Board of Deputies of British Jews

The Board of Deputies of British Jews is the cross-communal representative body of the UK Jewish community, elected by synagogues and major Jewish organisations across Orthodox, Masorti, Reform, Liberal, and Sephardi traditions. For families arranging a Jewish funeral, the Board of Deputies is not the operational contact — that is the local synagogue or burial society — but it is the body that liaises with government, coroners' services, registrars, and other public authorities on behalf of the community on issues like religious-priority registration and post-mortem examinations. [source: bod/home-2026-05-02.html]

Where a family runs into a registrar or coroner who has not previously dealt with a Jewish funeral, or where there is a dispute about the timing of post-mortem examination, the Board of Deputies can sometimes provide written guidance or escalation that helps unstick the case.

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Last verified: 2 May 2026 against bod.org.uk.