Simple Cremation in Sarasota County —
Clear, All-In Pricing
A family-owned cremation provider serving Sarasota, Venice, North Port, Englewood, and every community in the county. Call any hour and you’ll speak with our owner — not an answering service.
- Licensed Florida cremation provider, based in Tampa
- $855 all in for Sarasota, $880 for Venice, North Port, and Englewood
- Owner answers the phone, 24 hours a day
- Arrange entirely online, or in person on S. Falkenburg Road
Sarasota County, FL — Sarasota · Venice · North Port · Englewood · Nokomis · Osprey · Siesta Key
Serving Sarasota County families from our office at 326 S Falkenburg Road, Tampa.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
What You Pay, and What It Covers
Our direct cremation package is $795. Sarasota County is beyond the 40-mile transfer radius that price includes, so a travel charge applies here — $60 for northern Sarasota County and $85 for Venice, North Port, and Englewood. We put those figures on the page rather than in the fine print, so you can compare our total to anyone else’s total without making a phone call first.
Transfer Into Our Care
Our own staff comes to you — hospital, hospice, care facility, or home — anywhere in Sarasota County. Not a subcontracted removal service.
Refrigeration
Dignified refrigerated care for up to 10 days, as Florida law requires.
Cremation Permit Fee
Every Sarasota cremation requires District 12 Medical Examiner approval. That fee is part of your price, not a line item added later.
All Required Paperwork
We file the death certificate, obtain state and county authorizations, and notify Social Security on your behalf.
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
The First Few Hours: What Happens, and What You Need to Do
Almost nothing is required of you right now. Here’s what happens depending on where your loved one passed, and the one small thing we need from you in each case.
At a Sarasota County hospital
Under hospice care
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 on its way.
If the Medical Examiner has taken the case
Sudden, unexpected, or unattended deaths fall under the District 12 Medical Examiner on Fruitville Road in Sarasota. Your loved one will be taken there. You don’t need to go, call them, or file anything — we handle the release documentation directly with their office and bring your loved one into our care as soon as they authorize it.
If you’re not sure which of these describes your situation, call. Five minutes on the phone will sort it out, whatever time it is.
CALL (813)647-3689
THE PROCESS
How Cremation Works in Sarasota 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 removals to a third-party service. Identification begins the moment our team arrives: a unique identification band is placed with your loved one before they leave the place of passing, and it stays with them through every stage of our care.
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, no cremation of a person who died in Sarasota County can take place until the District 12 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 12 Medical Examiner
Sarasota County is served by the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office on Fruitville Road in Sarasota, which also covers Manatee and DeSoto counties. Every cremation of a person who died in Sarasota County — not only investigated deaths — requires their written approval before it can proceed. We file these requests electronically and know what District 12 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
- Approval fee included in your price — never billed separately
District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office
4520 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34232
(941) 361-6909
fldist12me.com
The District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office is a government function serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by their office; this information is provided for families who need it.
If your address says Sarasota but you're in Manatee County
The 34243 ZIP code carries a Sarasota mailing address but sits physically in Manatee County, and Longboat Key is split between the two counties down the middle of the island. Families in those areas often aren’t certain which county they’re actually in.
Here it makes very little difference. District 12 covers Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties from the same office on Fruitville Road, so the Medical Examiner is the same either way. The death certificate is filed in the county where the death occurred, and we handle that determination for you. Nothing about your price or your timeline changes.
SERVING LOCALLY
We Transfer From Care Facilities Across Sarasota 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
Sarasota Hospice House | 5957 Rand Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34238
(941) 552-7691
Tidewell Hospice
Venice Hospice House | 220 Wexford Blvd, Venice, FL 34293
(941) 552-5900
Tidewell Hospice Care Center
at Village on the Isle | 910 Tamiami Trail S, Venice, FL 34285
(941) 202-4614
Hospitals
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Sarasota | 1700 S Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34239
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Venice | 2600 Laurel Rd E, North Venice, FL 34275
HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors Hospital
5731 Bee Ridge Rd, Sarasota, FL 34233
HCA Florida Englewood Hospital
700 Medical Blvd, Englewood, FL 34223
If your loved one is at a facility not listed here, we almost certainly serve it. Call us and we’ll confirm in under a minute.
