Cremation Services

Collin County Medical Examiner's Office is soliciting quotes from qualified funeral homes, crematories, or mortuary service providers to establish a service contract for cremation services for decedents under the jurisdiction of the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office.

Services will include pickup, transportation, cold storage, cremation, and final disposition of remains for abandoned or unclaimed decedents. Services will be required on an as-needed basis and must be performed in a professional, timely, and compliant manner. This request does not allow for embalming, visitation, or viewing of the deceased. The County desires to enter into a one (1) year contract with the possibility of three (3) additional twelve (12) month renewals. Collin County reserves the right to award this contract to one or more vendors, at its sole discretion and in its best interest.

The goal of this solicitation is to select a vendor who can provide high-quality cremation services that meet the needs of the County, with an emphasis on professionalism, reliability, and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Background

Project Details

• Reference ID: 2026-286
• Department: Medical Examiner
• Department Head: Elizabeth Ventura (Medical Examiner)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-06-01T19:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Summary —

  Collin County Medical Examiner's Office is soliciting quotes from qualified funeral homes, crematories, or mortuary service providers to establish a service contract for cremation services for decedents under the jurisdiction of the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office.

  Services will include pickup, transportation, cold storage, cremation, and final disposition of remains for abandoned or unclaimed decedents. Services will be required on an as-needed basis and must be performed in a professional, timely, and compliant manner. This request does not allow for embalming, visitation, or viewing of the deceased. The County desires to enter into a one (1) year contract with the possibility of three (3) additional twelve (12) month renewals. Collin County reserves the right to award this contract to one or more vendors, at its sole discretion and in its best interest.

  The goal of this solicitation is to select a vendor who can provide high-quality cremation services that meet the needs of the County, with an emphasis on professionalism, reliability, and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

• AUTHORIZATION —

  Collin County will be receiving quotes for Cremation Services, 2026-286

• Timeline —

  Release Project Date:	May 18, 2026
  Question Submission Deadline:	June 1, 2026, 2:00pm
  Submission Deadline:	June 11, 2026, 2:00pm

• PURPOSE —

   

  Collin County Medical Examiner's Office is soliciting quotes from qualified funeral homes, crematories, or mortuary service providers to establish a service contract for cremation services for decedents under the jurisdiction of the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office.

  Services will include pickup, transportation, cold storage, cremation, and final disposition of remains for abandoned or unclaimed decedents. Services will be required on an as-needed basis and must be performed in a professional, timely, and compliant manner. This request does not allow for embalming, visitation, or viewing of the deceased. The County desires to enter into a one (1) year contract with the possibility of three (3) additional twelve (12) month renewals. Collin County reserves the right to award this contract to one or more vendors, at its sole discretion and in its best interest.

  The goal of this solicitation is to select a vendor who can provide high-quality cremation services that meet the needs of the County, with an emphasis on professionalism, reliability, and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

• Background —
  The Collin County Medical Examiner has been assigned the responsibility of facilitating the dignified final disposition of Collin County decedents not claimed for disposition or those abandoned and require disposition at public expense. The County has used various vendors for direct cremations services on an as-needed basis. Historically, the County has approved 13 cremations in 2024 and 33 in 2025. Collin County cannot guarantee the actual number of cremations that will be approved during the contract period.
• TERM —

  Provide for a one (1) year term contract commencing on the latter of full award and execution of the contract or July 1, 2026. The County shall have the option to renew for three (3) additional one-year periods, with all other terms remaining the same.

• TRANSITIONAL PERIOD —

  Upon normal completion of this contract, not to include termination for default, and in the event that no new contract has been awarded by the original expiration date of the existing contract including any extension thereof, it shall be incumbent upon the Contractor to continue the contract under the same terms and conditions until a new contract can be completely operational.  At no time shall this transition period extend more than ninety (90) days beyond the original expiration date of the existing contract and any extension thereof.

   

• FUNDING —

  Funds for payment have been provided through the Collin County budget approved by the Commissioners Court for this fiscal year only.  State of Texas statutes prohibit the County from any obligation of public funds beyond the fiscal year for which a budget has been approved. Therefore, anticipated orders or other obligations that may arise past the end of the current Collin County fiscal year shall be subject to budget approval.

