Simple Cremation in Manatee County —
One Clear Price
- 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
Manatee County, FL — Bradenton · Palmetto · Parrish · Ellenton · Lakewood Ranch · Anna Maria Island
Serving Manatee County families from our office at 326 S Falkenburg Road, Tampa — a straight run down I-75.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
What You Pay, and What It Covers
Our direct cremation package is $795, and for families anywhere on the Manatee mainland that is the whole figure — Bradenton, Palmetto, Parrish, Ellenton, Lakewood Ranch, Myakka City. Transfers to Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Cortez, and Longboat Key carry a flat travel charge of $35, quoted before you commit to anything and never billed by the mile. Here is what the price covers.
Transfer Into Our Care
Our own staff comes to you — hospital, hospice, care facility, or home — anywhere in Manatee County. Not a subcontracted removal service.
Refrigeration
Dignified refrigerated care for up to 10 days, as Florida law requires.
Cremation Permit Fee
Every Manatee County cremation requires District 12 Medical Examiner approval. That $35 county fee is part of your price, not a line item added at checkout.
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 Manatee County
Very little is asked of you right now. Here is what happens depending on where your loved one passed, and the one thing we need from you in each case.
At a Manatee 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
A hospice nurse makes the official pronouncement, and staff will then ask which provider you’ve chosen. Give them our name and number; nothing else is needed from you. We coordinate transfers from the Tidewell hospice houses in Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch, and from hospice patients being cared for at home.
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
Sudden, unexpected, or unattended deaths fall to the District 12 Medical Examiner. Manatee County deaths are taken to the Medical Examiner’s Bradenton facility on 6th Avenue East — close to home, which is not true for families in most Florida counties. It doesn’t mean anything is wrong and it doesn’t require anything of you. We handle the release documentation directly with their office and bring your loved one into our care as soon as they authorize it.
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 Manatee County
Our own staff makes the transfer and provides refrigerated care. The cremation itself is carried out at a licensed crematory we work with directly, under identification procedures we control and document. At every stage, there is one company answerable to you.
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 12 Medical Examiner reviews and approves
Under Florida Statute 406.11 and Rule 11G of the Florida Administrative Code, every death in which the body is to be cremated must be reviewed by the Medical Examiner, and an approval number must be supplied to the crematory before the cremation can take place. Manatee County charges a $35 fee for that approval under county ordinance R-08-217. Both are included in your price. We file the 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 12 Medical Examiner
Manatee County does not have its own Medical Examiner’s office. It belongs to District 12, which serves Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties. Every cremation of a person who died in Manatee County — not only investigated deaths — requires a District 12 approval number before it can proceed. We file these requests electronically and know what the office needs in order to approve without a second round of questions.
- Cremation approval requests filed electronically, same day
- Release paperwork handled on your behalf for Medical Examiner cases
- The $35 county approval fee is included in your price — never billed separately
MANATEE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER (DISTRICT 12)
202 6th Avenue East, Bradenton, FL 34208
PHONE: 941-746-6922 https://www.fldist12me.com/contact-us/
The District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office is a government function serving Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by their office; this information is provided for families who need it.
Which District 12 office am I dealing with?
District 12 runs two facilities. The administrative office is in Sarasota, on Fruitville Road, and handles all routine business — records, case investigators, release coordination. The Bradenton facility on 6th Avenue East is where Manatee County deaths are physically examined.
Which one applies depends on where the death occurred or was pronounced, not where your loved one lived. A Bradenton resident who passed at a Sarasota hospital is a Sarasota County case; a Sarasota resident who passed at Manatee Memorial is a Manatee County case.
Families often call the Bradenton number expecting to speak to a case investigator and are redirected to Sarasota. You don’t need to call either one. We coordinate the release with the right facility on your behalf.
Your address says Sarasota. You may be in Manatee County.
ZIP code 34243 — University Park, Whitfield, and the corridor around Sarasota-Bradenton airport — is a Sarasota mailing address that sits physically in Manatee County. Thousands of households here have written “Sarasota, FL” on every letter they’ve sent for twenty years and are, for every legal purpose, Manatee County residents.
It matters here because the county of death determines which District 12 facility examines your loved one, which release form is required, and which county’s cremation fee applies. Manatee and Sarasota both charge $35. DeSoto charges nothing.
It changes nothing about what you pay us or how long anything takes. It only changes which paperwork we file, and we work that out for you.
Longboat Key is one town in two counties.
ZIP 34228 covers the whole of Longboat Key, but the Manatee–Sarasota county line runs across the island. The northern end is Manatee County; the southern end is Sarasota County. Two neighbours a few hundred feet apart can be handled under different county records, with different release forms, from different District 12 facilities.
Same district, same $35 fee, same process, same price from us. We identify the correct county from the address and pronouncement location and file accordingly — you don’t need to work it out yourself.
SERVING LOCALLY
We Transfer From Care Facilities Across Manatee 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
Tidewell Hospice — Bradenton Hospice House
2504 34th Avenue West, Bradenton, FL 34205
(941) 552-5900
Tidewell Hospice — Lakewood Ranch Hospice House
11535 Rangeland Pkwy, Bradenton, FL 34211
(941) 552-5900
Hospitals
Manatee Memorial Hospital
202 2nd Street E, Bradenton, FL 34208
HCA Florida Blake Hospital (formerly Blake Medical Center)
2020 59th Street W, Bradenton, FL 34209
Lakewood Ranch Medical Center
8330 Lakewood Ranch Blvd, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202
SUPPORT AREA
Every City and ZIP Code in Manatee County
We serve every community in Manatee County. Transfers across the Manatee mainland are included in the $795 price — Bradenton, Palmetto, Parrish, Ellenton, Lakewood Ranch, Myakka City, and everywhere between. Transfers from Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Cortez, and Longboat Key carry one flat travel charge of $35, the same for every island address. No per-mile billing, ever.
