Apply for an exhumation licence

You need an exhumation licence if you want to move a body from one grave to another.

To get an exhumation licence you should first contact a solicitor.

The licence process – what a solicitor does

The process for getting a licence to exhume is:

• your solicitor will ask a sheriff to grant a licence to exhume
• your solicitor will also contact a cemetery administrator to confirm where the person you want to exhume is buried
• the solicitor will then request, from the cemetery administrator, a 'Feasibility Certificate' – this confirms all information is complete and correct
• the sheriff will then issue a Warrant to Disinter/Re-inter – this means the exhumation can go ahead

Once the licence is granted you'll need to contact the cemetery administrator to arrange the moving of a body from one grave to another. If you wish, you can also contact a funeral director and a religious minister to oversee a ceremony.

How much it costs

Exhumations can be expensive. The cost of a funeral service will give you an idea of what an exhumation and a new burial will cost.