BS EN 15017:2019

What is EN 15017- Funeral Services about?  

BS EN 15017 is focused on funeral services and requirements. BS EN 15017 sets out the requirements for the provision of funeral services concerning education, transport, facilities, advisory services, and care of the deceased for both burial and cremation services. BS EN 15017 is applicable to all funeral professionals, funeral homes, and funeral-related services at cemeteries and crematoria as well as any other person(s) providing funeral services of any kind. 

Note- 

BS EN 15017 does not apply to product-related technical requirements. Occupational health and safety requirements are not covered by BS EN 15017. 

Who is BS EN 15017- Funeral Services for? 

BS EN 15017on funeral services and requirement is useful for: 

• Funeral service providers 
• Cemeteries 
• Burial service providers  

Why should you use BS EN 15017- Funeral Services?  

The revision of BS EN 15017is based on the changing markets in the funeral sectors of Europe. It has been prepared to provide a state-of-the-art position to all persons and/or companies providing a service in the funeral sector. 

BS EN 15017is intended to provide more transparency in funeral-related services and facilities and the underlying pricing principles for the consumer and contains improvements on the part of the service providers in funeral-related services; hence providing higher standards and quality for the consumer and the client. The main contents are education, transport, facilities, advisory services, online funeral services, and care of the deceased for both burial and cremation services. BS EN 15017also ensures quality in funeral services, including the highest respect for the deceased and bereaved, while respecting the laws and regulations in force. 

The BS EN 15017also covers the basic ethical principles for funeral services: 

• Ethical and professional relationship with the client 
• Sincere respect for all beliefs and customs of the client 
• Right of the person(s) making the funeral arrangements to choose the funeral director, decide between burial or cremation and decide on all aspects of the funeral 
• Right of the families to be informed of the estimated total cost of the funeral before signature 
• Right of the families to be informed of the estimated total cost of the funeral before signature 
• Honesty, loyalty, and integrity of funeral personnel in the performance of their duties 
• Strict observance of all applicable laws, rules and regulations concerning the profession, both national and international 

What’s changed since the last update?  

BS EN 15017:2019 supersedes BS EN 15017:2005. BS EN 15017:2019 includes some technical changes concerning BS EN 15017:2005. These include: 

• Requirements for the education of funeral personnel have been added. 
• More detailed requirements on the provision of funeral facilities have been added, including requirements for the provision of working equipment, transport vehicles and other working materials. 
• More detailed requirements on advisory services and the care of the deceased have been added. 
• Clauses on online funeral services, quality management, ethical values and privacy policy have been added