When can a body be exhumed?

Verified 24 January 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Exhumation is the removal of a coffin or the remains of the deceased from a pit or vault. It is subject to authorization. It can be requested by the family of the deceased or take place at the initiative of the City Hall, the Health Insurance or the justice system.

Request from the family

You can request an exhumation for transfer body from a person close to a place to another in a cemetery, or from a cemetery to another cemetery.

Exhumation is also possible to carry out a shrinking or joining bodies.

The mortuary remains are collected in a reduction coffin or a bone box (reliquary) and deposited in the same grave.

FYI  

For any exhumation procedure, you must using a funeral business.

The exhumation will take place at your expense.

Alone next of kin may request exhumation.

It can also mandate another person, including a funeral business.

Warning  

The owner of the vault can request exhumation only if he is the next of kin of the deceased.

The next of kin of the deceased may be defined as being, in order:

  1. Unseparated spouse (widower/widow)
  2. Child of the deceased
  3. Parent of the deceased (father/mother)
  4. Brother or sister of the deceased

In case of conflictYes, it's at court of law to decide. This is the case, for example, if the disagreement concerns parents of the same degree (children of the deceased, etc.).

The use of a lawyer is required.

Who shall I contact

The court rules on the exhumation request. In particular, it shall examine whether there is a serious and serious reason, such as the provisional nature of the grave or respect for the will of the deceased (expressed or presumed).

Authorization must be sought from the mayor of the municipality where the exhumation is to take place.

Who shall I contact

If the mayor is aware of a disagreement between relativesHowever, he has to wait for a court decision.

Who shall I contact

The requesting parent must provide the following documents:

  • Proof of identity
  • Proof of domicile
  • Proof that he is the next of kin of the deceased

Authorization for exhumation may be granted irrespective of the date of death and burial.

However, if the deceased had contagious disease at the time of death, you can request exhumation only 1 year after death.

FYI  

If the coffin is found in good condition, it can be opened only if the deceased has been buried for at least 5 years.

The exhumation is done in the presence of a parent or a person designated by the family(the authorized representative).

For example, a business of a funeral home, an executor, or another mandated family member.

If the parent or the person chosen by the family is not present at the time indicated, the operation does not take place.

Town Hall Initiative

Exhumation may occur in the following cases:

Funeral operations are at the expense of the municipality.

Request for exhumation by the Health Insurance

In case of doubt about the link of accident at work causality between a, the CPAM: titleContent may ask an exhumation for autopsy.

It may do so at the request of the rights holders of the victim, or on its own initiative with their agreement.

The request for exhumation shall be addressed to the court of law accident at work in the spring of which the

Who shall I contact

Funeral operations are at the expense of the CPAM: titleContent.

Decision of the Court

Any investigating or trial court may order an exhumation on request:

  • From public prosecutor's office
  • Or parts thereof
  • Or ex officio.

Funeral operations are charged to the ministry of justice.

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