Government Help with Funeral Costs: How to Qualify & Claim

Funeral costs can feel overwhelming, but you may not have to carry the whole burden alone. The UK Government runs several support schemes – the Funeral Expenses Payment in England and Wales, the Funeral Support Payment in Scotland, the equivalent payment in Northern Ireland, plus the Children’s Funeral Fund and a handful of smaller grants – that can cut hundreds or even thousands of pounds from the bill as long as you meet certain rules. This introduction quickly sets out what help is available and what you need to do to get it.

Over the next few minutes we’ll run through who qualifies for each scheme, how much you’re likely to receive, the forms and documents you’ll need, and a step-by-step guide to lodging a successful claim. We’ll also flag the regional differences, explain why these payments rarely cover an entire funeral, and share practical ways to bring any remaining balance down – including lower-cost options such as direct cremation. Let’s walk through the process, from checking whether you’re eligible to seeing the money land in your account.

Step 1 – Identify the Government Schemes You Might Qualify For

Before you fill in a single form, take a moment to match your circumstances with the right pot of funding. The UK doesn’t run one monolithic funeral grant; instead, each nation operates its own scheme, and specialist funds pick up particular situations such as a child’s death or a military connection. You can claim only one funeral payment for each funeral, so it pays to get the first choice right.

Below is a quick-scan table you can screenshot or print for reference:

Territory	Scheme name	Maximum help available*	Key qualifying factor
England & Wales	Funeral Expenses Payment (Social Fund)	Reasonable burial / cremation fees plus up to £1,000 for other costs	You’re responsible for the funeral and on certain means-tested benefits
Scotland	Funeral Support Payment	Burial / cremation fees paid in full, plus £1,257.90 (with funeral director) or £122.05 (DIY)	Live in Scotland, on qualifying benefits, arranging the funeral
Northern Ireland	Funeral Expenses Payment	Same broad limits as England & Wales	On qualifying benefits and arranging the funeral in NI
England & Wales	Children’s Funeral Fund	Burial/cremation fees and doctors’ certificate covered in full	Child under 18 or stillborn after 24 weeks
Scotland	Child Funeral Payment (part of FSP)	Fees covered plus £193.50 for other expenses	Child under 18 or stillborn after 24 weeks
UK-wide	Bereavement Support Payment	Up to £3,500 lump sum + 18 monthly payments	Spouse or civil partner died under State Pension age
UK-wide	Budgeting Loan / Budgeting Advance	£100–£812 (loan, repaid from benefits)	Getting certain benefits for 6 months+
UK-wide	War Pension or AFCS Funeral Grant	Up to £2,200	Death linked to service in Armed Forces
Local council	Public Health Funeral	Basic cremation or burial arranged by council	No one able or willing to pay

*Figures correct September 2025. Always check current rates.

Funeral Expenses Payment (England & Wales)

Part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Social Fund, this is the scheme most people mean when they ask about “the government paying for a funeral”. It will:

• Pay the actual burial or cremation fee charged by the cemetery or crematorium
• Cover the doctor’s cremation certificate (currently £82)
• Contribute up to £1,000 towards other necessary items such as the coffin, funeral director’s basic fees and transport for the deceased
• Refund reasonable travel costs for you to arrange or attend the funeral

Payment goes straight to your funeral director if you’ve already received an invoice, or to you if you paid upfront.

Funeral Support Payment (Scotland)

Since 2019, Scottish residents apply to Social Security Scotland rather than the DWP. The big wins:

• Burial or cremation fees are met in full, whatever the local authority charges
• A flat “other costs” payment of £1,257.90 if you use a funeral director, or £122.05 if you organise the funeral yourself
• Extra help for one return journey to attend, plus document translation if required

Only one claim is allowed, so coordinate with relatives before applying.

Funeral Expenses Payment (Northern Ireland)

Administered by the NI Social Fund, the rules mirror those in England & Wales:

• Full payment of burial/cremation fees and doctor’s certificate
• Up to £1,000 for other essential costs
• You must be on a qualifying means-tested benefit at the date of death or the date you make the claim

Children’s Funeral Fund (England & Wales) and Child Funeral Payment (Scotland)

No family should face a bill for a child’s funeral. These schemes automatically:

• Pay all burial or cremation fees, including the doctor’s certificate
• In Scotland, add a one-off £193.50 towards additional expenses

Crucially, you do not need to be on benefits to receive this government help with funeral costs.

