One SBA rule that works in your favor
If a burial ground's land is offered as security for a 7(a) or 504 loan, the lender or CDC must compare the NAICS codes for "the Property’s current and known prior uses" with Appendix 6 of SOP 50 10 8.1, and a match means the environmental investigation "must begin with a Phase I, regardless of the amount of the loan" (the full sequence is in our SBA environmental requirements guide). SBA's size standards table (13 CFR 121.201) prints code 812220 as "Cemeteries and Crematories", so the line to read is the one for 8122, and its carve-out is written into the entry itself:
8122 DEATH CARE SERVICES (unless no embalming or cremation at the Property)
On our reading, the bracket asks what happens at the Property, meaning the real estate taken as collateral, not how a body was prepared somewhere else, so a green burial ground with no preparation room and no crematory on that land falls within the exception. With no other Appendix 6 match, a loan up to and including $250,000 may begin with an Environmental Questionnaire, and a larger loan must at a minimum add a Records Search with Risk Assessment.
Do not overstate this. The match is on the Property's uses, current and known prior, not only your own, so the same reading puts a hybrid section inside a cemetery that embalms or cremates on the same Property, or a crematory you add to yours, within the entry, and land that was once a golf course matches a different line (71391). A Records Search that grades the Property anything other than low risk also leads to a Phase I. The lender or CDC determines the codes, so confirm your own site with yours.
Say so in your plan: state that no embalming or cremation takes place at the Property and list the land's known prior uses. On a 504 loan a second SBA list cuts the other way: the SOP's examples of a Limited or Special Purpose Property include "Cemeteries", and a business with such a property must contribute at least 15 percent of project cost instead of 10, or at least 20 percent if it is also a New Business (in operation for 2 years or less when the loan is approved). You can check your equity position with our free SBA equity requirement calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start a green burial ground?
Converting part of an existing cemetery into a certified natural section can cost as little as $50,000 to $150,000. A standalone natural burial ground on newly acquired land typically runs $150,000 to $1,200,000, and a large conservation burial ground with a land trust partnership can exceed $2,000,000, with land cost the main driver.
Do you need a license to operate a green burial ground?
That depends on your state. Many states require a cemetery license or certificate of authority before you can sell burial rights, along with a perpetual or endowment care trust fund under state cemetery law, so check with your state cemetery regulator. Green Burial Council certification is separate and voluntary, but it is the recognized industry standard for hybrid, natural, and conservation burial grounds.
Is a green burial company profitable?
It can be. Plot and interment pricing is comparable to conventional cemeteries in many regions while avoiding vault, embalming, and elaborate infrastructure costs, and consumer interest in green burial has grown. Profitability depends on land cost, sales absorption over time, and building the required endowment care contribution into pricing from the start.
What is the difference between a natural burial ground and a conservation burial ground?
A natural burial ground requires no vaults, no toxic embalming, and biodegradable containers only, but does not require permanent land protection. A conservation burial ground adds a legally binding conservation easement or deed restriction with a land trust partner, protecting the site as natural habitat in perpetuity, making it the strictest Green Burial Council certification tier.
How much does a green burial cost compared to a conventional funeral?
A typical green burial commonly runs around $2,000 to $3,000 without a vault, metal casket, or chemical embalming, well below the national median cost of a conventional funeral with viewing and burial, which runs several times higher once a vault, casket, and embalming are included.
Reviewed by Muhammad Tayyab Shabbir, Founder of AVVALE. Our team has prepared funding documents for 500+ businesses across regulated, capital-intensive and main-street industries, from SBA and bank loans to investor and visa applications.
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Sources: Green Burial Council (greenburialcouncil.org) certification standards for hybrid, natural, and conservation burial grounds; National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) 2025 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Report figure on consumer interest in green funeral options (61.4%, up from 55.7% in 2021), as printed on NFDA's media center page (data last updated 29 September 2025, retrieved 11 October 2026), and NFDA median funeral cost benchmarks; Federal Trade Commission Funeral Rule (16 CFR Part 453) itemization and embalming-disclosure requirements; state cemetery board and perpetual/endowment care trust statutes (vary by state); GAO, Survey of State Regulators, Regulation of Cemeteries (GAO-12-91SP, December 2011, retrieved 11 October 2026: on question 17, whether cemeteries have to be licensed to operate, 4 state regulators answered that all must be, 22 that some but not all must be, and 10 that no license is required); IBISWorld funeral homes and cemetery/crematory services industry reports (US industry sized in the tens of billions annually); SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, effective 1 October 2026 (current posting): Section A, Chapter 1, Paragraph B, Organized for Profit; Section A, Chapter 5, Environmental Policies and Procedures; Appendices 3, 4 and 6; Section B, Chapters 1 and 2; Section C, Chapter 1, Borrower's Contribution; Appendices 15, 16 and 19; SBA size standards table, 13 CFR 121.201 (annual edition revised as of 1 January 2025, compared with the current text at the Legal Information Institute on 10 October 2026). Figures are industry ranges for planning; confirm current land costs, your state's cemetery licensing and endowment care requirements, and current GBC certification criteria before filing. The SBA points on this page are general information, not lending, legal or environmental advice: we are not a lender, a Certified Development Company or an Environmental Professional, so confirm them with your SBA lender or CDC.