Guidance

Funeral directors and crematorium operators guidance

Published 27 January 2023

The CMA investigated the funerals sector during 2019 and 2020 and published its final report in December 2020. During its investigation, the CMA identified a number of concerns in the funerals sector. These included the absence of easily accessible and clearly comparable information on the products and services for people arranging a funeral.

To address these concerns the CMA made a legally binding Order, the Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021 (the Order) which places various requirements on funeral directors and crematorium operators. These include requirements for:

• all funeral directors and crematorium operators to disclose certain price information to customers;
• all crematorium operators to disclose certain price information to funeral directors in their local area and to other funeral directors upon request; and
• all funeral directors to disclose particular business, financial and commercial information to customers.

It also includes a ban on all funeral directors from:

• entering or conducting certain arrangements with a hospital, hospice, care home, or other similar institution which could reasonably be understood to incentivise the institution to refer customers to the funeral director or give that funeral director preference over other funeral directors; and
• soliciting business through coroner and police contracts.

The Order also contains requirements on some funeral directors and all crematorium operators to provide the CMA with specific financial information on the goods and services that they provide to customers. This helps the CMA monitor the funerals sector.

We’ve produced this guidance to help funeral directors and crematorium operators understand and meet their legal obligations under the Order. Full details of the requirements, and how they apply, can be found in the Order and the Explanatory note which we also encourage funeral directors and crematorium operators to read.

If, having read this guidance, you have any concerns about compliance with the Order, or have ideas on how our guidance could be improved, please email the CMA at RemediesMonitoringTeam@cma.gov.uk

Funeral directors

The Order requires all funeral directors to display and provide specific information to make it easier for customers to:

• see the prices charged by funeral directors
• be aware of the total cost of the services they may require
• compare providers so they can get the best funeral for their needs and budget

It also requires all funeral directors to highlight their terms of business and information which may indicate that there are any potential conflicts of interest.

Displayed information

All funeral directors must display the following information and ensure it is kept up to date:

• the Standardised Price List
• Local crematorium operators’ prices
• an Additional Options Price List
• their terms of business
• certain details relating to interests with other parties (including information about donations) - Disclosure of interests

The Standardised Price List

The Standardised Price List is an itemised price list of frequently purchased products and services in a fixed format.

You must complete the Standardised Price List in full using our template. When completing this template, you must:

• complete both the total price of the Attended Funeral, and separate prices for each of the individual items
• ensure the price of all items is greater than £0, and ensure the prices for individual items listed reflect the total price displayed for the Attended Funeral
• ensure the price of any additional products or services listed on the Standardised Price List is included.

If you only offer Unattended Funerals, you must enter ‘Not offered’ for the total price for the Attended Funeral. You must also enter a dash (–) instead of a price for each element of the Attended Funeral.

You can use your own branding, colour or font when displaying your Standardised Price List to customers.

More details of the requirements relating to the Standardised Price List can be found in paragraphs 22 to 31 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Attended Funeral

This is a funeral which includes a service that mourners can attend. The Order specifies a combination of products and services which you must cover.

If you provide Attended Funerals, the Standardised Price List you display must include these products and services and their prices.

Unattended Funeral

This is a funeral which does not include a service and where mourners may not attend. The Order specifies a combination of products and services specified which this must cover.

If you provide Unattended Funerals, the Standardised Price List you display must include these products and services.

All funeral directors must follow the minimum standards specified in Schedule A of the Explanatory Note.

Local crematorium operators’ prices

You must also display the prices of the following services, which crematorium operators must provide to you, and ensure it is up to date:

A Crematorium Standard Fee Attended Service

A cremation which includes a service with mourners present at the crematorium held in peak hours (typically considered to be weekdays from 10am to 4pm and weekends).

A Crematorium Reduced Fee Attended Service

A cremation which includes a service with mourners present at the crematorium held in off-peak hours (typically considered to be on a weekday before 10am or after 4pm) and for which a reduced fee is charged.

Crematorium Unattended Service

A cremation which does not include a service and where mourners are not present, sometimes referred to as a direct cremation.

For more information, visit paragraph 34 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Additional Options Price List

The Additional Options Price List is an itemised price list of all the products and services that any specific funeral director offers to customers that are not included in the Standardised Price List in the section labelled: Additional Funeral Director Products and Services.

