The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has powers to intervene in any market sector where it believes there may be a detriment to consumers, due to the way the business in that sector operate.

Following a two and a half year investigation into the funeral sector, the CMA has published a set of requirements, in the form of a legally binding Order under the Enterprise Act 2002, that ALL UK funeral businesses must abide by. There are a number of steps all UK funeral firms must now take, by 16 September 2021.

Read the CMA Funerals Market Order

Read the CMA Market Order

Read the CMA Funerals Market Order

What to do next

From 00:01 on Thursday 16 September, all UK funeral firms must be compliant with the requirements of the 2021 Funerals Market Investigation order.

This means you must:
  • Have your Standardised Price List (SPL) published online (within one click of your homepage);
  • have your SPL clearly and prominently on display in your window and in branch;
  • have the required crematorium information, payment terms and disclosure information published online and in branch;
  • have prepared your register of charitable donations (deadline 1 October 2021);
  • have ceased all arrangements with third-party providers in the sector that could be viewed as inducements; and
  • if you have five or branches, you must collate specified information and report it every six months, as required by the CMA.

The CMA has set very specific requirements on the size and location of the posters/displays and where on websites information should be located. The Order will advise you on the actions to take.

Should you wish to communicate directly with the CMA with regards to any of the information provided or have any questions in general, please email the CMA directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

The NAFD have compiled three FAQ documents containing information and guidance gathered from webinars, Q&A sessions and questions received by members which have been checked with the CMA.

Please check back regularly as we will post additional information on a regular basis.