Starting a cemetery or crematorium
Do you run a funeral home in the Netherlands and do you want to start using a new cemetery, crematorium, or garden of remembrance? You need a permit from the municipal authority. And you must comply with the rules in the Burial and Cremation Act (Wet op de lijkbezorging).
The municipal authority decides where a funeral facility can be built. The municipality may require you to make the soil suitable. You must also comply with rules on soil and air (in Dutch). Check with your municipal authority what the requirements are (in Dutch).
Cemetery and crematorium registers
Do you have a cemetery? If so you must keep a register with information on:
- the identity and precise burial location of the deceased persons buried at the cemetery
- the cremation urns placed at your cemetery
Do you have a crematorium? Then you must keep a register that shows who has been cremated and the planned use of their ashes.Â
The registers are open to the public.Â