Around here a homeowner can remove all the asbestos they want, and just toss it in the regular trash.
As a business you have to be certified, follow all the PPE guidelines, Double bag it, take it to the dumb at a certain time on a certain day. It is suppose to be hand unloaded but every time I've went the dozer operator just said dump the truck in the hole over there, then does a couple of cookies over the bags breaking them open and covers them in dirt.
But I do one thing wrong I get fined, sued, or both.
@OP, with asbestos it isn't like you inhale one fiber and it's a death sentence. The people that have gotten sick from it, from the most part worked years in factories where the dust was all around. There is a lot of misconceptions about asbestos, you won't get sick from it being in building products. It can only harm when it is breathed in.
If it were me, and since the laws in my area allow it I would remove it my self. I would segregate the room from the rest of the house, including the HVAC system in that room. Wet the ceiling down with water, until it could be easily scraped off the ceiling, bag it and toss it how ever they require you to do it. When I was doing the work I would be in a respirator, and tyvek suit and would have a hepa air filter running the whole time, a big one.
Now if one does not feel comfortable doing it them self, then they should hire it out. It's not a difficult process, and if proper gear is warn it's not any more dangerous then breathing the air, it's just a PITA and that's why it's so expensive, as a business the training, equipment ect and the general hassle is a lot. Also you local regulations may not allow a homeowner to remove it.
