Federal Law No. (10) of 2021 Regulating the Cemeteries and Burial Procedures
Federal Law No. (10) of 2021
Federal Law No. (10) of 2021 regulates cemetery planning and management, transport and preparation of deceased persons, burial permits, burial of bodies and human organs/remains, exhumation/transfer, public-health safeguards, inspection and penalties.
Overview
What this legislation covers
Federal Law No. (10) of 2021 regulates cemetery planning and management, transport and preparation of deceased persons, burial permits, burial of bodies and human organs/remains, exhumation/transfer, public-health safeguards, inspection and penalties.
Who or what it applies to
- Public and other cemeteries regulated by competent Emirate authorities.
- Health facilities, mortuaries and funeral/burial service providers.
- Families/persons arranging transport, preparation or burial.
- Local authorities, Health Authorities and other government bodies.
- Transport/disposal of bodies, human organs and human remains.
Key points
Important points at a glance
Issued on 19 May 2021 and effective from 31 August 2021.
Assigns cemetery regulation functions to the competent authority in each Emirate.
Requires suitable cemetery locations and conditions for establishing new cemeteries.
Provides designated areas for categories such as communicable-disease cases, human organs, children and other special situations.
Prohibits specified misuse, disturbance, damage or unauthorised conduct in cemeteries.
Requires permits for transport of corpses and regulates transport applications.
Regulates washing, shrouding and preparation of Muslim deceased persons.
Regulates preparation of non-Muslim deceased persons.
Requires designated and compliant places for washing/preparation.
Prohibits burial of bodies, human organs or remains outside designated cemeteries.
Regulates burial permits for human organs and foreign deceased persons.
Controls transfer/exhumation and handling of unclaimed/unknown deceased persons.
Requires monitoring, inspection, security and cleaning of cemeteries.
Creates offences and penalties for unlawful burial/disposal and other violations.
Cabinet Resolution No. (113) of 2021 is the active Executive Regulation, effective 1 February 2022.
Practical explanation
Understanding the law
Purpose and practical effect
Federal Law No. (10) of 2021 regulates cemetery planning and management, transport and preparation of deceased persons, burial permits, burial of bodies and human organs/remains, exhumation/transfer, public-health safeguards, inspection and penalties.
Who and what the law applies to
- Public and other cemeteries regulated by competent Emirate authorities.
- Health facilities, mortuaries and funeral/burial service providers.
- Families/persons arranging transport, preparation or burial.
- Local authorities, Health Authorities and other government bodies.
- Transport/disposal of bodies, human organs and human remains.
Important definitions
- Cemetery: a place designated by the competent authority for burial of deceased persons, organs or human remains.
- Competent Authority: the local authority responsible for cemetery/burial regulation in each Emirate.
- Health Authority: the federal/local governmental body concerned with health affairs.
- Foreign Deceased: deceased person without UAE nationality, subject to special transport/burial procedures.
Main rights, duties and legal consequences
- Deceased persons must be handled with dignity and according to lawful health and burial procedures.
- Families must use the formal permits and designated facilities/cemeteries.
- Competent authorities may inspect and regulate cemeteries and burial services.
- Religious and public-health requirements are coordinated through the competent bodies.
Practical compliance / procedure checklist
- Obtain the death/burial documentation required under births-and-deaths legislation.
- Apply for any corpse transport permit before movement where required.
- Use an approved facility/personnel for preparation/washing.
- Obtain the burial permit and use a cemetery designated by the competent authority.
- Follow special procedures for foreigners, communicable-disease cases, unknown/unclaimed bodies or organ/remains burial.
- Seek formal approval before any exhumation or transfer after burial.
- Apply Cabinet Resolution No. (113) of 2021 for detailed operational requirements.
Important dates and deadlines
- Issued: 19 May 2021.
- Effective: 31 August 2021.
- Executive Regulation No. (113) of 2021: effective 1 February 2022.
- The law provides specific timing for certain preparation/handling steps; the exact article must be checked for a live case.
Enforcement and legal exposure
Violations can result in criminal penalties and enforcement by designated judicial officers. The law operates alongside birth/death registration, communicable disease, environmental and local municipality rules.
Practical scenarios
- A family transporting a body between Emirates should confirm transport-permit requirements before movement.
- A non-Muslim deceased person is prepared under the specific rules in the law and Executive Regulation.
- Burial of human remains outside a designated cemetery can attract criminal liability.
- Exhumation for transfer requires competent-authority approval; family consent alone is not sufficient.
Current-law interaction
No amendment to the principal law was identified in the source reviewed. Cabinet Resolution No. (113) of 2021 remains the principal Executive Regulation.
