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Burial and cremation costs

When someone dies, you'll have to pay burial or cremation costs as part of their funeral.

You can apply to Social Security Scotland for Funeral Support Payment to help with burial or cremation costs.

The amount you can get will depend on:

  • the council area the person lived in when they died
  • the date of the funeral

Help towards burial and cremation costs in Scottish council areas

The tables show how much help Social Security Scotland can give you in different Scottish council areas for a:

  • burial and plot
  • burial only
  • cremation

This help is for adults aged 18 or over. In Scotland, it usually does not cost anything to bury or cremate a baby, child or young person.

Find out how much help you can get for funerals held:

On or after 1 April 2021

Local council Burial and plot Burial only Cremation
Aberdeen City £1,555 £680 £704
Aberdeenshire £2,136 £996 £795
Angus £1,757.50 £711 £1,100
Argyll and Bute £1,868 £857 £812
Clackmannanshire £2,031.20 £867 £821
Dumfries & Galloway £1,512 £910 £885
Dundee City £2,019 £595 £1,070
East Ayrshire £1,302 £665 £882
East Dunbartonshire £2,409 £1,088 £752
East Lothian £1,729.27 £838.11 £834
East Renfrewshire £2,062.61 £960.40 £685
Edinburgh City £2,754 £1,284 £834
Falkirk £1,581 £745 £821
Fife £1,535 £753 £792
Glasgow City £2,410 £1,030 £685
Highland £1,558 £959 £959
Inverclyde £1,965.85 £946.30 £743.50
Midlothian £1,693 £827 £834
Moray £1,773.78 £949.62 £1,070
North Ayrshire £1,665 £806 £981
North Lanarkshire £2,006 £989 £887
Orkney Islands £1,266 £605 £704
Perth and Kinross £1,853 £946 £788
Renfrewshire £1,172.25 £598.20 £849
Scottish Borders £1,943.60 £810 £857
Shetland Islands £1,172.50 £565.50 £704
South Ayrshire £1,700 £850 £882
South Lanarkshire £2,134.15 £900.46 £660.24
Stirling £2,053 £1,160 £895
West Dunbartonshire £1,820 £790 £752
Western Isles £965 £425 £959
West Lothian £1,387.01 £677.36 £895

On or after 1 April 2022

Local council Burial and plot Burial only Cremation
Aberdeen City £1,555 £680 £704
Aberdeenshire £2,209 £1,030 £835
Angus £1,800.90 £728 £1,100
Argyll and Bute £1,924 £883 £836
Clackmannanshire £2,140 £914 £858
Dumfries and Galloway £1,512 £910 £915
Dundee City £2,059 £607 £1,070
East Ayrshire £1,302 £665 £908
East Dunbartonshire £2,409 £1,088 £782
East Lothian £1,729.27 £838.11 £859
East Renfrewshire £2,139 £996 £880
Edinburgh City £2,837 £1,322 £859
Falkirk £1,660.05 £782.25 £858
Fife £1,535 £753 £792
Glasgow City £2,460 £1,050 £699
Highland £1,558 £959 £959
Inverclyde £2,024.85 £974.70 £764.95
Midlothian £1,693 £827 £859
Moray £1,773.78 £949.62 £1,070
North Ayrshire £1,665 £806 £978.50
North Lanarkshire £2,006 £989 £914
Orkney Islands £1,329 £635 £704
Perth and Kinross £1,908 £974 £709
Renfrewshire £1,207.45 £616.15 £890
Scottish Borders £2,003.80 £835 £877
Shetland Islands £1,204.16 £580.77 £704
South Ayrshire £1,750 £875 £908
South Lanarkshire £2,141.44 £927.47 £680.05
Stirling £2,094.10 £1,183.20 £905
West Dunbartonshire £2,893 £822 £782
Western Isles £984 £434 £959
West Lothian £1,511.84 £738.32 £925

Costs for someone who lived in England, Wales or Northern Ireland

You can get help if you live in Scotland and need to pay the burial or cremation costs for someone who lived in:

  • England
  • Wales
  • Northern Ireland

You can apply to Social Security Scotland for help. They'll then work out the local burial or cremation costs for the area the person lived in.

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