A public service mission open to the private sector

The funeral service is also called foreign service of funeral directors.

This is a public service mission.

It can be provided by private companies.

A highly regulated and regulated service

Families are free to choose the operator who will manage their deceased's funeral.

Of identical rules for all operators apply to the operation of this activity. 

In order to carry out this task, each private or public operator must request an authorization from the prefect of the department.

This clearance is obtained if the applicant meets numerous requirements in particular that of diplomas related to the profession.

Funeral benefits that require an entitlement include the following:

• Transport of bodies before and after beer setting
• Reception of families (assistant/funeral counselor, master of ceremonies)
• Organization of funerals (assistant/funeral counselor, master of ceremonies)
• Body care (thanatopractor)
• Supply of covers, coffins, their accessories and cinerary urns
• Management and use of funeral chambers (funerarium)
• Managing a crematoria
• Provision of hearses and bereavement cars (drivers, porters, gravediggers)
• Provision of staff performing these services
• Provision of items for burials, exhumations and cremations

Funeral directors' jobs are diverse.

As a general rule, the staff performing the various services are employees a funeral company.

The person who manage this company must apply for authorization.

However, if one of the claimants is self-employed personThen he has to apply for a funeral clearance.

The different jobs of funeral directors

The funeral service includes the following trades:

• Manager/Manager of a Funeral company : the head of company coordinates all providers in the funeral sector, i.e. all professionals listed below.
• Funeral Assistant/Counselor : it organizes funerals in direct contact with families.
• Master of Ceremonies : he/she directs the conduct of the ceremony (before the burial or cremation).
• Thanatopractor : he provides the care necessary for the deceased to preserve and present himself publicly at the funeral home (burial chamber).
• Bereavement Car Driver (hearse), coffin carrier: he drives the vehicle that leads the coffin from the mortuary chamber to the funeral and then to the cemetery, passing by the place of the ceremony.
• Gravedigger : he digs the place of the cemetery where the coffin is buried; he carries out any exhumations; he manages the vaults.
• Director of a crematoria : it is responsible for the administrative and financial management of the establishment where cremated the deceased (cremation) recruits and supervises staff; ensures the proper functioning of equipment (maintenance, security); it may be required to accommodate families.

Managers or managers to request authorization

The funeral operators the following shall apply for an authorization:

• Municipal or intercommunal government (management of funeral homes by a municipality or a intercommunality): the mayor or the president of the intercommunality
• Company of funeral directors: the head of company (the manager or manager in the case of a business)
• Funeral Home Association: The President of the Association
• Manager of crematoria : the officer or manager in the case of a business
• Hospital and Ephad when they are in charge of transporting the body before its beer setting and its transfer to a burial room (funerarium) : the director of the institution

To apply for an authorization, you must send a file to the prefecture of your department.

This file includes the application form and supporting documents.

You must go to the website of your prefecture or contact your prefecture directly.

Form

Supporting documents

The list of required documents for the application file for the authorization is as follows:

• Copy of the diploma to be able to practice (validation of compulsory training) and certificates justifying minimum conditions of professional competence (driving license for drivers, for example) and national diploma of thanatopractor
• Declaration indicating the name, legal form, activity, registered office, civil status, domicile and capacity of the legal representative and the head of the company, association or establishment
• Unique identification number and internal classification number (Siren and Siret)
• Copy of the identity document of the manager, co-managers and/or managers of the establishment
• List of activities carried on for which authorization is sought
• Justifications proving the regularity of the situation as regards taxes of all kinds and social contributions
• Certified true copy of the register of staff employed
• Certificates of conformity for bereavement vehicles and institutions (funeral chamber and crematorium)

To apply for a renewal of your authorization, you must send a file to the prefecture of your department.

This file includes the application form and supporting documents.

You must go to the website of your prefecture or contact your prefecture directly.

Form

Supporting documents

The list of required documents for the application file for the authorization is as follows:

• Copy of the last authorization
• Declaration indicating the name, legal form, activity, registered office, civil status, domicile and capacity of the legal representative and the head of the company, association or establishment
• Unique identification number and internal classification number (Siren and Siret)
• Copy of the identity document of the manager, co-managers and/or managers of the establishment
• List of activities carried on for which authorization is sought
• Justifications proving the regularity of the situation as regards taxes of all kinds and social contributions
• Certified true copy of the register of staff employed
• Certificates of conformity for bereavement vehicles and institutions (funeral chamber and crematorium)

The authorization shall be issued for 5 years.

This period shall be valid for one 1^re demand Enabling or for a renewal.

She's valid throughout France.

The prefect has the possibility of suspending or withdrawing it if it finds that the operator no longer fulfills the conditions correctly.

In case ofaddition or deletion of a funeral benefit (Thanatopraxia, Ceremonial Direction, Transportation of Bodies, etc.), the Clearance Holder must declare this change.

He shall make that statement to the prefecture.

All change which occurred after the application for authorization must be declared within 2 months to the prefect.