Out of England Certificate: How to Get Form 103 for Repatriation

Every Repatriation from England and Wales Requires This Document

No human remains can leave England or Wales without the written authority of HM Coroner — even if the death was entirely natural and was never referred to the coroner for investigation. This is a legal requirement, not a formality. The document that grants this authority is the Form of Acknowledgement (Form 103), commonly called the "Out of England" certificate.

Without it, no airline cargo department will accept a coffin, no repatriation funeral director will proceed with transport, and no Jamaican port authority will begin the import clearance process.

The Two Forms Involved

Form 104 — the Notice of Intention to Remove a Body out of England. Your UK funeral director files this with the coroner's office in the jurisdiction where the body is resting. It declares the intention to repatriate and must be accompanied by a certified copy of the registered death certificate.

Form 103 — the coroner's response. Once satisfied that there's no outstanding reason to retain the body, the coroner issues this as written authority to proceed with removal.

The funeral director handles the filing of Form 104 as part of their repatriation service. You shouldn't need to visit the coroner's office yourself.

The Four-Day Waiting Period

After the coroner receives Form 104, four clear working days must elapse before the Out of England certificate can be issued. This statutory period gives the coroner time to review the case and make any necessary inquiries into the cause of death.

"Clear working days" means the day of filing doesn't count, weekends and bank holidays don't count, and you need four full business days in between. A Form 104 filed on a Monday afternoon means the earliest possible release is the following Monday — six calendar days later. Filed on a Wednesday before a bank holiday weekend, and you're looking at the following Wednesday.

This waiting period is the single biggest bottleneck in the UK repatriation timeline. The death certificate, embalming, and coffin preparation can often be completed within a few days, but the coroner's four-day hold adds a fixed minimum delay.

Expediting the Process

The coroner can agree to waive the four-day period in urgent cases. Religious obligations or cultural requirements may support an expedited release. The funeral director makes this request on the family's behalf, and the coroner decides at their discretion.

If the coroner has opened a full investigation or inquest, the four-day waiver is separate from the broader investigative hold. The body must first be released from the investigation, and then the Form 104 process begins.

Scotland: A Different System

Scotland doesn't use the Form 104/103 process. The Procurator Fiscal issues a "Furth of Scotland" letter that serves the same purpose — written authority to remove remains from the country. The process is similar in effect but operates under different legislation and doesn't have the same four-day statutory period, though the Fiscal will impose their own timeline based on the circumstances.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland follows a process closer to England and Wales, with the coroner issuing removal authority. The local coroner's office handles the application, and the funeral director manages the paperwork.

Where This Fits in the Repatriation Timeline

For a typical UK-to-Jamaica repatriation, the Out of England certificate is obtained after death registration, embalming, and coffin preparation, but before the airline cargo booking can be finalised. The Jamaican receiving funeral home uses it — along with the death certificate, embalming certificate, and a Free from Infection certificate — to apply for the MOHW Transit Permit.

The Jamaican Dies in the UK — Family Guide maps the complete document sequence from death to arrival in Jamaica, including a timeline planner that accounts for the four-day coroner hold and shows which steps can run in parallel.