Other State Help Worth Knowing

• Bereavement Support Payment: a separate benefit for surviving spouses/civil partners that can soften ongoing household bills.
• Budgeting Loan (or Universal Credit Budgeting Advance): an interest-free loan you repay from future benefits to spread outstanding funeral costs.
• War Pension Scheme or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme: may fund service-related funerals up to £2,200.
• Public Health Funeral: if there really is no money and no one to take responsibility, the council must arrange a simple cremation or burial.

With the landscape mapped, move on to confirming whether you personally tick the eligibility boxes.

Step 2 – Check If You Meet the Eligibility Rules

Each scheme has its own small print, but the core test is broadly the same: you must be responsible for arranging (and ultimately paying for) the funeral, be on a qualifying means-tested benefit at the relevant time, and submit the claim within six months of the funeral taking place. If any one of these pillars is missing, the application for government help with funeral costs will be rejected or reduced.

Below is the current list of benefits that open the door to a Funeral Expenses Payment (England, Wales, Northern Ireland) or a Funeral Support Payment (Scotland):

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit (Guarantee or Savings Credit)
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Working Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe-disability element
• Child Tax Credit (award above the family element)

Being on the benefit isn’t enough; you also need to be the person named on the funeral invoice. In practice that means you’ll normally be:

1. The deceased’s spouse or civil partner (including separated but not divorced).
2. A close relative – parent, son or daughter, brother or sister, or a grandparent/grandchild if no one closer is available.
3. A long-standing friend or care-home manager, but only if no family member in the UK is willing or able to arrange the funeral.

Finally, watch the clock. You must claim:

• Within six months of the funeral date in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Within six months of the funeral for the Scottish Funeral Support Payment (you can apply as soon as the death is registered).

Late claims are almost never accepted, so note the deadline as soon as you book the service.

Residency & Nationality Requirements

The claimant must normally live in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar. For Scotland, you must be ordinarily resident in Scotland at the time of the application. Funerals held overseas are still covered if the deceased lived in the UK and you can provide extra documents such as foreign death certificates and translated invoices.

Situations That Automatically Disqualify or Reduce the Payment

• A prepaid funeral plan exists that covers the essential costs.
• The deceased left an estate large enough to pay (DWP will check when probate completes).
• There is a partner not on a qualifying benefit who lives in the UK – they are expected to pay first.
• You apply before you have a confirmed funeral date, leading to automatic rejection.
• Any item on the invoice is deemed “non-essential” (flowers, limousines, press notices) – that portion will be knocked off the award.

Special Cases: Stillbirth, Child Death & War Veterans

• Babies stillborn after 24 weeks and children under 18 qualify for the Children’s Funeral Fund (England & Wales) or the Child Funeral Payment (Scotland) regardless of parental income.
• War Pension Scheme or Armed Forces Compensation Scheme may meet up to £2,200 where death is attributable to service, even if you’re not on benefits.
• Parents who also receive a Funeral Support Payment can still claim the extra child-specific amounts; the two supports stack rather than clash.

Check these exceptions carefully—they can save valuable time and prevent a heartbreaking bill later on.

Step 3 – Estimate How Much Help You’ll Actually Receive

The headline numbers in the previous section sound generous, yet most families still face a gap. Average funeral prices in the UK now sit at roughly £4,141 for a burial and £3,673 for a cremation (SunLife Cost of Dying Report 2024). By contrast, the main schemes cap “other expenses” at £1,000 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and £1,257.90 in Scotland. Even with burial or cremation fees paid in full, you should expect to fund several hundred – sometimes more than a thousand – pounds yourself.

A quick rule of thumb is:

final bill = total funeral cost – (burial/cremation fee + doctor’s certificate + scheme cap)

Example:

• Direct cremation fee: £900
• Doctor’s certificate: £82
• Simplicity funeral director package: £2,018

Government help with funeral costs (England & Wales) would pay £900 + £82 + £1,000 = £1,982. You would need to find £1,018.

Building this estimate early lets you negotiate with a funeral director, explore cheaper options such as direct cremation, or apply for a Budgeting Loan before invoices fall due.

