Exhuming a grave

Exhuming means removing human remains from the ground such as a buried body or some cremated remains.

The reasons for exhuming human remains are usually to:

move a body to a new grave
cremate a body

You can also have an urn of cremated remains exhumed from a burial plot or the crematorium grounds.

It’s unlawful to exhume remains without the proper legal licences and documents.

Please contact us if you're a family member wanting an exhumation. We’ll give you advice with the paperwork. There's a form that you may want to download and fill in first on the GOV.UK website which will help you get a licence for the removal of buried human or cremated remains.

There's a fee for exhuming a grave. Please email us at bereavementservices@barnsley.gov.uk or call 01226 206053 for more details.

Coroner or Ministry of Justice licences

In certain circumstances, such as for an investigation of buried remains, a coroner or the Ministry of Justice can make a request to exhume a grave.

If you discover human remains

If you're doing excavation work and find human remains, contact the police straight away and stop working at the site.