Documents required for an interment

The following documents are usually required before a burial can take place:

• Preliminary Particulars of Interment, often following a telephone booking.
• Notice of Interment, submitted at least two days before the burial.
• Deed of Grant or a completed Loss of Deeds declaration for private graves. 
• Burial certificate from the Registrar (green form), cremation certificate, or another authorised disposal certificate issued by a hospital or coroner.
• Payment of interment and/or Exclusive Right of Burial fees. 

The burial applicant and deed holder must normally sign the Notice of Interment. The deed holder's signature is not required for public graves or where burial rights have not yet been purchased.

Burial rights and grave ownership

The Exclusive Right of Burial gives the deed holder control over who may be buried in a grave. Where a Deed of Grant cannot be produced, the registered grave owner may complete a Loss of Deeds declaration. This does not transfer ownership to another person.

If someone other than the original deed holder wishes to exercise burial rights, ownership must first be legally transferred and a new deed holder recorded. 

Transferring burial rights

Burial rights can be legally transferred by:

• Form of Assignment
• Grant of Probate
• Grant of Letters of Administration
• Form of Assent 

If the Deed Holder is living

The current deed holder must sign the necessary documentation. Where there are joint owners, all owners must provide consent. If ownership has already changed, a completed and witnessed Form of Assignment should be provided to confirm the transfer.

Where ownership has not previously been transferred, burial rights generally pass through the deceased person's estate in line with inheritance rules.

If the deceased deed holder is also buried in the grave, the next of kin should complete a Statutory Declaration to transfer ownership legally. A Loss of Deeds declaration may also be required if the original deed cannot be located.

Statutory declarations

A Statutory Declaration is a legal document used to transfer burial rights when no formal transfer has already taken place. It must be signed in the presence of a Magistrate or Commissioner for Oaths and can provide a quicker alternative to more lengthy legal processes. 

An exhumation is the removal of human remains or cremated remains from a grave or burial plot. It is unlawful to disturb any human remains without the appropriate legal authority, and exhumations cannot take place until all necessary permissions have been obtained.

Reasons for exhumation

Exhumations may be requested for several reasons, including:

• Moving a deceased person to a different grave or cemetery.
• Repatriation of remains overseas.
• Changing arrangements from burial to cremation. [milton-keynes.gov.uk]

Because exhumation can be distressing for families and involves legal and procedural requirements, it should only be considered after careful thought and discussion. Arrangements can take a considerable amount of time to complete. [milton-keynes.gov.uk]

Costs

Exhumations can be expensive and costs may include:

• Exhumation licences.
• Exhumation works.
• Memorial removal and replacement.
• Faculty fees.
• Funeral director charges, including replacement coffins or cremated remains caskets.
• Cemetery fees and charges.
• Re-burial costs. 

Licences and faculties

The permissions required depend on whether the burial location is in a consecrated or unconsecrated area and where the remains will be reburied.

• Where both the current and new burial locations are unconsecrated, a Ministry of Justice licence is normally required
• Where remains are moved from or to consecrated ground, a Faculty from the relevant Diocese may be required and, in some cases, a Ministry of Justice licence may also be needed.

The Ministry of Justice normally processes licence applications within 20 working days and only original documentation is accepted. There is no fee for issuing a licence.

What happens next?

Once all permissions have been obtained, copies must be provided to the burial authority responsible for the grave. The relevant local authority's Environmental Health team will also be notified.

Exhumations are usually carried out early in the morning to provide privacy and are typically attended by funeral directors, cemetery staff, Environmental Health Officers, clergy where required, and family representatives.

Following an exhumation, statutory records are updated to record the date of disinterment, grave number, deceased person's name, and details of where the remains were reinterred or cremated.

Burial searches

Milton Keynes Council maintains burial records for a number of council-managed cemeteries. If the cemetery you are looking for is not listed, the Bereavement Services team may be able to help identify the relevant organisation responsible for the records.

Council cemeteries

Accessing burial records

Cemetery records and burial registers are held at Crownhill Crematorium. Anyone wishing to search burial records should contact the Bereavement Services team. Research requests may take several days to complete.