Costs Covered vs. Not Covered

Likely to be paid	Unlikely to be paid
Burial or cremation fee charged by council/crematorium	Flowers and venue decorations
Doctor’s cremation certificate (£82)	Catering and wake venue hire
One return journey to arrange or attend the funeral (normally public transport rate or 25p per mile)	Order of service sheets, obituary notices
Up to £1,000 (or £1,257.90 Scotland) towards coffin, basic funeral director fees, hearse	Limousine hire, memorial headstone, interment of ashes

Tip: ask the arranger for an itemised quote so you can see exactly which line-items the payment will cover.

Impact of the Deceased’s Estate

Funeral costs sit near the top of the debt hierarchy. When probate is granted, the executor must repay any Funeral Payment from the estate before distributing inheritances. If assets are modest, the Department for Work and Pensions (or Social Security Scotland) will write to the executor outlining:

1. Amount owed
2. Deadline for repayment
3. How to challenge if assets are insufficient

Only secured loans (for example, a mortgage) outrank funeral expenses, so most estates settle the debt promptly. Crucially, the award does not count as income, so it won’t affect your means-tested benefits while you wait for probate to complete.

Step 4 – Gather the Paperwork and Information You Need

A Funeral Payment claim can stall for weeks if even one supporting document is missing, so pulling everything together before you ring the Bereavement Service or hit “submit” online is time well spent. Print or scan the following items and keep them in one clearly-labelled folder:

1. Application form – SF200 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or the online/phone form for a Scottish Funeral Support Payment.
2. Death certificate or interim certificate – photocopy is fine, but have the original to hand.
3. Funeral invoice or signed estimate – it must be in the claimant’s name and show the date, venue and total cost.
4. Proof of your qualifying benefit – award letter dated within the last six months or a screenshot from your Universal Credit journal.
5. National Insurance numbers – yours and the deceased’s.
6. Bank or building-society details – sort code and account number for any balance due to you.
7. Evidence of relationship – marriage certificate, birth certificates, deed-poll name change if surnames differ.
8. Coroner or Procurator Fiscal paperwork – post-mortem or release forms if a sudden death was investigated.

Set up a digital folder (phone photos are fine) as well as a paper one; DWP staff can accept emailed copies if originals go missing.

Tips for Keeping Costs Documentation Clear

• Ask the funeral director for an itemised quote showing essential and optional services separately.
• Highlight any pre-paid plan deductions so the DWP can see what remains payable.
• Note three key dates in your diary or phone: date of death, provisional funeral date, and the six-month claim deadline.
• Keep petrol receipts or rail tickets if you travelled to arrange the funeral – they count as “reasonable travel costs”.
• File every letter from the DWP or Social Security Scotland immediately to avoid frantic searches later.

Step 5 – Submit Your Claim Correctly and On Time

With the paperwork organised, it’s time to lodge the claim while the six-month clock is still ticking. You can only submit one application, so get it right first time.

The DWP Bereavement Service (or Social Security Scotland) prefers phone applications because an adviser can double-check the details on the spot:

• England & Wales – 0800 151 2012
• Northern Ireland – 0800 169 0140
• Scotland – 0800 182 2222 (or apply online via mygov.scot)

If you’d rather put pen to paper, download form SF200, print it single-sided and post it to:
DWP Bereavement Service, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton WV98 2BF.

Whichever route you pick, work through the sections methodically:

1. Your personal details and National Insurance number
2. Deceased’s details (check spelling matches the death certificate)
3. Tick the qualifying benefit you receive
4. Funeral director’s name, address and invoice number
5. Burial or cremation choice and cemetery/crematorium fee
6. Bank account for any balance
7. Declaration – sign and date in black ink

Most decisions arrive within 8–14 days in England, Wales and NI, or 10 working days in Scotland. Approved payments go straight to the funeral director; any leftover money lands in your account three to five working days later.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Submitting the claim before you have a confirmed funeral date
• Naming the funeral director, not yourself, as the person responsible
• Forgetting to sign Section 14 of SF200 – the single biggest cause of rejection

What to Do If You Need to Pay a Deposit First

A director can request a “reasonable” deposit. Ask for a written invoice showing the amount due now and the final balance. Send a copy with your claim; the DWP can fast-track part-payment directly to the funeral director so the service isn’t delayed.

