Funeral Services: Obtaining a Funeral Clearance

Verified 14 August 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / (Prime Minister)

All operators who perform funeral services must apply for a funeral authorization. These include services such as body care, beer burial, funeral service, burial and cremation. It is issued by the prefecture. Its duration is 5 years Renewable. The head of company must apply for this for each establishment and each employee.

A public service mission open to the private sector

The funeral service is also called external funeral home service, it has the status of industrial and commercial public service (SPIC).

Funeral services are thus part of a public service mission open to competition; this mission can be carried out by public or private entities.

The terms "funeral services", "funeral homes" and "funeral affairs" are synonymous. They refer both to the services to organize the funeral of the deceased, but they also include the management of institutions such as crematoriums, the burial chambers and their staff.

Funeral services today are most often performed by private companies, commonly known as « funeral companies », or by associations.

Municipalities and EPCI: titleContent can also create and manage in municipal board crematoriums and funeral services, but this public management of funeral services has become quite rare.

Example :

When the death occurs in a hospital (private or public), the body of the deceased is installed in a mortuary chamber, which must be present in the care facility. Mortuary toilet and conservation care (thanatopraxia) can be performed there. Families can also choose to have this care performed by an independent thanatopractor or employed by a private funeral company. He then most often works in a burial chamber, which may be managed by a private funeral company or by a municipal board.

It should be noted that the management of cemeteries is not part of the "external funeral home service". It is exclusively the responsibility of the mayors of each commune (public management). On the other hand, digging operations are part of it, they can be carried out by a private company (or public depending on the choice of families and according to the offer available in a territory).

Various services

The funeral services within the scope of the « external funeral home service » are as follows:

  • Transport of bodies before and after beer-making
  • Organization of funerals
  • Body care (or thanatopraxia)
  • Supply of covers, coffins, their interior accessories (waterproof trim, upholstery, cushion, shroud) and exterior (handles, crosses, ID plate, all signs and emblems attached to the coffin, body sheet) as well as urns cineraries
  • Management and use of burial chambers
  • Provision of hearses and mourning cars (vehicles used to transport families, their relatives and ministers of worship during a funeral convoy).
  • Provision of personnel performing these services: gravediggers, porters, drivers, authorizing officers, funeral chamber agents, crematorium agents, salesmen, funeral and similar advisers (such as funeral assistants or funeral provident counselors), masters of ceremonies
  • Provision of items for funerals, burials, exhumations and cremations (except for burial plates, religious emblems, flowers, miscellaneous printing works and funeral marble).
A very supervised and regulated service

Families are free to choose the operator who will manage the funeral of their deceased, however identical rules apply to all.

Example :

Whatever the mode of management of funeral services (public or private), the estimates of funeral services are subject to identical rules for each operator in the sector.

To perform a funeral service, each company must request a burial authorization to the prefect of the department.

This authorization is obtained if the applicant meets the criteria forgood repute (non-conviction) and diplomas related to the profession. If he owns mourning vehicles (« hearses ») or professional buildings (crematorium, funeral chamber), he must justify certificates of conformity concerning them.

The obligation to possess an authorization concerns both public (regulated) and private (companies and associations) operators, regardless of their legal form.

It is the head of the funeral company, or the president in the case of an association, who must apply for authorization.

Employees performing the various funeral services must be mentioned when applying for authorization and proof of their professional capacity must be attached to the file.

Example :

A master of ceremonies exercising his activity asindividual contractor must apply for a funeral authorization. However, if he is an employee of a funeral company, his employer will make the request for him.

An authorization is mandatory to perform funeral services within the scope of the « external funeral home service » (transport of bodies before and after beer, organization of funerals, conservation care, provision of hearses and mourning cars, etc.)

Thus, all the self-employed who are in the following occupations, must have a funeral authorization:

  • Manager or manager of a funeral company : coordinates all funeral providers, i.e. all professionals listed below.
  • Funeral Assistant or Counselor : organizes and coordinates funerals in direct contact with families.
  • Master of Ceremonies : directs the conduct of the ceremony (before burial or cremation).
  • Thanatopractor : he provides the necessary care for the deceased for his preservation and public presentation at the funerarium (burial chamber).
  • Mourning Car Driver (hearse), coffin carrier: he drives the vehicle that leads the coffin from the mortuary chamber to the funeral home and then to the cemetery, passing through the place of the ceremony.
  • Manager of a crematorium : it is responsible for the administrative and financial management of the institution where cremated the deceased (cremation) ; it recruits and supervises staff; it ensures the proper functioning of equipment (maintenance, security); it may be required to accommodate families.
  • Manager of burial chamber , usually the manager of a funeral company.

Condition of good repute of the head of the institution

The condition of good repute applies to all funeral director (private or public). This means that he should not be subject to certain criminal convictions.

The prefect of the department who examines the application for funeral authorization, verifies that the applicant has not been the subject of certain convictions. Thus it is verified that the manager:

  • Has not been the subject of a final conviction to a sentence of imprisonment with or without a suspended sentence, as set out in criminal record bulletin no. 2, for everything crime any of the following offenses:
    • Illegal exercise of a professional or social activity whose access is regulated
    • Active or passive corruption or influence peddling
    • Intimidation of a person in public office
    • Scam
    • Abuse of trust
    • Burial violation or violation of respect due to the dead
    • Theft
    • Attack on morals or sexual assault
    • Recel
    • Intentional assault and battery.
  • Has not been the subject of a condemnation pronounced by a foreign jurisdiction and passed in res judicata under French law, constituting a conviction for a crime or one of the offenses mentioned above.
  • Was not hit with personal bankruptcy or declared bankrupt by a foreign court when the judgment has been declared enforceable in France, and if it has not been rehabilitated.

