Please read all this information to help you understand the options available, including approximate costs. If you have questions after reviewing this information, you can contact our Special Consular Services team. If you print this webpage, all of this information will be included.
The family or legal representative must pay all funeral home charges and shipping costs for the remains and personal effects.
Autopsies
An autopsy is mandatory in England and Wales when the death is sudden and the cause is unknown or there is reasonable cause to suspect that the deceased died a violent or unnatural death.
Cremation
Approximately 75-80% of deaths in England and Wales are followed by cremation. It has become the norm due to a shortage of burial plots which can make burial very expensive.
The service for cremation is the same as for a burial, other than the committal sentences. The service may take place in a church or chapel followed by a short committal service at a crematorium chapel, or the whole service can be conducted in the crematorium chapel. A crematorium service usually lasts around 20 minutes. A longer service can be arranged, which may incur an additional fee.
Direct cremations, where the cremation occurs without an accompanying service, are becoming more common, having increased during the COVID-19 pandemic because of previous UK Government restrictions on funeral services.
The Code of Cremation Practice requires that the cremation shall, wherever possible, take place on the same day as the cremation service. The coffin is always cremated with the body. The Code of Practice requires that nothing is removed from the coffin after it has been received from the chapel, and it must be placed in the cremator exactly as received.
The information below is updated tri-annually. The next update is scheduled for May 2025.
Please keep reading for information about burials, embalming, caskets, exportation (including ashes), costs, exhumation and autopsies.
Maximum Period Before Burial
British law does not place a time limit within which burial or funeral arrangements must take place. Remains are held free of charge at a public mortuary pending receipt of next-of-kin’s instructions. This can prove useful in cases where locating next-of-kin is difficult.
Embalming
There is neither a time limit within which remains must be embalmed, nor a requirement for embalming of remains for export from the United Kingdom or import into the United States.
For remains that are to be sent to the United States, please contact the receiving funeral home to resolve any doubts about embalming, particularly if relatives wish to view the remains. Please advise the funeral home or the Embassy if the body should not be embalmed for religious or other reasons.
Many embalmers in the UK are trained to embalm cases where the deceased died of an infectious disease including cases of HIV/AIDS-related deaths, and other highly contagious diseases. However, embalming may not always be possible, and in those instances, the body must be properly sanitized for shipment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, some embalmers in the United Kingdom would not embalm the bodies of those who died from the COVID-19 virus or had the COVID-19 virus at the time of their death. Embalmers who did work on COVID-19 positive cases took increased safety precautions. For repatriation of COVID-19 positive cases to the United States, it is required that the remains are cremated, properly embalmed and placed in a hermetically sealed casket, or the remains are accompanied by a permit issued by the CDC director.
Cremation
There is no time limit within which remains must be cremated. See above for detailed information about cremation.
Caskets and containers
Coffins/caskets and air trays are available that are suitable for cremation, local burial, or international shipment of remains.
Exportation of Human Remains
Whole remains must be contained in a leak-proof, hermetically sealed coffin/casket or CadSeal which is a metal containment film. To facilitate the export of whole remains from the UK to the U.S., the Embassy prepares a Consular Mortuary Certificate to accompany the remains. It provides the flight details and consignee and incorporates the following documents:
i) a certified copy of the local death certificate, or the Coroner’s Interim Certificate when an inquest is pending;
ii) an affidavit from the funeral director stating that the remains have been properly prepared and packed for shipment;
iii) an embalming or sanitization certificate, if appropriate; and
iv) the Coroner’s “Out of England” Certificate permitting the removal of the remains from the Coroner’s jurisdiction.
Exportation of Human Cremains/Ashes
Cremated remains may be exported if they are accompanied by certified copy of the local death certificate, the cremation certificate and a statement from the crematorium or the funeral home confirming the urn contains only the ashes of the deceased. We recommend that airline passengers carrying cremated remains to the United States declare the nature of the package to UK and U.S customs and use a non-metallic urn to allow screening. Unaccompanied cremains must be sent by airfreight.
Costs
Charges shown are the average price for disposition of human remains and are based on an exchange rate of $1.18 = £1.
(a) Local Burial
Fees include collection and transportation of remains, funeral home charges, administrative fees, cost of private burial plot near London and a brief service with no mourners present. This can only be an approximate figure as the cost of burial plots varies immensely and there are often different prices for borough residents and non-residents. Burial costs in England and Wales are extremely expensive due to limited space available at cemeteries, particularly in central London. Approximate costs range from $5,100 to $31,000.
(b) Cremation and local disposal of ashes
Fees include collection and transportation of remains, doctor’s certificates, crematorium fee, administrative fees, a brief service with no mourners present, and scattering of ashes. Approximately $2,400
(c) Cremation and air shipment of ashes
As (b) above but also includes the collection of the ashes from the crematorium, packaging and forwarding to the consignee by air freight for collection from the airport. Approximately $3,200
(d) Preparation and shipment of whole remains
(i) Preparation of remains for shipment, including local collection of remains, embalming, provision, and preparation of a lightweight coffin in accordance with established U.S. and international standards for shipment, administration of flight arrangements, preparation of all documentation, notification of consignee and delivery to the airport. Approximately $4,400
(ii) Sample airfreight charges (average 140 kilos weight) are based on the highest quotes provided by the four funeral homes regularly used by the Embassy so the next-of-kin are aware of the maximum they will be expected to pay. Some funeral homes have agreements for reduced freight rates with some airlines, and those deals are reflected in these examples. Here are the examples of the rates to various destinations in the United States:
London to Atlanta: $1500
London to Chicago: $1500
London to Houston: $1500
London to Los Angeles: $1500
London to Miami: $1500
London to New York $1500
For deaths outside of London, an additional mileage fee is charged by most London companies to cover transport costs.
Exhumation
Applications for exhumation must be made to the British Ministry of Justice. It is sometimes also necessary to obtain a Bishops Faculty depending on where the remains are at present. These applications are generally made by a funeral director on behalf of a family.
Exhumed remains and their original casket/coffin must be contained in an outer casket/coffin for shipment. Exhumations may be carried out only before the opening of the cemetery to the public, i.e. normally at dawn, Monday to Friday. If the death occurred a long time ago or the deceased died of an infectious disease the environmental health office must also attend.
Costs of exhumations may include exhumation licenses, cemetery fees to open the grave, charges for exhumation, and charges for reburial including funeral director’s charges and the cost of a new coffin or casket.
