Chesterfield and District Joint Crematorium Committee
Repatriation of a Deceased Body
Repatriation of a deceased body to another
country
When a death occurs in the United Kingdom and it is desired
to take the body abroad to hold a funeral service, there are a
number of administrative and practical issues to deal with.
Some of these requirements may apply for burial in another
part of the United Kingdom. There is no restriction on moving
bodies within England and Wales, but you need to notify the
coroner for the district in which the body is lying if you want
to move the deceased to Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle
of Man or the Channel Islands, or overseas. This procedure
applies to all cases where the body is to be moved out of
England and Wales, not just when the death was reported to
the coroner.
The death must be registered in the usual way, but before
attending the Register Office, you must contact the
Coroners' Office to make them aware that you wish to move
the body abroad. To do this, you will need a form 104 (Form
of notice to a coroner of intention to remove a body out of
England), which can be obtained from any registrar or a
coroner. You will also need to give the form 104 to the
coroner at least 4 working days before the body is to be
moved so that any necessary enquiries can be made. You
should enclose any certificate for burial or cremation already
issued.
The Coroner's Office will guide you through what needs to
be done and what documents will be required. You may
contact the North Derbyshire Coroner’s Office either directly
on 01246 202391, or through your funeral director.
Once the documentation is received, the coroner will contact
you, usually within four days, to let you know when the body
can be moved. In urgent situations, it may be possible to
bring this forward. You will be given a removal notice, part
of which is sent to the Registrar of Births Deaths &
Marriages. To make arrangements for transporting the body,
it is best to consult a funeral director; most carriers who
permit the transportation of human remains will deal only
with a funeral director.
Cadaver certificates
Some countries require a Cadaver Certificate before they will
allow a body into the country for burial. The certificate, if
issued, confirms that no epidemic of infectious disease
occurred in the borough for some three months preceding
the death.
The funeral director, making the arrangements on behalf of
the relatives, usually handles the formality of obtaining the
cadaver certificate.
However, anyone can apply. The
Environmental Health Officer for the Council in whose area
the person died or from which they are to be exhumed
before reburial elsewhere, issues the certificate.
The funeral directors will also help with anything requested
by the Coroner and with the requirements of the authorities
in the overseas country to which the deceased is going.
Repatriation of a deceased body from abroad to
England or Wales
The death of a loved one is a distressing time, and the
thought of registering the death and making funeral
arrangements can be daunting. If the deceased was not a
resident of the country in which they died, this process can
seem all the more complicated, especially where it is the
wish of the family that the deceased be returned to their
home country.
Your tour operator, the local police or the British Consul can
advise you on how to register the death and make
arrangements for a local funeral or repatriating the deceased
to the UK. The British Consul can also help if you need
assistance communicating in a foreign language. Where the
deceased had a valid travel insurance policy, repatriation
and its costs may be arranged and met by the insurers if
specified in the cover document.
When a death occurs abroad and it is desired to bring the
deceased back home and hold a funeral service in the
United Kingdom, there are a number of administrative and
practical issues to deal with. The death should be registered
according to the local regulations of that country and a Death
Certificate should be obtained along with an authorisation for
the removal of the body from the country of death from the
coroner or relevant authority.
To bring a body back to England or Wales you will need:


An authenticated translation of a foreign Death
Certificate, or a Death Certificate issued in
Scotland or Northern Ireland, showing the cause
of death, or an authorisation for the removal of the
body from the country of death by someone
authorised to do so.; and
A Certificate of No Liability to Register from the
registrar in England and Wales in whose subdistrict it is intended to bury or cremate the
deceased. This is the document that will be given
to the funeral director in order to allow the funeral
to proceed. It is the duty of the registrar to make
preliminary checks regarding the place and cause
of death and to issue the necessary
documentation. This certificate is not required if a
coroner has issued a certificate for cremation
(form E) or an order for burial.
If you require any further information please
contact:
The Registration Service
New Beetwell Street
Chesterfield
DERBYSHIRE
ENGLAND
S40 1QJ
Tel: 44 (0)1246 234754
Fax: 44 (0)1246 274493
Burial of those deceased abroad
You can arrange a local burial or cremation in the country
where the death occurred, should you wish. The British
Consul there can register the death and record it at the
Register Office. In the case of a cremation, the cremated
remains can be repatriated to the UK following the cremation
service.
For the burial of a person whose death occurred abroad to
take place in the Borough of Chesterfield a death certificate
issued by the registration authority of the country of their
demise is required. This should be taken to the to the
registrar of the district in which the burial is taking place, as
Information provided by the Chesterfield and District Joint Crematorium Committee in support of The Charter for the Bereaved.
Chesterfield and District Joint Crematorium Committee
Repatriation of a Deceased Body
they will need to issue a Certificate of No Liability to
Register.
would have been referred to the coroner, the
Home Office will not issue an order until the
coroner has been consulted. The coroner will open
an inquest to investigate the cause and
circumstances of death. Once the coroner’s
investigations are complete he may himself issue a
certificate for cremation in Form E if he accepts the
case, but if he declines jurisdiction the Home
Office will consider the application on receipt of
confirmation of the coroner’s decision.
Those who have deceased abroad can be buried in:
Boythorpe Cemetery
Brimington Cemetery
Staveley Cemetery
Spital Cemetery
Cremation of those deceased abroad
To arrange the cremation in England and Wales of a person
where the death occurred abroad (outside England and
Wales) you will need a cremation order from the Home
Office or a certificate of cremation (Form E) from the
coroner. Either of these dispenses with the need for the two
doctors' certificates for cremation (forms B and C). If the
deaths occurred in Scotland, Northern Ireland or the
Channel Islands the local equivalents of forms B and C may
be acceptable.
Because the normal certification required for cremation is not
available for a death overseas, the Secretary of State will
issue an order to authorise the medical referee to allow the
cremation without the statutory certificates (or ones to like
effect). In all cases the final decision whether to permit the
cremation still rests with the medical referee.
It is advisable not to make funeral arrangements until a
Home Office cremation order has been issued, in case there
are any difficulties with the application
If the death was from natural causes, the Home Office will
require the following documentation:

Application for Cremation (Form A);
The Form ‘A’ is available from the Bereavement
Services Office and must normally be completed
by the nearest surviving relative or an executor of
the deceased’s estate. If another person
completes the form, a covering letter should be
provided to explain why the relevant person has
not made the application. Only the original of the
application form is acceptable.

All original documentation from the country where
death occurred;
The application must be accompanied by an
original document (or certified copy of an original
document) that gives a specific cause of death.
This does not necessarily have to be a death
certificate. A number of different official documents
may be acceptable, including a consular death
certificate, a doctor’s certificate, or a mortuary
certificate. It is sensible to submit all of the official
overseas documentation accompanying the body.
If you are unsure, you should contact the Home
Office in advance for advice.
If the cause of death stated is generic, for example
‘heart attack’, ‘respiratory failure’ or ‘natural
causes’, it may not be possible to issue a
cremation order until a more specific cause is
ascertained. In such cases the death should be
reported to the coroner, as above.
Alternatively a more precise cause of death may
be obtained by contacting the relevant foreign
authority.

Translation of documents if necessary.
If documents are in a foreign language, it is for the
applicant to have the documents officially
translated. However, documents in most West
European languages will usually be accepted
without translation. If in any doubt, you are advised
to contact the Home Office in advance.
If you require any further information please contact:
Contact: John Rotherham
Tel: 01246 345888
Fax: 01246 345889
email: john.rotherham@chesterfield.gov.uk
If you do not have originals or certified copies of
the relevant documents, you should contact the
funeral directors that assisted with the deceased in
the country where he/she died, or contact the
issuer of the documents and ask them to send you
a certified copy. In certain circumstances the
Consular Division Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (Tel: 0207 270 1500) may be able to assist.
If the cause of death is not natural, or is one that,
had the death occurred in England or Wales,
Information provided by the Chesterfield and District Joint Crematorium Committee in support of The Charter for the Bereaved.