• PRICE REDUCTION —

  If during the life of the contract, the Vendor's net prices to its customers for the same product(s) and/or services shall be reduced below the contracted price, it is understood and agreed that the County shall receive such price reduction.

• PRICE REDETERMINATION —

  A price redetermination may be considered by Collin County only at the twelve (12) month, twenty-four (24) month, thirty-six (36) month, and forty-eight (48) month anniversary date of the contract.  All requests for price redetermination shall be in written form and shall include documents supporting price redetermination such as Manufacturer's direct cost, postage rates, Railroad Commission rates, Federal/State minimum wage law, Federal/State unemployment taxes, F.I.C.A, Insurance Coverage Rates, etc. The quoter's past experience of honoring contracts at the quote price will be an important consideration in the evaluation of the lowest and best quote.  Collin County reserves the right to accept or reject any/all of the price redetermination as it deems to be in the best interest of the County.

• RESPONSE TIME AND COMPLETION —

  Selected Vendor shall respond to calls from the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office within a mutually agreed-upon timeframe, typically within twenty-four (24) hours of notice when requested.

  After receipt of the decedent remains, the Vendor must complete the cremation service no later than the close of business on the fourteenth (14) day after receipt of the remains.

  The Vendor shall return cremated remains to the County Medical Examiner's Office upon request, but no later than one-hundred and twenty (120) calendar days after cremation service.

  Completion time is an important consideration in the evaluation of the lowest and best quote.

  The Vendor shall provide monthly reports detailing service volumes, completion times, and any exceptions.

• APPROXIMATE VALUE —

  The annual estimated expenditure is seventeen thousand five hundred dollars ($17,500.00).

• APPROXIMATE USAGE —

  Estimated annual quantity of this contract is twenty (20) decedents annually. Approximate usage does not constitute an order, but only implies the probable quantity Collin County will use.

• EVALUATION AND AWARD —

  Award of the contract shall be made to the responsive quoter(s) who submits the lowest and best quote meeting specifications. Collin County reserves the right to award the quote, or reject, by line item, category, or as a whole as the County deems in its best interest. Collin County further reserves the right to make a primary, secondary and tertiary award of this contract.

  1. The quoter’s past experience of honoring contracts at the quote price as well as their past delivery history with Collin County, will be an important consideration in the evaluation of the lowest and best quote.
  2. Quoters failing to provide the information necessary for the evaluation of the quote may be considered non-responsive.
• SUBCONTRACTORS —

  Subcontractors are not accepted or allowed by Collin County to perform any services listed in this contract.

Submission Requirements

• Contact Information (required) —

  List the contact name, email address and phone number of the main person(s) Collin County should contact in reference to this solicitation. Contact(s) shall be duly authorized List authorized by the company, corporation, firm, partnership or individual to respond to any questions, clarification, and/or offers in response to this solicitation.

• Hours and Days for Transport Services (required) —

  Please provide the hours and days that decedent transport services are available. 

• Transport Vehicles (required) —

  Provide the number of transport vehicles and a brief description of the vehicles to be utilized during transportation of decedents.

• Pertinent Licensing and Certifications (required) —

  Attach a copy of all pertinent licensing and certifications.

• Insurance Acknowledgement (required) —

  I understand that the insurance requirements of this solicitation are required and are included in the submitted pricing. A certificate of insurance shall be submitted to the Purchasing department if I am awarded all or a portion of the resulting contract.

• Reference No. 1 (required) —

  List a company or governmental agency, other than Collin County, where these same/like products/services, as stated herein, have been provided. Texas references are preferred.

  Include the following: Company/Entity, Contact, Address, City/State/Zip, Phone, and E-Mail.

  It is the responsibility of the Bidder/Proposer to ensure submitted references will be responsive to the County’s requests. The County reserves the right to contact references other than those listed, and to consider any information acquired from all references during the evaluation process.

• Reference No. 2 (required) —

  List a company or governmental agency, other than Collin County, where these same/like products/services, as stated herein, have been provided. Texas references are preferred.

  Include the following: Company/Entity, Contact, Address, City/State/Zip, Phone, and E-Mail.

  It is the responsibility of the Bidder/Proposer to ensure submitted references will be responsive to the County’s requests. The County reserves the right to contact references other than those listed, and to consider any information acquired from all references during the evaluation process.

