Burial at sea
Burial at sea is the burial of an urn on the high seas outside the three-mile zone. In this case, the urn with the ashes is buried from a ship in coastal waters.
Burial at sea in rivers and lakes, including Lake Constance in Baden-Württemberg, is not permitted.
Attention: As burials at sea are only carried out for urns, the same regulations apply as for cremation.
Responsible authority
The municipality/town council in which the funeral ship has its home port
Details
Prerequisite
The requirements for cremation must be met. Among other things, the urn used must be made of water-soluble material.
Procedure
You can obtain permission for cremation as a prerequisite for burial at sea from the municipality of the place of cremation. This also issues the special permit that you need to have the urn buried at sea.
Permission to release the urn to the sea is obtained from the municipality where the funeral ship has its home port.
Required documents
Permission for cremation as a prerequisite for burial at sea can only be obtained if the following documents are available:
- Express disposition of the deceased person or - if there is no such disposition - of the next of kin.
- Death certificate or death certificate (for deaths outside the state of Baden-Württemberg).
- Certification by the municipality of the place of death that there are no known indications of a non-natural death.
- Certification by a competent physician that he/she has not found any indications of a non-natural death during the examination of the corpse.
Permission to release the urn to the sea can be obtained from the local authority where the funeral ship has its home port.
Note: The examination of the deceased person must be carried out by a doctor other than the one who carried out the post-mortem examination. Information on the responsible doctors can be obtained from the district offices and the municipal administrations of the city districts that are responsible for the place of death or cremation.
Costs
Varies depending on the municipality
Miscellaneous
If you have commissioned a funeral home to organise the burial at sea, the necessary permits for the burial of an urn at sea will be obtained by the funeral home.
Legal basis
Bestattungsgesetz Baden-Württemberg (BestattG BW):
- § 32 Bestattungsart
- § 35 Zulässigkeit der Feuerbestattung
- § 36 Frühester Bestattungszeitpunkt
- § 37 Bestattungs- und Beförderungsfrist
Bestattungsverordnung (BestattVO):
- § 16 Verfahren, Erlaubnis
- § 17 Ärztliche Bescheinigung
- § 24 Urnenbeschaffenheit
- § 27 Seebestattung
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Ministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit und Integration, Baden-Württemberg 21.05.2025