What happens at a cremation?

Knowing what happens at a cremation can bring real reassurance. Many people worry about whether the right ashes come back, or what happens after the curtains close. The short answer is that UK crematoria follow careful, well-established procedures, designed so that every person is treated with dignity and never confused with anyone else. This guide explains each stage.

Key points

• A cremation must be authorised before it can happen. The applicant completes a form, and the crematorium’s medical referee checks the paperwork.
• Pacemakers and some other implants must be removed beforehand.
• Each person is cremated separately, in their coffin, with an identity card that stays with them until the ashes leave.
• Family can often witness the coffin entering the cremator, which is important for Hindu and Sikh families. Ask the crematorium.
• Metals are removed afterwards and returned or recycled, as you choose.
• The ashes are returned, scattered or held, following the applicant’s written instructions.

Before the cremation: paperwork and preparation

The application

England and Wales: the applicant, normally the executor or a near relative aged 16 or over, completes form Cremation 1 and signs it themselves. A funeral director can help with the form but must not sign it for you. The form asks about:

• any implanted medical devices
• what should happen to the ashes
• what should happen to any metals recovered.

Since 9 September 2024, every death in England and Wales is reviewed by a medical examiner or a coroner, and the old doctors’ cremation certificates are no longer needed. If a coroner was involved, they issue a certificate for cremation (Cremation 6). The crematorium’s medical referee checks everything before authorising the cremation.

Scotland: the crematorium’s application form is used, along with the certificate of registration (Form 14) from the registrar.

Northern Ireland: an application form, plus certificates from doctors, which usually carry fees, and approval from the crematorium’s medical referee. Northern Ireland has two crematoria.

Implants

Some implants can explode or cause harm during cremation. They include pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, some battery-powered or pressurised devices, and radioactive implants used to treat cancer. They must be removed first. The doctor who certified the death records any device they know about, and the applicant must declare any they are aware of. Funeral directors arrange removal.

Personal items

Anything left with the person in the coffin, such as jewellery, letters or photographs, is cremated with them. If you want to keep rings or other items, ask the funeral director to remove them and give them back to you. Crematoria may also have rules on what can go into the coffin.

The service

If there is a service at the crematorium, you gather in the chapel, the coffin is brought in, and the ceremony takes place. Services are booked in set time slots, often 30 to 60 minutes.

At the committal, the moment of farewell, families can usually choose what happens:

• curtains close around the coffin, or it is lowered or moves out of sight
• the coffin stays in place as mourners leave.

With a direct cremation, there is no service and no mourners at the crematorium.

After the service: identification and cremation

This part happens out of sight, in the crematory behind the chapel. The FBCA Code of Cremation Practice sets out the standards crematoria follow:

1. Identification. A crematorium must not accept a coffin unless it clearly shows who is inside. The name is checked against the paperwork, and an identity card is created.
2. The card goes everywhere with the person. It stays with the coffin, and then with the ashes, until they are collected or scattered.
3. One at a time. Each person is cremated separately, in their coffin. A cremator can only take one coffin at a time, and all the remains are removed before it is used again.
4. No interference. Once the coffin is placed in the cremator, it is not opened or disturbed until the cremation is complete.
5. Timing. The code says cremation should take place as soon as practicable once authorised, normally on the day of the service. If it cannot happen that day, the person is kept in secure, respectful conditions until it can.

Witnessing the charge

In Hindu and Sikh traditions, close family members often wish to see the coffin enter the cremator (called “witnessing the charge”). Some crematoria have a viewing area or room for this. Others use a private live video link to the chapel, as Lewisham Council’s Hither Green Crematorium does. If it matters to you, tell your funeral director and the crematorium when you book, as numbers and procedures vary. See our Hindu, Sikh and Jain guides.

After the cremation: metals and ashes

Metals

After cremation, any metal, such as a hip or knee replacement, pins or coffin fittings, is removed from the remains. On the application form in England and Wales, you say whether you want metals returned (surgical implants usually belong to the estate) or recycled.

Many crematoria take part in the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) metals recycling scheme. It only recycles with families’ consent, and the proceeds go to bereavement-related charities. The ICCM says the scheme involves more than 160 crematoria and had raised over £23 million for charities by 2024.

The ashes

The remaining bone fragments are processed into fine ashes and placed in a labelled container, which still has the identity card with it. What happens next depends on the instructions given on the application:

In England and Wales, if ashes are not collected as instructed, the crematorium must give you 14 days’ notice before scattering or burying them. You can still change your instructions in writing during that time.

How long? Crematoria usually have ashes ready within a few working days, but it varies, so ask.

Common questions, answered briefly

• Are all the ashes returned? The crematorium takes the utmost care to recover the ashes and keep them separate. With very small babies there may be very little or no ash, and the crematorium or funeral director can talk this through with you.
• Is the coffin reused? No. The coffin is cremated with the person.
• Does water cremation happen in the UK? It has been lawful in Scotland since March 2026, but no facility was operating at the time of writing.

Next steps

• Decide what to do with the ashes: see scattering ashes.
• Compare local crematoria and their fees.
• Weighing up options? Read cremation vs burial and funeral costs.