CALL (813)647-3689
SUPPORT AREA
Every City and ZIP Code in Sarasota County
We serve every community in Sarasota County. Because the county sits beyond our included 40-mile transfer radius, a flat travel charge applies: $60 for Sarasota, Osprey, Longboat Key, and Siesta Key, bringing the total to $855 — or $85 for Nokomis, Venice, North Port, and Englewood, bringing the total to $880. One rate per area, quoted before you commit, never billed by the mile.
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 Sarasota County Families Call Us
We tell you the whole number upfront
Sarasota is outside our standard service radius, and we say so on this page rather than at the end of a phone call. One travel rate for your area, quoted before you commit to anything. Compare our all-in figure to anyone else's all-in figure — that is the comparison we want you to make, and it is the one we win.
A real person, at any hour
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.
Our own team makes the transfer
Many providers subcontract the first transfer to a third-party removal service, so the people who arrive have no connection to the firm you hired. Ours don't. Our staff makes every transfer and provides refrigerated care, and the identification process we run stays with your loved one from that first moment onward — documented at every stage.
Built for families who aren't nearby
Sarasota County has one of the oldest populations in the country, and a great many families here are coordinating 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 Sarasota County?
Our direct cremation package is $795, which includes transfer within 40 miles of our Tampa office. Sarasota County is beyond that radius, so a flat travel charge applies — $60 for the Sarasota area or $85 for Venice, North Port, and Englewood. Your total is $855 or $880 depending on where you are. That covers refrigerated care, the alternative cremation container, the cremation itself, the 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.
Why is the travel charge $60 in Sarasota but $85 in Englewood?
Because the distance genuinely differs — Englewood is roughly thirty miles further from our office than Sarasota. Rather than average it out and overcharge families closer to us, we set one rate per area. Whichever applies to you, you’ll be told the figure before you commit to anything, and it will not change afterward. We don’t bill by the mile.
Does the Sarasota County Medical Examiner have to approve a cremation?
Yes. Under Florida Statute 406.11, the District 12 Medical Examiner must review the certified cause of death and issue written approval before any cremation can take place — even when the death was fully expected and the Medical Examiner never investigated. The office is on Fruitville Road in Sarasota and serves Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties. We file the request electronically through Florida’s EDRS system as soon as the physician certifies, and the fee is included in your price.
How long does cremation take in Sarasota 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 District 12 issues approval afterward. Florida law also requires 48 hours to pass between death and cremation.
My address says Sarasota, but am I in Sarasota County?
Not always. ZIP code 34243 carries a Sarasota mailing address but is physically in Manatee County, and Longboat Key is split between the two counties. Fortunately it changes very little: District 12 serves Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties from the same office, so the Medical Examiner is the same either way. The death certificate is filed in the county where the death occurred, and we handle that determination for you.
Can you transfer my loved one from a Sarasota County hospital or hospice?
Yes. We transfer from Sarasota Memorial’s Sarasota and Venice campuses, HCA Florida Sarasota Doctors, HCA Florida Englewood, the Tidewell hospice houses in Sarasota and Venice, 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.
You're based in Tampa. Why would I choose you over a Sarasota provider?
Two reasons, and you should weigh them honestly. The first is price: $855 to $880 all in, against $1,500 or more at most Sarasota providers for the same direct cremation. The second is that you’ll speak to the owner every time you call, at any hour, rather than a rotating team. What a local provider offers is proximity, and if being able to walk into an office matters to you, that’s a legitimate reason to choose one. We’d rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.
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 Sarasota families choose direct cremation and then hold a memorial, a celebration of life, or a scattering weeks or months later — at a church, a clubhouse, on the water, or at home. It gives you time to gather everyone without the cost or the compressed schedule.
Can I arrange everything without driving to Tampa?
Yes, and nearly all Sarasota 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.
Do you help with veterans' benefits in Sarasota County?
Yes, and nearly all Sarasota 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.
Call Whenever You’re Ready
There’s no wrong time to call and no obligation attached to asking a question. Whether your loved one passed an hour ago or you’re quietly planning ahead for yourself, you’ll reach someone who can answer straight away and give you a real number.
Phone: 813-647-3689
Office: 326 S Falkenburg Road, Tampa, FL 33619