What are Exclusive Rights of Burial?

When you buy a grave, you’re buying the right to bury a body or scatter ashes (cremated remains) in that grave, not the surrounding land. This is called the Exclusive Rights of Burial.

As the owner of the grave, these Rights mean that you have to give permission for remains or ashes to be buried in it. You also have the right to add a memorial to the grave, depending on the cemetery or crematorium’s rules and regulations.

When you’re given the Rights to a grave, you’re given a deed (a legal document) that shows you own it. This is called the Grant of Exclusive Rights of Burial and should be kept in a safe place until the time when the grave is used.

All Rights are granted for a fixed period of time. In Birmingham, this is currently for 75 years.