Step 6 – Understand What Happens After You Apply

Once the form is in, the benefit team runs a quick eligibility check against their records and the funeral invoice. Three decisions are possible:

• Full award – all the items you claimed are accepted.
• Partial award – burial/cremation fees are met but “non-essential” items (for example, limousine hire) are stripped out.
• Refusal – most commonly because you are not on a qualifying benefit, a partner with means exists, the claim was late, or the funeral took place outside the UK without the required paperwork.

You will receive a decision letter and text alert. When approved, money is usually sent directly to the funeral director; any surplus goes into your bank account three-to-five working days later. Keep the letter—it shows exactly what has been paid.

If the deceased’s estate later proves solvent, the Department for Work and Pensions (or Social Security Scotland) will write to the executor asking for repayment before beneficiaries receive anything.

How to Challenge a Decision

You have one calendar month to ask for a Mandatory Reconsideration. Write “Please reconsider your decision on [date] for Funeral Expenses Payment reference [NI number]. I believe the costs are reasonable because…” and include fresh evidence such as an itemised invoice. Post to:
DWP Bereavement Service, Disputes Team, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton WV98 2BF.

Still unhappy? Appeal free of charge to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal within 30 days of the reconsideration notice.

Keeping Other Benefits Safe

Funeral Payments are classed as a grant, not income, so they will not cut your Universal Credit, Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits. If you also took a Budgeting Loan, repayments start 12 weeks after issue and are deducted automatically from the same benefit—usually 12–24 monthly instalments—so there is no separate direct-debit to juggle.

Step 7 – Explore Alternatives If You Are Not Eligible or Need More Help

If the calculators still leave a shortfall—or you simply don’t qualify for government help with funeral costs—don’t panic. There are several practical routes to reduce or spread the bill without compromising on respect.

Low-cost funeral formats you can choose today:

• Direct cremation – an unattended cremation with no service. Average price sits around £1,100, thousands below a traditional send-off. You can hold a separate celebration of life later.
• Council crematorium slots – early-morning or mid-week times are often discounted.
• Natural or woodland burial – basic plots can undercut cemetery fees and are kinder to the planet.
• DIY funerals – you supply the coffin, transport and paperwork; pay only for the grave space or cremation slot.

Extra funding sources worth exploring:

1. Charities & grants

   • Quaker Social Action’s Down to Earth helpline (practical budgeting support).
   • Turn2Us online grant finder for region-specific funds.
   • Macmillan, Marie Curie and service-specific armed-forces charities may offer one-off grants.

2. Crowdfunding & community help

   • Set up a JustGiving or GoFundMe page, share the link in the death notice and on social media. Small amounts from many friends quickly add up.
   • Local places of worship or clubs sometimes run a whip-round or hall-hire waiver.

3. Payment plans with the funeral director

   • Ask for an interest-free instalment option first.
   • Read the small print on any credit agreement—APR above 15 % can double the final cost.

4. Public Health Funeral

   • When absolutely no one can pay, contact your local council’s environmental health team. They will arrange a simple cremation (you usually can’t attend), then recover costs from the estate if possible.

Saving Money Without Sacrificing Dignity

• Choose a simple cardboard or woven coffin—fully legal and as low as £180.
• Dress the coffin in the deceased’s own clothes instead of hiring gowns.
• Replace florist bouquets with hand-picked garden flowers or a single favourite plant.
• Hold the memorial in a community hall, pub function room, or at home; stream it free via a phone tripod.
• For a greener tribute, scatter ashes in a woodland or at sea rather than paying for an ornate headstone.

A thoughtfully planned, low-cost funeral can be every bit as meaningful as the most lavish ceremony—what matters is the love behind it.

Moving Forward

Take a breath. You now know which schemes exist, the benefits that unlock them, the documents you’ll need and the timetable that can’t be missed. Your next steps are straightforward:

1. Confirm which nation–specific payment applies.
2. Double-check you’re on a qualifying benefit.
3. Gather the invoice, benefit letter and ID into one folder.
4. Submit a complete claim well inside the six-month limit.
5. Plan a funeral that fits whatever balance is left – whether that’s a modest service or a low-cost direct cremation.

Tick those boxes and the financial side of saying goodbye becomes a lot less stressful, leaving you free to focus on honouring the person who has died. If a simple, dignified and affordable send-off sounds right for your family, explore our transparent direct cremation packages at Go Direct Cremations. We’re here 24/7 to help.