Funeral Industry News

Repatriation to Scotland: Changes to the medical requirements in England and Wales – Cremation Application Forms

September 6, 2024 by funeral-industry-news No Comments | Category Cremation authorities, Registration

Repatriation

For any burial or cremation in Scotland, a death must first be registered in accordance with the Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965. Such requirement in Scotland will not change following the introduction of the new medical examiner system in England and Wales.  The legal requirements for Scottish purposes are set out in the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965 (Prohibition on Disposal of a Body without Authorisation) Regulations 2015 (the 2015 Regulations), see Regulation 4 which applies to deaths occurring in England and Wales.

Application for Cremation in Scotland

The cremation application form for a cremation in Scotland includes the checklist of forms that must be provided to the cremation authority along with the application form. When the death occurs in England or Wales, the new medical examiner system will result in a change to the forms being issued from 9 September 2024 as set out in the Cremation, Coroners and Notification of Deaths (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

As a result, the equivalent documents for applications for cremation in Scotland, where the death occurred in England or Wales, are:

• Certificate of Registration (England and Wales certificate authorising burial or cremation)
• Form 103 – Coroner’s permission to move body out of England or Wales

In addition to the above, a Cremation Form 6 is also required if the coroner has been involved in investigating the death.  A Cremation Form 6 on its own will not suffice to meet the requirements of the 2015 Regulations as a Cremation Form 6 is sometimes issued prior to the registration of a death in England or Wales.

A death must be registered by the district registrar in England or Wales before a person can be cremated in Scotland. Where a coroner is investigating the death in England or Wales, we understand that a Green Form will not always be issued, so a Particulars of Death (Form 13) will be required instead to evidence registration.

Cremation authorities in Scotland can accept the new versions of the forms as set out above being issued in England and Wales when receiving an application for cremation following repatriation.

Consideration will be given to whether any amendments should be made to Scottish legislation to take account of the recent changes made in England and Wales.

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