few hours. The timeline is driven almost entirely by two things: how quickly the attending physician signs the medical portion of the death certificate, and how quickly the District 13 Medical Examiner issues approval afterward. Florida law also requires 48 hours to pass between death and cremation.
What happens if my loved one is at the Medical Examiner's office?
The District 13 Medical Examiner takes jurisdiction when a death is sudden, unexpected, unattended, or potentially non-natural. If your loved one is at their facility at 11025 N 46th Street, you don’t need to go there or file anything. We complete the release authorization on your behalf, coordinate directly with their staff, and transport your loved one into our care as soon as they’re released.
Do you charge extra for transfers from Plant City, Ruskin, or Sun City Center?
No. Our $795 package includes transfer from anywhere within 40 miles of our Tampa office, and every ZIP code in Hillsborough County falls inside that radius — including Plant City, Ruskin, Sun City Center, Wimauma, Lutz, and Lithia. Providers based outside the county frequently add mileage charges for these areas. We don’t.
Can you transfer my loved one from a Hillsborough County hospital or hospice?
Yes, and our own staff makes the transfer — we don’t subcontract removals to third-party services. We regularly transfer from Tampa General, St. Joseph’s, AdventHealth locations, Melech Hospice House, the Sun City Center Hospice House, and nursing and assisted living communities across the county. Just give the facility our name and phone number, and we’ll coordinate the release directly with them.
Can we still hold a service if we choose direct cremation?
Absolutely. Direct cremation simply means the cremation happens without a viewing or funeral service beforehand. Many Hillsborough County families choose direct cremation and then hold a memorial, celebration of life, or graveside gathering weeks or months later — at a church, a funeral chapel, a park, or at home. It gives you time to gather family without the cost or time pressure.
Can I arrange everything without coming to your office?
Yes. Our full arrangement process is available online with electronic signatures, which matters for the many Hillsborough County families coordinating from out of state. You can complete authorizations, select your package, and pay without visiting in person. If you’d rather meet face to face, our office at 326 S Falkenburg Road in Tampa is open to you.
Is the county cremation permit fee included in your price?
Yes. The medical examiner approval fee is included in our $795.00 price.
Do you help with veterans' benefits in Hillsborough County?
Yes. Veterans discharged under honorable conditions are eligible for burial or interment in a national cemetery, provided the family can produce the DD-214. Eligible veterans are also entitled to a United States burial flag and a government-furnished grave marker at the national cemetery, at no cost to the family. A veteran’s spouse may be buried or interred alongside them. The national cemetery nearest Hillsborough County is Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, with Bay Pines National Cemetery in Pinellas County also serving Tampa Bay families. We help you locate the DD-214 if you don’t have it and coordinate the arrangements with the cemetery.
We're Here, Any Hour
Whether a death has just occurred or you’re planning ahead, you can reach us right now. One call, one price, one team handling everything from the first transfer to the day your loved one comes home.
Phone: 813-647-3689
Office: 326 S Falkenburg Road, Tampa, FL 33619