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 Manatee County Families Call Us
A real person, at any hour
No phone tree, no overnight answering service. Call 813-647-3689 at two in the afternoon or two in the morning and you'll reach the owner of this business — the person actually accountable for your loved one's care.
Our own team makes the transfer
The first transfer is often subcontracted to a third-party removal service, which means the people who arrive at the house have no connection to the firm the family hired. Ours are our own staff. They make every transfer and provide refrigerated care, and the identification process starts the moment they arrive — documented at every stage.
A price you can compare without making a phone call
Our whole price is on this page. Not a starting price, not a base price, not a figure that grows once you're on the phone. If another provider's number is lower than ours, ask them what their transfer fee is, what their Medical Examiner fee is, and what their refrigeration charge is — and then compare the two totals. That's the comparison we want you to make.
Built for families who aren't nearby
Manatee County has one of the highest proportions of retired residents in Florida, and a great many families here are coordinating arrangements from another state. The entire process runs online with electronic signatures, and we can ship cremated remains securely to family anywhere in the country. You don't need to fly down to sign paperwork.
What Others Say About Us
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does direct cremation cost in Manatee County?
Our direct cremation package is $795, and for families on the Manatee mainland — Bradenton, Palmetto, Parrish, Ellenton, Lakewood Ranch, Myakka City — that is the entire figure. Island addresses on Anna Maria, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Cortez, and Longboat Key carry a flat travel charge of $[X]. The price covers refrigerated care, the alternative cremation container, the cremation itself, the $35 District 12 Medical Examiner approval fee, all required paperwork, and return of the cremated remains. Certified copies of the death certificate are billed at the state’s cost.
Are there hidden fees?
No. Everything required to complete a direct cremation in Manatee County is in the price above — including the county fees other providers commonly add at the end, such as the $35 Medical Examiner approval fee. The only additional cost most families choose is extra certified copies of the death certificate, which are set by the state and billed at cost. You’ll be given the complete figure before you commit to anything, and it will not change afterward.
Does the District 12 Medical Examiner have to approve a cremation?
Yes. Under Florida Statute 406.11 and Rule 11G of the Florida Administrative Code, every death in which the body is to be cremated must be reviewed by the Medical Examiner, and an approval number must be issued to the crematory before the cremation can take place. This applies even when the death was entirely expected and the Medical Examiner never investigated. Manatee County charges $35 for that approval under county ordinance R-08-217, and it’s included in your price. We file the request electronically as soon as the physician certifies the cause of death.
Where is the Manatee County Medical Examiner's office?
District 12 serves Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties from two facilities. The administrative office is on Fruitville Road in Sarasota and handles all routine business, records, and case investigators. Manatee County deaths are physically examined at the District 12 facility at 202 6th Avenue East in Bradenton. Which facility applies depends on where the death occurred or was pronounced, not where your loved one lived. You don’t need to contact either — we coordinate the release directly.
My address says Sarasota. Am I in Manatee County?
Possibly. ZIP code 34243 — University Park, Whitfield, and the area around Sarasota-Bradenton airport — is a Sarasota mailing address that is physically inside Manatee County. Longboat Key, ZIP 34228, is split down the middle: the northern end is Manatee, the southern end is Sarasota. The county determines which District 12 facility handles the case and which release form is required. It makes no difference to your price or your timeline, and we identify the correct county for you.
How long does cremation take in Manatee 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. What sets the timeline is how quickly the attending physician signs the medical portion of the death certificate, and how quickly the District 12 Medical Examiner issues the approval number afterward. Florida law also requires 48 hours to pass between death and cremation. We submit paperwork immediately and follow up on physician signatures daily, because that’s where nearly every delay begins.
Can you transfer my loved one from a Manatee County hospital or hospice?
Yes. We transfer from Manatee Memorial Hospital, HCA Florida Blake Hospital — which many families still call Blake Medical Center — Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, the Tidewell hospice houses in Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch, and nursing and assisted living communities across the county. Give the facility our name and phone number, and at a hospital ask for the nursing supervisor or security staff. We handle the release directly with them.
Do you serve Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key?
Yes, including Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, and Cortez. The islands are the furthest point in the county from our office, so a flat travel charge of $35 applies to island addresses — one rate for all of them, quoted before you commit. We don’t bill by the mile and we don’t charge a different family a different rate for the same drive.
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 Manatee families choose direct cremation and then hold a memorial, a celebration of life, or a scattering weeks or months later — at a church, a community clubhouse, on the beach, or on the water. It gives you time to gather everyone without the cost or the compressed schedule of a traditional funeral.
Can I arrange everything without driving to Tampa?
Yes, and most Manatee families do. The full arrangement process runs online with electronic signatures, so you can complete authorizations, choose your package, and pay without leaving home — or from another state entirely. Nothing about the distance between us changes what we can do for you.
Do you help with veterans' benefits in Manatee County?
Yes. A veteran discharged under honorable conditions is 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 no cost to the family. A veteran’s spouse may be buried or interred alongside them. Sarasota National Cemetery, on State Road 72 east of Sarasota, is the closest national cemetery to Manatee County families — considerably closer than Bay Pines or Bushnell. We help you locate the DD-214 if you don’t have it and coordinate 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