• Reference No. 3 (required) —

  List a company or governmental agency, other than Collin County, where these same/like products/services, as stated herein, have been provided. Texas references are preferred.

  Include the following: Company/Entity, Contact, Address, City/State/Zip, Phone, and E-Mail.

  It is the responsibility of the Bidder/Proposer to ensure submitted references will be responsive to the County’s requests. The County reserves the right to contact references other than those listed, and to consider any information acquired from all references during the evaluation process.

• Immigration and Reform Act (required) —

  I declare and affirm that my company is in compliance with the Immigration and Reform Act of 1986 and all employees are legally eligible to work in the United States of America. I further understand and acknowledge that any non-compliance with the Immigration and Reform Act of 1986 at any time during the term of this contract will render the contract voidable by Collin County.

• Disclosure of Certain Relationships (required) —

  Chapter 176 of the Texas Local Government Code requires that any vendor considering doing business with a local government entity disclose the vendor’s affiliation or business relationship that might cause a conflict of interest with a local government entity. Subchapter 6 of the code requires a vendor to file a conflict of interest questionnaire (CIQ) if a conflict exists. By law this questionnaire must be filed with the records administrator of Collin County no later than the 7th business day after the date the vendor becomes aware of an event that requires the statement to be filed. A vendor commits an offense if the vendor knowingly violates the code. An offense under this section is a misdemeanor. By submitting a response to this request, the vendor represents that it is in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 176 of the Texas Local Government Code. Please send completed forms to the Collin County County Clerk's Office located at 2300 Bloomdale Rd., Suite 2104, McKinney, TX 75071.

• Disclosure of Interested Parties (required) —

  Section 2252.908 of the Texas Government Code requires a business entity entering into certain contracts with a governmental entity to file with the governmental entity a disclosure of interested parties at the time the business entity submits the signed contract to the governmental entity. Section 2252.908 requires the disclosure form (Form 1295) to be signed by the authorized agent of the contracting business entity, acknowledging that the disclosure is made under oath and under penalty of perjury. Section 2252.908 applies only to a contract that requires an action or vote by the governing body of the governmental entity before the contract may be signed or has a value of at least $1 million. Section 2252.908 provides definitions of certain terms occurring in the section. Section 2252.908 applies only to a contract entered into on or after January 1, 2016.

• Notification Survey (required) —

  In order to better serve our offerors, the Collin County Purchasing Department is conducting the following survey. We appreciate your time and effort expended to submit your bid. Should you have any questions or require more information please call (972) 548-4165. How did you receive notice of this request?

• Critical Infrastructure Affirmation (required) —

  Pursuant to section 2274.0102 of the Texas Government Code, Respondent certifies that neither it nor its parent company, nor any affiliate of Respondent or its parent company, is: (1) majority owned or controlled by citizens or governmental entities of China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or any other country designated by the Governor under Government Code Section 2274.0103, or (2) headquartered in any of those countries.

• AI Acknowledgement (required) —

  The County requires that all submitted content be the product of human authorship or have undergone substantial human review and modification. This is to ensure that the final proposal accurately reflects the Bidder’s capabilities, experience, and understanding of the requirements. The Bidder is ultimately responsible for the accuracy, truthfulness, and completeness of their submission. Any submission found to contain misleading information, whether from AI or otherwise, may be subject to penalties or disqualification.

  Please confirm all submitted content was either authored by or substantially reviewed a human and not AI and the submission accurately reflects company’s/firm’s capabilities, experience, and understanding of the requirements.

• W-9 (required) —

  Please download the W-9 attachment, complete, and upload.

• Information Regarding Conflict of Interest —

  During the 79th Legislative Session, House Bill 914 was signed into law effective September 1, 2015, which added Chapter 176 to the Texas Local Government Code. Recent changes have been made to Chapter 176 pursuant to HB23, which passed the

  84th Legislative Session. Chapter 176 mandates the public disclosure of certain information concerning persons doing business or seeking to do business with Collin County, including family, business, and financial relationships such persons may have with Collin County officers or employees involved in the planning, recommending, selecting and contracting of a vendor for this procurement.

