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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 2023

Local council Burial and plot Burial only Cremation
Aberdeen City £2,018 £918 £753
Aberdeenshire £2,339 £1,091 £1,115
Angus £1,491.40 £772.60 £1,100
Argyll and Bute £2,039 £936 £886
Clackmannanshire £1,951 £960 £807
Dumfries and Galloway £1,512 £910 £960
Dundee City £2,120 £625 £1,185
East Ayrshire £1,302 £665 £1,115
East Dunbartonshire £2,409 £1,088 £860
East Lothian £1,960 £950 £859
East Renfrewshire £2,636.37 £1,245 £925
Edinburgh City £2,837 £1,322 £859
Falkirk £1,744 £822 £897
Fife £1,704 £836 £880
Glasgow City £2,584 £1,103 £832
Highland £1,588 £959 £959
Inverclyde £2,227.30 £1,072.15 £839.05
Midlothian £2,132 £992 £859
Moray £1,951.16 £1,044.58 £1,150
North Ayrshire £1,748 £846 £1,055
North Lanarkshire £2,142 £1,059 £965
Orkney Islands £1,462 £699 £959
Perth and Kinross £1,965 £1,003 £836
Renfrewshire £1,912.50 £913 £900
Scottish Borders £2,104.80 £877 £967.50
Shetland Islands £1,263.17 £609.23 £856
South Ayrshire £1,838 £919 £953
South Lanarkshire £2,205.69 £955.30 £808.33
Stirling £1,804.70 £1,242.40 £965
West Dunbartonshire £2,082 £904 £860
Western Isles £1,075 £475 £959
West Lothian £1,579.87 £771.54 £995

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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