This enables funeral directors to reflect regional, national or cultural needs or preferences of their customers.

You can also provide bespoke products or services that are not listed on the Additional Options Price List if a customer requests them. However, you must disclose the prices before the customer agrees to buy them.

Visit paragraphs 32 to 33 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Terms of business

The following terms of business must be displayed. They must also be provided to customers when requested:

• amount of any deposit
• when any deposit and the final balance must be paid
• payment options offered to customers, including whether interest is payable
• any late payment charges

For more information, visit paragraphs 60 to 62 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Disclosure of interests

Funeral directors must disclose:

• the Ultimate Owner of the business. This will differ depending on the nature of your business (details of how to complete this disclosure are provided at paragraph 79 of the Explanatory Note to the Order)

• any business or material financial interest (visit paragraph 80 of the Explanatory Note to the Order for details) the funeral director has in a comparison website which compares:

1. funeral director services
2. crematoria services
3. prices of these services

• a register providing details of any material charitable donation(s) or contribution(s) (monetary donations or tips) or other form of payment, which:

1. come to a total of £250 or more; and
2. do not relate to a cost incurred or a service provided by the third party on behalf of or to the funeral director.

The register must cover the previous 12 months and include the names of the third party concerned, the amounts and when they were made. Further details of what the register should include can be found in paragraphs 81 to 89 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Displaying required information

The Standardised Price List, Additional Options Price List, local crematorium operators’ prices, terms of business and disclosure of interests specified above must be displayed in the following locations:

• within all your branches
• on your website (and the website of each of your branches). If you do not have a website, you must display this information where you market your services (online channels or social media platforms, for example)

The Standardised Price List must be displayed separately (for example on a separate poster) from all the other information you are required to display for your customers.

All the other information above may be displayed together.

Physical or electronic copies of the Standardised Price List, the price information from local crematorium operators, and your terms of business must be given to customers when requested. You must also offer to send these to the customer when they cannot visit a branch in person.

The information listed above needs to be provided in a clear and prominent manner. This means that is must be:

• legible and written in plain English
• easy to find
• prominent within its particular location
• actively brought to the customer’s attention

Further details concerning the requirement for information to be prominent and clear can be found in paragraphs 94 to 101 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Format and size

In the window of each branch, funeral directors must display the Standardised Price List.

This window display is expected to be at least an A4 size poster or a similarly prominent digital display.

Inside each branch, funeral directors must display:

• the Standardised Price List
• the Additional Options Price List
• the prices from crematorium operators
• the terms of business
• the disclosure of interests including the register of payments

These must be displayed in an area frequented by your customers and not, for example, behind a counter.

Some of the information must be displayed on a poster of at least A2 size, or A3 size where there is not enough space. This includes:

• the Standardised Price List
• the prices from local crematorium operators
• the terms of business
• the disclosure of interests

On your website(s), you must display all the information you display in branch as a PDF document, accessible in one link from the home page. The Standardised Price List must be displayed in a PDF separate to all other information.

Banned practices

The Order bans funeral directors from engaging in certain practices so that:

• customers can shop around to select an appropriate funeral director based on their needs; and
• funeral directors do not exploit their position of trust.

The Order bans certain practices by funeral directors described below. You can find more details in the Explanatory Note to the Order, paragraphs 102 to 107.

Arrangements with institutions

Funeral directors must not make arrangements which encourage certain types of institution to refer a customer to them or give preference to them over other funeral directors. This also applies to arrangements that could reasonably be understood to encourage, incentivise or require such preferential treatment.

This ban applies to arrangements with:

• hospitals
• hospices
• care homes
• providers of bereavement services in a hospital setting
• providers of palliative care, or other similar institutions

Such arrangements, include any payments, benefits or gifts that are informally agreed upon or in a written contract.

For example, giving physical gifts to institutions, such as a Christmas packages with no incentives, agreements or payments implied, are fine provided they do not influence people’s choices to use a funeral director’s services over others.

For example, a funeral director must not make a payment or gift to a care home which could reasonably be understood to incentivise or require the care home to refer customers to that funeral director. More examples of banned practices can be found in the Explanatory Note to the Order paragraphs 102 to 107.

Similarly, a funeral director must not make agreements to advertise their services on a hospital’s written materials (for example, pamphlets, leaflets, or online) if this restricts a customer’s choice.