  For a copy of Form CIQ and CIS: https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/forms/conflict/

   

  The vendor acknowledges by doing business or seeking to do business with Collin County that they have been notified of the requirements under Chapter 176 of the Texas Local Government Code and that they are solely responsible for complying with the terms and conditions therein. Furthermore, any individual or business entity seeking to do business with Collin County who does not comply with this practice may risk award consideration of any County contract.

  For a listing of current Collin County Officers: https://www.collincountytx.gov/Contact/county-officials

   

  At the time of this solicitation being released, the following are known to be involved in the planning, recommending, selecting, and/or contracting for the attached procurement:

   

  Medical Examiner: 

  Elizabeth Ventura - Medical Examiner

  Robert Laughon - Chief Field Agent

  Purchasing: 

  Michelle Charnoski, NIGP-CPP, CPPB – Purchasing Agent

  Marci Chrismon, CPPB – Assistant Purchasing Agent

  Jennifer Park - Buyer I

  Commissioners Court:

  Chris Hill – County Judge

  Susan Fletcher – Commissioner Precinct No. 1

  Cheryl Williams – Commissioner Precinct No. 2

  Darrell Hale – Commissioner Precinct No. 3

  Duncan Webb – Commissioner Precinct No. 4

   

  Download the CIQ attachment, complete, and upload if applicable.

• Conflict of Information Confirmation (required) —

  I have read the conflict of interest information above and will file the CIQ form if a conflict exists.

• Quoter Acknowledgement (required) —

  Quoter acknowledges, understands the specifications, any and all addenda, and agrees to the terms and conditions and can provide the minimum requirements stated herein. Quoter acknowledges they have read the document in its entirety, visited the site, performed investigations and verifications as deemed necessary, are familiar with local conditions under which work is to be performed, and will be responsible for any and all errors in quote submittal resulting from Quoter’s failure to do so. Quoter acknowledges the prices submitted in this quote have been carefully reviewed and are submitted as correct and final. If quote is accepted, Quoter further certifies and agrees to furnish any and all products upon which prices are extended at the price submitted, and upon conditions in the specifications of the Quotation.

• Technology Security Breach Acknowledgement (required) —

  When VENDOR experiences a data breach or unauthorized access to the Collin County Data, VENDOR will immediately notify the End-User Department Director, the Chief Information Officer (CIO), and the Purchasing Agent.  Within two weeks of such breach, a detailed notification is required and shall include the nature of the breach, the data comprised, the involving parties, mitigation efforts, and corrective actions to be taken by VENDOR.  Unless Collin County or any of their affiliates is directly responsible for such breach, VENDOR shall be solely responsible for all expenses related to any data breach or unauthorized access to the Collin County data and shall be by liable for all damages, fines, to include litigation cost.  Except as set forth above, Collin County shall not be responsible for any expense associated with data breaches or unauthorized access while the Collin County Data is residing in VENDOR cloud services.

• Pricing (required) —
  • Choose Option 1 when you have set line items, for example:
    • This is a quote for goods or commodities
    • This is a public works bid, with a pricing table that can be uploaded into OpenGov Procurement from an Excel spreadsheet.
    • Seeking services for hourly rate schedules
  • Choose Option 2 when you need vendors to provide you with the line items.
• Is there a Pre-Quote meeting? (required)
• Location and address of pre-quote meeting (required) —

  Example:

  County Purchasing Conference Room, 2300 Bloomdale Road, STE 3160, McKinney, TX 75071

• What is the approximate ANNUAL value of the contract? (required) —

  Please enter in the ANNUAL value of this contract in the format of WORD FORM followed by the arabic numerals in parenthesis. Example:

  five-hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00)

• What is the approximate ANNUAL usage of this contract? (required) —

  This should be the ANNUAL usage by unit of this product, such as eaches, bundles, gallons, etc. Please spell out in word formal followed by arabic numerals in parenthesis, with the designated unit following. For example

  five-hundred thousand (500,000) gallons

• Estimated Contract Start Date (required) —

  Date of Award or Specify Date

• Term (required)
• Renewal Options (required) —

  Number of annual renewal options

• Is this QUO for GOODS only? (required) —

  Please answer "no" if there is a service component to this bid (for example, they supply parts AND install them on vehicles). Only answer "yes" if this IFB is exclusively for goods.