Exhumation and moving to another grave in Kraków

An exhumation at the family's request is carried out with the permit of the State County Sanitary Inspector, and the application is submitted by a person entitled to bury the deceased, for example a spouse or child. At a municipal cemetery in Kraków, the consent of the Municipal Cemeteries Authority (Zarząd Cmentarzy Komunalnych) is also required. Exhumation is permitted from 16 October to 15 April, in the early morning hours.

• 2 consentsfrom the sanitary inspector and the cemetery administrator
• 16 Oct to 15 Aprthe period in which exhumations are carried out
• 7 working daysadvance notice to the inspector of the date (sanitary inspectorate recommendation)

When a family can move the deceased to another grave

Exhumation is the removal of a body or remains from a grave. Families most often choose it when they want to bring the graves of loved ones together in one place, move the deceased closer to where they live, or move them to a family grave at another cemetery.

The Act on Cemeteries and the Burial of the Dead (Ustawa o cmentarzach i chowaniu zmarłych) provides for several grounds for exhumation. For a family, one matters most: a reasoned request from the persons entitled to bury the deceased, submitted with the permit of the competent sanitary inspector. The other cases are an order from a prosecutor or a court, and a decision of the sanitary inspector when the cemetery land is taken for another purpose.

The consent also applies to an urn with ashes. The Municipal Cemeteries Authority (Zarząd Cmentarzy Komunalnych) in Kraków accepts applications for the exhumation of a body, remains or an urn with ashes, and in each of these cases requires the original of the sanitary inspector's permit.

Who can apply for an exhumation

The application is submitted by a person who has the right to bury the deceased. The Act lists the closest family:

• the surviving spouse,
• descendants, that is children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,
• ascendants, that is parents and grandparents,
• collateral relatives up to the fourth degree of kinship, for example siblings,
• relatives by marriage in the direct line up to the first degree, for example a son-in-law, daughter-in-law or parents-in-law.

The right to bury also belongs to persons who have voluntarily undertaken to do so.

In the application templates published by the sanitary inspectorate stations, the applicant gives their degree of kinship to the deceased and lists the other closest family members, and a statement that they do not object to the exhumation is often required. It is therefore wise to talk to the family before submitting the documents.

The application can also be submitted by a representative. The Municipal Cemeteries Authority (Zarząd Cmentarzy Komunalnych) then accepts a detailed power of attorney to carry out the exhumation, or a certified copy of it.

Step one: the sanitary inspectorate permit

The application for consent to an exhumation is addressed to the State County Sanitary Inspector competent for the place where the grave is located. It does not matter where the family lives or where the deceased will be buried again.

For the cemeteries in Kraków this is the County Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Kraków (Powiatowa Stacja Sanitarno-Epidemiologiczna w Krakowie), ul. Makuszyńskiego 9. The application form for an exhumation permit is on the station's page on gov.pl, in the section on exhumation and transport of bodies.

One restriction follows directly from the Act. The bodies of people who died of infectious diseases on the Minister of Health's list cannot be exhumed at the family's request before 2 years have passed since the date of death.

The sanitary inspector also supervises the exhumation itself. According to the guide of the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Kraków (Wojewódzka Stacja Sanitarno-Epidemiologiczna, WSSE), this means physical presence during the work at the cemetery, so the inspector is notified of the date of the exhumation, as recommended by the sanitary inspectorate (WSSE in Kraków), at least 7 working days in advance.

Step two: consent of the cemetery administrator

Municipal cemeteries are managed by the municipality, and denominational cemeteries by religious associations. In practice this means that documents are submitted in a different place depending on the cemetery.

Municipal cemeteries in Kraków (among others Rakowicki, Podgórski, Prądnik Czerwony and Grębałów) are run by the Municipal Cemeteries Authority (Zarząd Cmentarzy Komunalnych, ZCK). For the application for consent to an exhumation, ZCK requires:

• an identity document to be shown,
• an application from the entitled person or persons together with the consent of the grave holder (the ZCK form for the grave holder's consent to an exhumation, available at the office and on the ZCK website),
• the original of the sanitary inspector's exhumation permit,
• a power of attorney, if a representative is handling the matter,
• form no. 19, if a tree grows within 2 metres of an earth grave.

The application is submitted in person at the service office for the relevant area, for example at ul. Rakowicka 26, ul. Wapienna 13, ul. Powstańców 48 or ul. Darwina 1g, between 7:30 and 15:30. In case of renovation or changes in service (from 12 October 2026 the office at ul. Rakowicka 26 is under renovation and service is provided at temporary desks), it is worth calling before a visit or checking the notice on the ZCK website. It can also be sent through e-Doręczenia (the Polish electronic delivery system).

ZCK handles the matter within a month, and in a particularly complicated case within two months. The service is paid according to the ZCK price list.

ZCK points out one more thing: exhuming all the deceased from an earth grave causes the right to that grave to expire.

Parish and other denominational cemeteries have their own administration, usually at the parish. There you need to ask about the required documents and the date. The cemetery administration is notified in writing of the intended exhumation, regardless of the type of cemetery.

If the deceased is to rest in another grave, it is worth agreeing the place of reburial with the administration of the destination cemetery beforehand. We have collected information on burials at Rakowicki Cemetery and Salwator Cemetery in separate guides: Rakowicki Cemetery and Salwator Cemetery.

When an exhumation is not carried out

The Regulation of the Minister of Health on the handling of human bodies and remains (Rozporządzenie Ministra Zdrowia w sprawie postępowania ze zwłokami i szczątkami ludzkimi) permits exhumation only from 16 October to 15 April. It is carried out in the early morning hours.

From 16 April to 15 October, exhumation at the family's request is in principle not carried out. The sanitary inspector may allow another date, but then sets additional precautions.

In practice this means it is best to start the formalities in summer or early autumn if the exhumation is to take place in the coming season (from 16 October to 15 April). The consents of the office and the cemetery administrator take time, and the exhumation itself must fit within the exhumation period.

What an exhumation involves and how the deceased is moved to a new grave

The procedure depends on how much time has passed since the burial. If little time has passed, the coffin is lifted out whole, without being opened, and placed in a sealed container for transport. At the place of reburial the coffin is taken out of the container and buried without being opened.

When many years have passed since the burial, the remains, together with what is left of the coffin, are transferred into a new coffin. For transport over a distance of more than 60 km, the coffin is closed in the presence of the sanitary inspector, who seals it.

The next steps usually look like this:

1. agree within the family who submits the application, and decide on the destination grave,

2. submit the application for the permit to the sanitary inspectorate,

3. submit the application to the cemetery administrator with the original of the permit,

4. set the date and notify the sanitary inspector at least 7 working days in advance (as recommended by the sanitary inspectorate, WSSE in Kraków),

5. the exhumation in the early morning hours under the inspector's supervision,

6. transport and reburial in the new grave.

How the funeral home helps

The funeral home can prepare the documents together with the family and handle the formalities on its behalf on the basis of a power of attorney. It also takes care of transporting the deceased, a new coffin if one is needed, and organising the reburial.

Lilia helps families prepare the applications and work out the order of the steps and a date that fits within the exhumation period. You will find information about transport in the guide transport of the deceased, and about coffins and urns on the page coffins and urns. If a new headstone is needed after the graves are joined, please see the page headstones and tombs.

For the cost of an exhumation and relocation, please ask by phone on +48 12 421 24 80. Official fees and cemetery fees are set by those institutions. You will find the details of the offices on the page contact.

Frequently asked questions