Diploma requirements (professional capacity) of the director and funeral agents

To obtain a funeral authorization, the director must prove that he has the professional capacity to practice (copies of diplomas, attestation of competence). It must also justify that the officers who perform the following functions also have the capacity to perform:

  • Funeral home manager (funeral home, crematorium, funeral home, etc.)
  • Funeral advisor: responsible for determining with the families the organization and conditions of the funeral service
  • Master of Ceremonies: responsible for coordinating the conduct of the various ceremonies that take place from the beer to the burial or cremation of the deceased
  • Thanatopractor

Please note

If the director or a funeral agent performs several functions requiring a specific capacity, he must provide the justification for each of the professions concerned: for example funeral director and master of ceremonies.

Condition of conformity of vehicles and technical premises

Transport of the bodies of the deceased

Vehicles for transporting bodies before or after beer must fulfill several technical conditions.

The vVehicles for transporting bodies before or after beer must fill in several technical conditions concerning in particular:

  • isolation of the funeral compartment from the rest of the vehicle
  • the isothermal insulation of the compartment
  • the exterior appearance of the vehicle (in particular the color of the bodywork)
  • the certificate of registration
  • conformity check: vehicles transporting bodies before or after beer are subject to a conformity check every 3 years maximum
  • the steps to be taken when buying and selling a new or used vehicle.

Where the application for a funeral authorization concerns transport services of body before and after putting in beer, it is necessary attach the following documents shall be included in the authorization file:

  • Copy of the vehicle registration certificate (marked VASP-FG FUNER)
  • Copy of the certificate of conformity of the vehicles issued by an approved inspection body. The compliance visit takes place every 3 years maximum. The prefect shall designate the bodies approved in his territory.
  • Lease agreement or certificate of ownership if applicable
Conformity of crematoriums and funeral chambers

The technical premises of crematoriums and burial chambers must fulfill several technical requirements.

The burial chambers must satisfy conditions relating essentially to:

  • the separation between the part of the chamber intended for receiving and that intended for preparing the deceased
  • the layout of presentation rooms, the presentation of the body and refrigeration equipment
  • refrigerated boxes
  • the characteristics of the body preparation room.

The crematoriums shall also comply with technical requirements concerning in particular:

  • the composition of the public and technical parts of the crematorium
  • the technical characteristics of the ceremonial rooms
  • the ovens
  • evacuation of gases and fire-fighting means.

The guide to recommendations on the technical parts of funeral and mortuary chambers of the Directorate-General for Local Authorities (DGCL).

Guide to recommendations on the technical parts of funeral and mortuary chambers

Directorate-General for Local and Regional Authorities

Pour en savoir plus

For each institution, the following documents must be provided when applying for a funeral authorization:

  • Prefectural decree of creation
  • Certificate or attestation of conformity by the approved inspection body. A compliance visit must have been completed within 6 months prior to the application for a funeral authorization. The prefect may also order a compliance inspection at any time.
  • Certificate of ownership or copy of the rental contract or public service delegation contract with a municipality.

Complete a funeral authorization application form

The funeral authorization application file shall include the application form accompanied by supporting documents.

To obtain the form, go to the website of the prefecture from her department or contact her directly.

On the website of the prefecture, the form is usually found in the section of procedures and in the sub-section dedicated to « regulated professions ».

Each prefecture has its own dedicated form.

Who shall I contact

In Paris, it is the police prefecture of Paris:

Who shall I contact

FYI  

Any funeral service additional must be the subject of a new request within 2 months of the start of the new activity. Use the same form as the initial or renewal application. You must check the box corresponding to the additional benefit (or conversely remove it in the case of a cancelation of one of its funeral benefits), and provide the supporting documents.

Gather supporting documents

The documents to be attached to the funeral authorization application file are as follows:

  • Copy of the diploma or certificate of competency, or validation of the compulsory training, justifying the minimum conditions of professional capacity necessary for the exercise of the profession.
    The manager must provide these certificates concerning him but also for each employee he employs in the company: driving license for grieving drivers for example, national diploma of thanatopractor for the person in charge of conservation care, diploma of manager of a funeral company, diploma of master of ceremonies, etc.
  • Declaration indicating the name, legal form, activitythe seat, civil status, domicile and capacity of the legal representative and the head of company
  • Unique identification number and internal classification number (Siren and Siret)
  • Copy of a identity document the manager, co-managers and/or managers of the establishment
  • List of operated activities for which the authorization is requested
  • Certified copy of personnel register employee
  • Certificates of compliance for the vehicles bereavement and for institutions such as funeral chambers and crematoriums.
  • Justifications attesting to regularity the situation as regards taxes and social contributions

Please note

European nationals wishing to carry out a freedom to provide services (LPS) in France must provide proof of their establishment in their country of permanent practice.

Submit the complete file

The file must be forwarded to the prefecture the department in which the company's head office is located.

According to the prefectures, it is possible to transmit the file either by postal mail or by email (email).

The contact details (postal and email addresses) can be found on the website of each department prefecture.

Who shall I contact

In Paris, it is the police prefecture of Paris:

Who shall I contact

FYI  

The funeral authorization is valid 5 years throughout the french territory. The request for renewal must be made at least 2 months before the end of its validity.

Practicing without a funeral authorization exposes the professional who runs a funeral company or criminal fine from €75,000.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

FAQ