Pet cremation rules in the United Kingdom

Losing a pet is hard. This guide explains one public record that may help you check a crematory in Great Britain. Pet crematoria that handle animal by-products need approval from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The APHA publishes a register of approved premises on GOV.UK. This guide covers only what this site's sources say. It is not legal advice.

The register covers Great Britain only. This site read the October 2026 update of the file called Approved animal by-product plants in Great Britain. We took the rows whose activity reads INCC Pet Crematorium. About 230 pet crematorium approvals exist. This site lists 21 of them, in England, Scotland and Wales. A later data load may add the rest. A crematory that is missing here may still hold an approval.

What the register holds. The register lists the approved plant name, the town, the postcode and the approval number. It holds no street address, phone number, website or prices. That is why a listing from the register may show only a name, a town and a postcode. The provider can add an address, a phone number and a website when it claims its listing.

What the register does not say. An approval means the premises can handle animal by-products. It does not tell you what services the crematory offers, what it charges, or whether it offers private or communal cremation. Those facts come from the provider's own website.

How to check the register yourself. Open the APHA approved premises page on GOV.UK. It links to an Excel file. The pet crematoria sit on the sheet Sec III Incineration Combustion. Search the sheet for a town or an approval number. The register is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Provider websites and prices. A provider may publish a price list on its own website. An editor may then link to it and cite the figures. The listing then shows the provider's page as its source. The Pet Crematorium in Durham is one example. Its price list says it was correct as of 11 May 2026. The lowest figure on it is 83.50 GBP for communal cremation of a small animal. Fees change, so check the provider page. The same listing shows IAOPCC membership, which the group states on its own pages. Membership is not a government licence. The approval number is the licence record on the listing.

Collection and service types. A listing shows private, communal and equine cremation, and collection, only when the provider states them on its own website. Many listings show none of these yet, because the register holds no such fields. Call the crematory and ask. A listing is a record, not a recommendation.