Request cremation

Related forms and processes

Prerequisite

• The type of burial depends on the will of the deceased person or, if the will is not known, the relatives determine the type of burial; i.e. the deceased person or the relatives must first wish for cremation.
• Deceased persons may only be cremated with the permission of the competent authority.

Responsible department

Municipality/city administration of the place of cremation.

Procedure

• The type of burial depends on the will of the deceased person or, if the will is not known, the relatives determine the type of burial; i.e. the deceased person or the relatives must first wish for cremation.
• Cremation requires permission from the competent authority (municipal or city administration of the place of cremation). This must be applied for at the competent authority. The required documents must be submitted to the competent authority together with the application (generally in writing, if already possible also online). The competent authority will then decide on your application; you will receive a decision.
  Note: If there are indications of a non-natural death, if the manner of death is unclear or if the deceased is unknown, you will only receive permission from the municipal/city administration of the cremation site once the public prosecutor's office or the district court has approved the cremation in writing.

Deadlines

Deceased persons may only be buried when a medical examination has ruled out any possibility of apparent death (earliest burial time).

Deceased persons who are not laid out in mortuaries or morgues must be buried no later than 96 hours after the occurrence of death or, in the case of transport to the territory of another municipality, must be set out on the road (decisive: beginning of the transfer of the body). The competent authority may allow exceptions to this rule if there is no reason to fear health risks. For health reasons, it may order that deceased persons be buried or transported earlier.

Required documents

• Explicit disposition of the deceased or - if there is no such disposition - of the relatives (will of the deceased / relatives for cremation).
• Non-confidential part of the death certificate (for deaths outside the state of Baden-Württemberg: death certificate).
• Medical certificate stating that an examination of the deceased person did not reveal any indications of a non-natural death (second post-mortem examination).

Costs

The fees or costs vary depending on the municipality.

Miscellaneous

If the deceased has expressly requested cremation, his or her wishes must be complied with. If the deceased has refused cremation, cremation is not permitted.

For example, a handwritten instruction could read as follows: "I, (first name and surname), wish to be cremated after my death. Place, date, signature."

In the absence of this testamentary disposition for cremation, the next of kin may make a corresponding disposition.

Appeal

Administrative court action

Release note

15.04.2010 Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg