New Scottish burial and cremation forms from 2 Mar 2026

From Monday 2 March 2026, Scotland changes the paperwork you use for burial and cremation, and updates what must be recorded in cremation registers. The rules are set by Scottish Statutory Instrument 2025/360, made on 20 November 2025 and laid before the Scottish Parliament on 24 November 2025. It is signed on behalf of the Scottish Ministers by Jenni Minto. We’ve read the legislation on legislation.gov.uk so you don’t have to.

Who this affects will feel familiar: bereaved families and representatives, funeral directors, NHS boards, burial and cremation authorities, universities and anatomy schools, and local authorities. If you complete A‑series cremation forms or BF‑series burial forms, you will move to updated versions from 2 March 2026.

What actually changes is practical. Application forms are refreshed, guidance notes are removed from the forms themselves, and the scenarios are more clearly separated so you pick the right form first time. For registers, the law no longer prescribes a set format; instead it lists the exact data each cremation register must capture, allowing authorities to keep records digitally or on paper as long as the required fields are present.

If you are applying to cremate an adult or a child and you are not a local authority, you will use the new Form A1. You must complete sections 1 to 5 and provide the documents the form specifies. Think of this as the standard family or representative route: you complete the core identification, authority and instruction details, then attach the certificates the form asks for.

If the application relates to a stillborn baby, you will use the new Form A2 and complete sections 1 to 5 with the listed documents. For pregnancy loss on or before 24 weeks where an individual is arranging the cremation, you will use the new Form A3 and complete sections 1 to 5. Where a body other than an individual (for example, a health board under Part 3 of the 2016 Act) arranges the cremation of a fetus, you will use the new Form A4 and complete sections 1 to 3, again with the documents the form sets out. What this means: the form follows who is arranging the cremation and the stage of pregnancy, not simply the place of care.

If your council is arranging a funeral under section 87 of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016, you will use the new Form A5. Local authorities must complete sections 1 to 6 and include the documents listed on the form. This creates a single, clearer route for statutory funerals carried out by councils.

Where cremation follows a hospital post‑mortem examination and it was not instructed by, or carried out for, the Procurator Fiscal, you will use the new Form A6 and complete sections 3 and 4. Where cremation follows an anatomical examination authorised under section 4(2) or section 4A(1) of the Anatomy Act 1984, you also use Form A6 but complete different sections: for a whole body, complete sections 1 and 4; for body parts, complete sections 2 and 4. If the anatomical examination relates to someone who died before 14 February 1988, use the new Form A7 and complete sections 1 and 2. Every one of these routes requires you to attach the documents specified by that form.

Cremation registers change from fixed forms to required data fields. For whole bodies (new schedule 9), the register must record the crematorium and authority, a cremation number, the date, the deceased’s name, sex, date of birth and date of death, what happened to the ashes, and the funeral director’s name and contact details if used. For body parts (new schedule 10), the register must also note which parts were cremated and, if relevant, the date and place of any burial, cremation or hydrolysis of the body, plus the outcome for the ashes and funeral director details. For stillbirth and pregnancy loss (new schedule 11), the register must record the crematorium and authority, number, date, whether it was a pregnancy loss or a still birth, any name given to the baby, and-if a health authority applied-the unique identification number, the applicant’s name and business address, and whether ashes were recovered and what happened to them. If you are new to the term, “hydrolysis” refers to alkaline hydrolysis, a lawful form of body disposal in Scotland.

Burial applications are updated too. The Burial (Applications and Register) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 get new versions of forms BF1 to BF7, replacing the previous forms in schedules 1 to 7. There is also a small wording fix in the burial application provision to tidy phrasing. The policy note in the instrument explains the aim is to bring forms up to date, improve usability, and remove embedded guidance notes so authorities can give guidance in their own materials.

Transitional rules matter, especially if you work across month end. If a cremation application is submitted before 2 March 2026 and the cremation happens on or after that date, the old application rules continue to apply to that case; you do not need to swap forms mid‑process. If a cremation took place before 2 March 2026, the old register requirements continue to apply to that entry. For burial, if an application is submitted before 2 March 2026 but the burial happens later, the pre‑amendment forms remain valid for that burial.

So what should you do now? From 2 March 2026, use the new A‑series cremation forms and BF‑series burial forms for all new cases. Make sure your internal templates and digital systems capture the new register fields for whole bodies, body parts, and stillbirth or pregnancy loss. Keep the old forms to hand only for cases already submitted before the changeover date.

If you are an educator or training lead, build a short briefing for staff and students that pairs each form with the scenario: A1 for adult or child (non‑council), A2 for stillborn baby, A3 for pregnancy loss where an individual applies, A4 for pregnancy loss arranged by a body such as a health board, A5 for local authority funerals, A6 for post‑mortem or anatomical examination with the correct sections depending on whole body or parts, and A7 for anatomical examinations where the person died before 14 February 1988. Emphasise that every form lists the documents that must be attached, and that register outcomes for ashes must always be recorded.

For transparency, our summary draws directly from the Burial and Cremation (Applications and Registers) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025-SSI 2025/360-published on legislation.gov.uk. The instrument amends the Cremation (Scotland) Regulations 2019 and the Burial (Applications and Register) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 under the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016. If you teach civic processes, this is a strong example of how statutory instruments update practical forms without changing headline law.