Encoffining and transport within the Benelux

Cremated ashes may be freely transported internationally. 

A distinction must be made between the following categories with regard to the encoffining and the transport of non-cremated human remains to another country:

• Encoffining and transport within the Benelux;
• Encoffining and transport from or to one of the countries bound by the Strasbourg Agreement;
• Encoffining and transport to another country.

Encoffining and transport within the Benelux

• This is governed by the Royal Decree of 8 March 1967 regulating the transport of corpses within the Benelux (Belgian Official Gazette of 23 June 1967).
• In accordance with Article 3 of this Royal Decree, corpses must be transported in impervious coffins, with a hearse or other appropriate means of transport and under the required conditions of hygiene and propriety. Only wreaths and flowers are permitted to be transported together with the corpse. 
• The use of the necessary disinfectants is mandatory if death is attributable to a quarantinable disease.
• Article 2 of the Royal Decree of 8 March 1967 provides that a permit for burial or cremation issued by the competent authority in any one of the three Benelux countries serves as a 'laissez-passer' for the transport of a corpse.
• The burial or cremation permit issued in Dutch, French or German must state the name of the deceased, the date of death and the destination of the corpse.