Moving a body

Moving a body out of England or Wales

Only the coroner can give permission for a body to be moved out of England or Wales. This permission has to be obtained at least 4 days before the body is to be moved (although the coroner may be able to give permission sooner) so that any necessary enquiries may be carried out.

Afterwards you will be given a Removal Notice (white form 103), part of which is sent to the registrar after the funeral. Permission must be obtained whenever the funeral is to take place outside England or Wales.

This procedure applies in all cases where the body is to be moved out of England or Wales, not just where a death was reported to the coroner.

Bringing a body back to England or Wales

You may be able to bring the body back to England or Wales. Most funeral directors should be able to advise you on the practicalities of the particular case and the likely cost.

There are several firms that specialise in repatriation. You will need the Death Certificate from the place the person died, or an authorisation for the removal of the body from the country of death from the coroner or relevant authority.

If the death occurs abroad

If death occurs abroad, in Scotland or Northern Ireland or on a foreign ship or aircraft, there is a different procedure to follow.

Registration

If the death occurred abroad, Scotland or Northern Ireland or on a foreign ship or aircraft, you should register the death according to the local regulations of that country and get a Death Certificate.

Also register the death with the British Consul so that a record of the death will be kept in England. You will be able to get a copy of the Death Certificate from the consulate later or from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

If the death abroad occurred in circumstances which need investigating, or the information about the death abroad is incomplete and the body is brought to England or Wales, this must be reported to a coroner in the same way as if the death occurred in England or Wales.

Funeral Abroad

You can arrange a local burial or cremation. The British Consul in that country can register the death and a record will be kept at the Overseas Registration Section. This avoids the expenses of bringing the body back.

Bringing a body back to England or Wales

You may be able to bring the body back to England or Wales. Most funeral directors should be able to advise you on the practicalities of the particular case and the likely cost.

There are several firms that specialise in repatriation. You will need the Death Certificate from the place the person died, or an authorisation for the removal of the body from the country of death from the coroner or relevant authority.

Documents

To view these documents you might need to download some software. Visit our downloads page for more information.

Coroner's charter - this charter tells you what standards of performance are to be expected in the coroner service and what to do if something goes wrong. File format Adobe Acrobat (pdf) - 74.5KB

[Back to top]