Transferring grave ownership

As a registered owner of a grave, you will have been issued with a deed, sometimes referred to as an 'Exclusive Right of Burial' . This is essentially a lease on the grave and allows you, or anyone you allow, to be buried in that grave. No burials or interments of cremated remains can happen without the consent of the registered owner.

In the following circumstances, a transfer of the ownership of the Exclusive Right of Burial will be required:

• an application is made for a burial but the registered owner has died
• an application is made for a memorial to be erected on the grave but the registered owner has died
• an existing memorial is to be changed but the registered owner has died
• the registered owner has died and a new owner would like to be registered
• the registered owner wishes to transfer the ownership to another or share the ownership with another. 

Please contact Cemetery Services via the contact details on the right of this page for more information on establishing grave ownership when the owner has died or to arrange a transfer from one living person to another.

Further information:

• Only the registered deed holder of the grave can give permission, in writing, for the grave to be opened for a burial. The only exception to this is if the registered deed holder has died and is to be buried in the grave. It is their legal right to be buried in the grave that they own on production of the original Deed of Grant.
• Ownership of the right of burial in a grave can be transferred from a deceased owner via their estate. Each case is examined individually and can be complex as it is a legal process. If you need to transfer ownership when all the owners are deceased contact Cemetery Services via the contact details on the right of this page.
• West Suffolk Council Cemetery Services allows up to two deed holders for each grave deed.
• West Suffolk Council will buy back graves which have not been used, this will be at half of the current purchase rate for the type of grave.
• An unpurchased grave, sometimes known as a public or general grave, is where the right to burial cannot be bought and the council has total control of the grave. These graves can sometimes be bought at a later date provided they have not been used for a second interment. The council will decide who will be buried in the grave and this might not be members of the same family. No memorial rights exist on public graves so no headstone or other memorial can be put up.
• A purchased grave is where the right of burial can be bought for a set number of years, which may be extended. The owner of the right of burial can be decide who will be buried who will be buried in the grave and memorials are allowed in line with our cemetery regulations and with permission of the owners.