Can a Body Be Exhumed and Reburied?

Detailed Explanation

Exhumation means removing buried human remains, whether a body in a coffin or buried ashes, from the ground. It is legal in most countries, but it is treated very differently from a burial. A burial needs paperwork. An exhumation needs specific permission, because disturbing a grave affects public health, other people buried nearby, and relatives who may feel strongly about it. Taking remains from a grave without lawful authority is a criminal offence in England and Wales, and similar rules apply in many other places.

For the everyday side of cemeteries, including records and grave upkeep, see the cemeteries hub.

Why families ask for an exhumation

Requests from families usually fall into a few groups:

• Moving closer to family. The family has moved away, or wants the person buried with a spouse or parents in another cemetery or another country.
• Correcting a mistake. Occasionally someone is found to have been buried in the wrong grave.
• Cremation after burial. The family, or the person's recorded wishes, favour cremation after all.
• Deepening a grave. In England and Wales, remains are sometimes lifted so a grave can be deepened for a further family burial.
• Land changes. A burial ground is closed or redeveloped, which follows its own legal process with public notice.

Separately, a coroner or court can order an exhumation to investigate a death. That isn't a family request and follows a different path (see below).

The general pattern: who has to agree

The details vary a lot, but most systems ask for the same things:

• Legal authority from a government body or a court.
• The grave's rights holder, the person who holds the burial right to that grave. If the holder has died and the right was never transferred, that usually has to be sorted out first. See how burial rights and grave ownership work.
• Close relatives, either as formal consenters or as people who must be told and given a chance to object.
• The cemetery or burial authority, which usually controls who does the physical work and when.
• A place to go. The new cemetery or crematorium needs to have agreed to take the remains.

The funeral director and the cemetery normally help with the paperwork. Families aren't involved in the physical exhumation, which is carried out by cemetery staff or specialist contractors.

England and Wales

Under the Burial Act 1857, remains can't be removed from a burial place without a licence from the Ministry of Justice, unless the grave is in ground consecrated by the Church of England. Then a faculty (permission) from the diocese's consistory court is needed instead. The licence is free, although the burial authority and the people doing the work usually charge. The application form needs signatures from close relatives, the owner of the grave, and the burial authority, and the Ministry of Justice prefers applications by email.

Scotland

In Scotland, the family can't apply directly. A solicitor applies to the sheriff court, and permission is also needed from whoever runs the burial ground. If other people were buried in the same grave more recently, permission is also needed to disturb their remains. Once the sheriff court grants permission, the exhumation is arranged with the burial ground.

United States

Exhumation (often called disinterment) is controlled by state law and varies widely. California is a typical example: removing remains needs the consent of the cemetery plus written consent from the closest relatives in order of priority (surviving spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings). If that consent can't be obtained, the superior court of the county where the cemetery is can give permission. Many states also require a permit, commonly from a health department or local registrar, before remains are moved, so ask the cemetery or funeral home what applies locally. National cemeteries run by the Department of Veterans Affairs have their own federal rules.

Australia

In Australia, each state sets its own rules. Approval generally comes from the state health department, a court, or both. In Victoria, for example, the Secretary to the Department of Health issues exhumation licences under the Cemeteries and Crematoria Act 2003, and the holder of the right of interment must consent. The Australian page below covers the process in more detail.

Coroner and court-ordered exhumations

A coroner, medical examiner or court can order an exhumation when a death needs further investigation, for example if new evidence emerges after the funeral. In England and Wales, a senior coroner has this power under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The family doesn't apply for these and has little control over the timing, but is normally kept informed. The right contact is the coroner's office or the investigating officer, not the cemetery.

What happens on the day and afterwards

Practice varies by country and cemetery, but exhumations are commonly done with the grave screened from view and out of public hours. The remains may need a new coffin or container if the original can't be moved safely, and they are then taken to the new grave or crematorium. If there is a headstone, moving or replacing it is a separate job for a stonemason, and needs the new cemetery's approval.

Moving a grave can stir up grief again, even when everyone agrees it's right. Some families hold a short service at the reburial. An online memorial can give relatives in other places somewhere to share memories while the grave itself changes location.

How it works where you are

In Australia: Can a body be exhumed and reburied in Australia?, covering state approvals, the interment right holder's role and coronial exhumations.

Things to Consider

• Confirm who holds the burial right first. An unclear or unresolved right is one of the most common reasons an application stalls.
• Speak to the wider family before applying. Formal consent may not be needed from everyone, but an objection can slow or stop the process.
• Secure the new resting place before the old one is opened. The receiving cemetery or crematorium has to agree, and a new burial right may need buying. See how to find out where someone is buried if you need to confirm the exact grave details first.
• Ask about other people in the same grave. In a family grave, lifting one coffin may mean disturbing others, which needs its own permission.
• Consider whether exhumation is the only option. If the aim is a place to visit, a memorial plaque or a restored headstone may do the job with far less disruption. See how to maintain or restore an old family grave.

Common Mistakes

• Assuming the family can arrange it privately. Exhumation without lawful authority is a criminal offence in England and Wales, and removing remains without the required permission is generally unlawful elsewhere too.
• Assuming buried ashes are different. In many places, buried ashes need the same permission as a body.
• Underestimating time and cost. Approval, consents and two cemeteries' schedules all take time, and fees come from several different parties.
• Mixing up family and coroner's exhumations. They follow different legal routes, and a family can't start a coroner's exhumation by asking the cemetery.
• Thinking of burial as easily reversible. If the family is unsure where someone should rest, the time to settle it is before the burial. See who decides where someone is buried.