Burial Services (Coffin Burial)
At present, coffin burial spaces are available in 4 public cemeteries managed by the FEHD for public application. In addition, they can bury deceased bodies in the burial grounds of private cemeteries. Enquiries about the application procedures for a grave space in a private cemetery and details of charges should be made direct to the management of the cemetery concerned.
Public cemeteries with coffin burial spaces
| Cemetery | Telephone Number | Office Hours | Opening Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wo Hop Shek Cemetery | 2675 5296 | 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. | 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. |
| Cheung Chau Cemetery * | 2981 5442 | 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | |
| Tai O Cemetery * Lai Chi Yuen Cemetery at Mui Wo* |
2852 3606 | 8:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
|
| * The deceased should be an indigenous villager, or bona fide resident of the island concerned, or a minor child of such person. The applicant is required to produce the original and a copy of the supporting document from the relevant rural committee as well as the statutory declaration made by the legal representative or next of kin of the deceased. | |||
According to the current policy, the applicant has to exhume the remains which have been interred in a public cemetery for six years and make follow-up arrangements. After the exhumation, the applicant can choose to re-bury the remains at an urn grave of a public cemetery or make an application for cremating the remains.
Application procedures for burial services
Book the date of burial with the office of the cemetery where the deceased is to be buried
On the day of burial, submit / produce the following documents to the cemetery office concerned
-
a completed
"Application for Burial at Public Cemetery" (FEHB 144)
(the particulars of the hired licensed undertaker must be provided in the form, which must also be stamped with the undertaker's chop recognised by the FEHD) -
the "Certificate of Registration of Death" (Form 10) (commonly known as "Burial Permit")
or
"Certificate of Order Authorizing Burial of Body" (Form 11) (commonly known as "Burial Order") - the original identity document of the deceased
- the original identity document of the applicant
-
For application for a niche in the Islands District, the applicant should also submit:
- the original of the document issued by the rural committee of the relevant island certifying that the first deceased person was an indigenous villager of the Islands District, or a bona fide resident of the Islands District for a continuous residing period of not less than 7 years (10 years for Cheung Chau), or a minor child of such person; and
- the original of the statutory declaration by the legal representative or next of kin of the first deceased person declaring that the first deceased person was an indigenous villager of the Islands District, or a bona fide resident of the Islands District for a continuous residing period of not less than 7 years (10 years for Cheung Chau), or a minor child of such person
Be allocated with a coffin grave space after the checking of documents by the FEHD staff
Burial of the body in the allocated coffin grave space and erection of a tombstone by the hired licensed undertaker
Collection of the required fee by the FEHD through the applicant's hired licensed undertaker
Apply for exhumation of the remains after six years of interment
Apply for re-burial of the remains at an urn grave of a public cemetery or cremation of the remains
- Every year, the FEHD will issue an exhumation order in the Government Gazette, requiring the removal from graves of all human remains which have been interred in public cemeteries for more than six years.
- If the remains are not exhumed after the deadline, the FEHD will disinter the remains, cremate them, and re-inter the ashes in the Communal Grave at Sandy Ridge Cemetery.
- The exhumation of remains must be carried out by a registered mason. After the exhumation, members of the public may apply for cremation of the exhumed remains, re-bury the remains at an urn grave of a public / private cemetery, or deposit them in an ossuary of a private cemetery.