We are responsible for managing 43 cemeteries and churchyards, including a number of Edinburgh's historic burial grounds.
If you have recently been bereaved and require burial or cremation services (including Catholic or Muslim burials), you can ask a Funeral Director to help you to make arrangements.
Burial
Burial can take place in a new grave, or sometimes in a family grave. Your Funeral Director can help you with this, or you can contact Bereavement Services for advice.
Ashes
To arrange a burial of a casket of ashes, you can contact Mortonhall Crematorium direct.
If the next of kin have asked for ashes to be scattered at Mortonhall Crematorium, this will be done in the Garden of Remembrance, which is a large lawn area. No form of marker is allowed in the garden.
We can also bury caskets of ashes in the garden if a cremation has taken place elsewhere. Your funeral director can arrange this for you or you can email Bereavement Services to discuss.
Cemeteries with availability for new graves or ashes
Full burial
Corstorphine Hill, Craigmillar Castle Park, Kirkliston, Morningside, Portobello, Ratho, Saughton, South Queensferry
Catholic burial
Craigmillar Castle Park
Muslim burial
Ratho
Baby graves
Craigmillar Castle Park
Burial of caskets of ashes
Corstorphine Hill, Craigmillar Castle Park, Liberton, Morningside, Portobello, Saughton
Headstones and memorials in cemeteries
You do not have to mark a grave with a headstone or other form of marker. This is a decision for the next of kin or executor, and can be done at any time. There is no need to wait for the ground to settle. The grave owner or the executor is responsible for any headstone or marker placed at a grave and its upkeep.
Any memorial on a grave must be constructed and erected by an approved memorial mason. Email Bereavement Services for a list of approved masons.
Charges
You might be able to get help with the costs of a funeral. View information on help with funeral costs.
Funeral directors and memorial masons, please note that there have been changes to the Council's pricing structure following the recent Scottish Government and Cosla agreement.
Parking in cemeteries
The majority of the grassed areas within our cemeteries are graves. Please park carefully on the tarmac road, leaving room for vehicles to pass without having to drive on the grass. It is very upsetting for grieving families to see tyre marks where cars have been parked on or driven across graves.
Please leave access for the hearse at the grave side when you are attending a funeral.
Cemetery Management Rules
The City of Edinburgh Council (Burial Authority) made rules under the terms of Section 112 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. Download the cemetery management rules (PDF)