Police and coroner contracts

Coroners have the power to have a body brought into the public mortuary and keep it there while they carry out investigations. In this context, funeral directors may have contracts or arrangements to provide services to the coroner or police.

Funeral directors must not promote their services to potential customers when collecting the body of the deceased.

Exemptions

Funeral directors can have the following relationships with institutions:

• commercial arrangements between a funeral director and the institution to collect, transport and store the deceased to appropriate facilities; and
• arrangements with other third sector organisations that provide bereavement counselling services outside of a hospital setting.

Funeral directors can also provide training to third-party staff.

Three graphics: one showing a computer screen with the Standardised Price List and Terms of Business; one showing the Standardised Price List in the window of a funeral director's branch; one showing the Standardised Price List and Terms of Business on display inside a Funeral Director's branch.

Crematorium operators

The Order requires crematorium operators to display and provide certain information to make it easier for customers to:

• see and compare crematorium operators’ prices; and
• be aware of the total cost of these services.

Prices for customers

If crematorium operators offer these types of services, you must display prices for:

A Crematorium Standard Fee Attended Service

This is a cremation which includes a service with mourners present at the crematorium held in peak hours (typically on weekdays from 10am to 4pm, and on weekends).

A Crematorium Reduced Fee Attended Service

This is a cremation which includes a service with mourners present at the crematorium held in off-peak hours (typically on a weekday before 10am or after 4pm) and for which a reduced fee is charged.

A Crematorium Unattended Service

This is a cremation which does not include a service and where mourners are not present, sometimes referred to as a direct cremation.

Prices for these services must include:

• a description of what is and is not included in the crematorium services provided
• the length of time permitted for a cremation service, and if this includes the time allowed for mourners to gather and leave the crematorium
• additional charges for a cremation service taking place on particular days or at a particular time, (for example, services taking place on a weekend)
• any charge made for exceeding the permitted time or late arrival or departure of the cortege
• where possible, a breakdown of the total service price into the individual prices (for example, cremation forms, environmental levies and any other elements that are necessary for the service)
• where possible, a breakdown of the individual prices for any optional services

Optional services can include, but are not limited to:

• purchase of additional cremation service time
• use of music facilities
• webcasting
• organists
• visual tributes
• memorials
• storage, scattering, collection and delivery of ashes

Prices for local funeral directors

Crematorium operators must provide up to date prices to local funeral directors. If you plan to update your prices, you must tell your local funeral directors at least 15 working days before they are changed.

You must also take reasonable steps to ensure your local funeral directors have received these prices and the updates.

Prices need to cover the following services if you offer them:

• A Crematorium Standard Fee Attended Service
• A Crematorium Reduced Fee Attended Service
• A Crematorium Unattended Service.

Defining your local area

Crematorium operators must provide price information to local funeral directors with branches within a 30-minute, cortege-speed, driving distance from the crematorium.

In this context, cortege speed generally means approximately 60% of the standard road speed for a given road.

Where there are no local funeral directors within this 30-minute area, you must provide this price information to your nearest funeral director branch.

Displaying the required information

The above information must be displayed:

• within all of your branches; and
• on your website. If you do not have a website, you must display this information wherever you market your services (for example, online channels or social media platforms)

The information listed above needs to be provided in a clear and prominent manner. This means that is must be:

• legible and written in plain English
• easy to find
• visible within its particular location
• actively brought to the attention of customers

Format and size

Price information must be displayed in an area frequented by customers (for example an office where arrangements are made or a family room). All information must be displayed at least A2 size, or A3 size where there is not enough space.

Price information must be displayed on your website, in a PDF titled ‘Price Information’. This must be clearly accessible, with one link to the pricing information on your homepage.

Submitting financial information

Funeral directors

To allow the CMA to actively monitor outcomes in the funerals sector, we require funeral directors with 5 or more branches to provide certain financial information on their activities. Additional information is required from funeral directors with 10 or more branches.

For more information, visit Schedule 2 of the Order for more details of these requirements.

Opening new branches

You must notify us within 28 days of opening a branch or branches that results in your business operating from:

• 5 to 9 branches
• 10 or more branches

Funeral directors with 5 to 9 branches

A funeral director with 5 to 9 branches must submit the following financial information to the CMA:

• the total number of funerals arranged; and
• the total revenue generated from funerals it has arranged. This figure will not include payments made on behalf of customers to a third party, which the customer then reimburses the funeral director for (for example, cremation and burial fees)

This information needs to be submitted separately for each branch and in total for all branches.

