Funeral Industry News

Supplementary Form For Cremation Applications – Update

September 17, 2020 by funeral-industry-news No Comments | Category Cremation authorities, Funeral directors

On 3 April, we blogged about the introduction of the supplementary form that could be used by funeral directors when the signature of the applicant could not be obtained.

The only reason for using the supplementary form is “unable to obtain a signature”.  It was always the expectation that the supplementary form would only be used in those circumstances, which for the first few weeks/ months was probably nearly every case. That is no longer the case.

The supplementary form continues to be an option, but is not intended to be the default position for all applications [and is not just for the convenience of funeral directors, that is a different interpretation of what was intended].  It should only be used where completely necessary.

It is impossible to give a definitive answer on when to use the supplementary form. Like everything at this time it is a judgement call. It is for the funeral director to justify (if challenged) why they were unable to obtain the signature in each case, and they are required to provide the reason it is being used on the supplementary form.

Please email burialandcremation@gov.scot if you have any questions or concerns.

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