Research status
Legal-status and source verification for this package was carried out on 2026-09-07. UAE federal legislation often operates together with Cabinet resolutions, Executive Regulations, ministerial decisions, local Health/competent-authority rules and later amendments. The current official source should be rechecked before a live filing, licence application, clinical decision, enforcement step or court submission.
Practical notes
- Use the current official Arabic text for interpretation and application; the English package is a structured legal-information rendering.
- Verify the latest consolidated law, Executive Regulation, Cabinet/ministerial decisions and relevant Emirate-level rules immediately before case-specific reliance.
- Exact penalties, thresholds, exceptions, consent rules and procedural deadlines must be checked against the current article and implementing instrument.
- The supplied cover artwork is editorial artwork and does not constitute an official UAE Government publication or legal-status certificate.
Legislation text
Text and provisions
Official-text notice. This file is a comprehensive structured English legal-information rendering based on the sources listed in this package. It is not represented as the controlling verbatim English text. The official Arabic text prevails for interpretation and application. Exact offences, penalties, thresholds, exceptions, licences, consent requirements and deadlines must be checked against the current official article and implementing instrument.
Federal Law No. (10) of 2021 Regulating the Cemeteries and Burial Procedures
Verified legislative metadata
| Instrument | Federal Law No. (10) of 2021 |
|---|---|
| Issued | 2021-05-19 |
| Effective | 2021-08-31 |
| Status | Active / in force |
| Official Gazette | Official Gazette No. 703 |
| Official source | UAE legislation source |
Purpose and scope
Federal Law No. (10) of 2021 regulates cemetery planning and management, transport and preparation of deceased persons, burial permits, burial of bodies and human organs/remains, exhumation/transfer, public-health safeguards, inspection and penalties.
Structured legislative map
Definitions
Defines cemetery, competent authority, Health Authority, corpse, human organs/remains and related concepts.
Cemetery regulation
Assigns location, planning, special-area, transfer and cemetery-management functions to competent authorities.
Establishment conditions
Requires new cemeteries to meet location, health, environmental and planning controls.
Prohibitions
Protects graves/cemeteries from unauthorised acts, disturbance and misuse.
Electronic database
Requires cemetery/burial information systems as provided by the law/regulation.
Transfer permit
Requires official authorisation for transport of deceased persons.
Preparation of deceased
Regulates washing, shrouding and preparation for Muslim and non-Muslim deceased persons.
Burial procedures
Requires designated cemeteries and burial permits for bodies, organs and remains.
Special cases
Addresses foreigners, unknown/unclaimed deceased persons and communicable-disease cases.
Transfer after burial
Regulates exhumation/relocation and exceptional transfer.
Supervision
Requires monitoring, inspection, guarding, securing and cleaning.
Penalties
Creates criminal consequences for specified unlawful burial/disposal acts.
Executive Regulation
Cabinet Resolution No. (113) of 2021 provides detailed cemetery design, transport, preparation and burial procedures.
Key statutory points
- Issued on 19 May 2021 and effective from 31 August 2021.
- Assigns cemetery regulation functions to the competent authority in each Emirate.
- Requires suitable cemetery locations and conditions for establishing new cemeteries.
- Provides designated areas for categories such as communicable-disease cases, human organs, children and other special situations.
- Prohibits specified misuse, disturbance, damage or unauthorised conduct in cemeteries.
- Requires permits for transport of corpses and regulates transport applications.
- Regulates washing, shrouding and preparation of Muslim deceased persons.
- Regulates preparation of non-Muslim deceased persons.
- Requires designated and compliant places for washing/preparation.
- Prohibits burial of bodies, human organs or remains outside designated cemeteries.
- Regulates burial permits for human organs and foreign deceased persons.
- Controls transfer/exhumation and handling of unclaimed/unknown deceased persons.
- Requires monitoring, inspection, security and cleaning of cemeteries.
- Creates offences and penalties for unlawful burial/disposal and other violations.
- Cabinet Resolution No. (113) of 2021 is the active Executive Regulation, effective 1 February 2022.
Amendments and interaction with other legislation
No amendment to the principal law was identified in the source reviewed. Cabinet Resolution No. (113) of 2021 remains the principal Executive Regulation.
Legal-reading rule
This package is designed for website publication, internal research and client-facing orientation. It maps the law's operative subject matter and current regulatory context, but a paraphrase cannot replace the statutory wording. Where the outcome depends on a defined term, licence category, medical condition, consent requirement, penalty, exception, transition rule or deadline, open the current Arabic article and the relevant Executive Regulation or competent-authority decision before relying on it.
Verification
Official source & references
Official legislation sourcehttps://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1505Open ↗Official Gazette: Official Gazette No. 703
This page is a research and educational resource. Legislation can be amended, repealed, supplemented by regulations or interpreted by courts and authorities. Obtain advice before relying on it for a live matter.