The financial information must be submitted by:

• the first working day of every April (covering the period from 1 September to end of February)
• the first working day of every October (covering the period from 1 March to 31 August)

For more information, visit paragraphs 126 to 130 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Funeral directors can submit financial information directly to the CMA by email: RemediesMonitoringTeam@cma.gov.uk

Funeral directors with 10 or more branches

A funeral director operating 10 or more branches must submit the following financial information to the CMA:

• the total number of funerals arranged; and
• the total revenue generated from funerals it has arranged. This figure will not include payments made on behalf of customers to a third party, which the customer then reimburses the funeral director for (for example, cremation and burial fees).

This information needs to be submitted separately for each branch and in total for all branches and separated by type of funeral.

Funeral directors with 5 or more branches must submit information to the CMA as set out in Part A of Schedule 2 to the Order.

Funeral directors with 10 or more branches must submit information to the CMA as set out in Part B of Schedule 2 to the Order.

The financial information needs to be submitted by:

• the first working day of every April (covering the period from 1 September to end of February)
• the first working day of every October (covering the period from 1 March to 31 August)

For more information, visit paragraphs 131 to 137 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Funeral directors can submit financial information directly to the CMA by email: RemediesMonitoringTeam@cma.gov.uk

Crematorium operators

To allow the CMA to monitor outcomes in the funerals sector, we require all crematorium operators to provide certain financial information.

You must send us:

• the number of cremations carried out;
• the total revenue generated from crematoria services

This information should be provided separately for each crematorium and in total, for each of the following categories:

• Crematorium Standard Fee Attended Services
• Crematorium Reduced Fee Attended Services if offered
• Crematorium Unattended Services if offered
• any other services you provide

Crematorium operators must also account separately for revenue generated from memorials related to cremations. More information can be found at 138 to 141 of the Explanatory Note to the Order.

Crematorium Operators must submit information to the CMA as set out in Part C of Schedule 2 to the Order.

The above information needs to be submitted to the CMA by the first day of every April and October.

Information submitted in April must cover the following 2 preceding quarters:

• 1 September to the 30 November
• 1 December to end of February

Information submitted in October must cover the following 2 preceding quarters:

• 1 March to 30 May
• 1 June to 31 August

Crematorium operators can submit financial information directly to the CMA by email: RemediesMonitoringTeam@cma.gov.uk

Compliance

The CMA expects all businesses that are subject to a CMA Order to be compliant with it at all times.

To help with this, the CMA has provided this guidance, in addition to the Explanatory Note to the Order which provides details on the requirements of the Order on funeral directors and crematorium operators.

To help the CMA in monitor compliance with the requirements of the Order, funeral directors with ten or more branches and all crematorium operators are required to provide compliance statements to the CMA.

Submitting compliance statements

The following businesses must provide compliance statements to the CMA:

• funeral directors operating 10 or more branches
• all crematorium operators

Schedules D and E to the Explanatory Note provide templates for funeral directors and crematorium operators respectively.

The compliance statement must state whether a funeral director or a crematorium operator has complied with all the requirements of the Order which apply to them.

Statements must confirm their compliance with the requirements under the Order during the preceding year from 1 April to 31 March.

Compliance statements must be submitted to the CMA by the end of April each year.

Funeral directors and crematorium operators can submit compliance statements to the CMA by email: RemediesMonitoringTeam@cma.gov.uk

Breaches of the Order

All funeral directors and crematorium operators must report any breach of the Order to the CMA within 14 calendar days of becoming aware of it. Timely notification allows the CMA to work with the party concerned on actions to end the breach quickly and effectively and to understand whether specific enforcement action is necessary to end any breach.

The CMA may seek further information about any breaches as part of an investigation into any such breach.

The CMA will consider whether to carry out specific enforcement action against breaches on a case-by-case basis. The CMA has issued separate guidance about the process used for enforcement activity. This can be found at: Merger and market remedies: Guidance on reporting, investigation and enforcement of potential breaches

Breaches should be reported to the CMA by email to: RemediesMonitoringTeam@cma.gov.uk