CMA Compliance for Funeral Directors: What Independent Funeral Directors Need to Check

Compliance is something that is always in the background.

There were regulations to follow, information that needed to be displayed and plenty of things that needed to be kept up to date.

But when you're running an independent funeral home, compliance can sometimes become one of those jobs that gets pushed down the list.

You're dealing with families. You're arranging funerals. You're answering the phone. You're managing staff, vehicles, suppliers and everything else that comes with running a funeral home.

It can be easy to look at your website and think: "I'm pretty sure everything is compliant."

But "pretty sure" isn't really good enough when it comes to something that can have legal and financial consequences.

That's one of the reasons I created a free CMA compliance checklist for funeral directors here at Agnew Digital. I wanted to create something straightforward that an independent funeral director could use to go through their website and business and check some of the key requirements.

What is the CMA and why does it matter to funeral directors?

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is responsible for promoting competition and protecting consumers across the UK.

Following its investigation into the funerals market, the CMA introduced the Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021. The Order introduced a number of legal requirements for funeral directors and crematorium operators, particularly around price transparency and the information provided to customers.

The purpose is fairly straightforward. Families arranging a funeral should be able to understand what they are paying for, see relevant prices and have enough information to make informed decisions.

For funeral directors, that means there are certain pieces of information that need to be displayed clearly. And importantly, this doesn't only apply inside your funeral home. Your website matters too.

Why your website is part of your compliance

This is where compliance and web design overlap.

A funeral director's website isn't simply a marketing tool. For many businesses, it is also one of the places where required information needs to be made available to customers.

The CMA's guidance states that funeral directors must display certain information on their website, including their Standardised Price List and Additional Options Price List.

That means your website needs to be more than attractive. It needs to be accurate, accessible and kept up to date.

If you have recently changed your prices but your website still shows the old information, that's something you need to address. If your price list is difficult to find, that's something worth checking. If you've added new products or services but haven't updated your relevant pricing information, that needs reviewing too.

Your Standardised Price List

One of the most important parts of CMA compliance is the Standardised Price List.

The CMA requires funeral directors to display the Standardised Price List in their branch and on their website. The CMA's checklist says it should be accessible no more than one click away from the homepage.

This is an area I would encourage every independent funeral director to check carefully.

Ask yourself: can somebody visiting my website find my Standardised Price List easily?

If they have to search through several menus, click through multiple pages or struggle to find it, I'd look at making it more accessible.

The CMA also requires the Standardised Price List to follow the required terms and structure. It's therefore not simply a case of uploading a document containing your prices and assuming everything is covered. The actual requirements matter.

What about attended and unattended funerals?

The Standardised Price List has specific requirements around attended and unattended funerals.

If you offer attended funerals, the CMA checklist requires separate prices for the six listed items, along with the associated attended funeral price.

If you don't offer attended funerals, the Standardised Price List still needs to be displayed, with attended funerals marked as "not offered".

If you offer unattended funerals, the relevant total prices also need to be provided.

This is a good example of why I wouldn't recommend simply looking at another funeral director's website and copying what they do. Your business may offer different services. Your pricing may be different. And your obligations need to be considered based on what your business actually provides.

Don't forget your Additional Options Price List

This is another area worth checking. If you offer products and services such as:

• Coffins
• Flowers
• Funeral transport
• Funeral jewellery
• Other additional products or services

the relevant prices need to be dealt with properly.

The CMA's checklist says funeral directors should display prices for the products and services advertised on their website and in branch, including where those services are supplied by third parties. It also says the Additional Options Price List should be clearly and prominently displayed and written in simple language.

This is particularly relevant to your website. If you're advertising something online, take a moment to ask: "Have I provided the required pricing information?" It's an easy thing to overlook.

Keep your crematorium prices up to date

Another area independent funeral directors need to keep an eye on is local crematorium pricing.

The CMA requires relevant local crematorium price information to be displayed in the prescribed format. The checklist includes the standard attended service, reduced attended service and unattended service where offered.

This is one of those things that can easily become outdated. Crematorium prices can change. So if your website contains this information, don't assume that uploading it once means you're finished. It needs to be reviewed when the underlying prices change.

What about your terms of business?

Your website may also need to display certain terms of business.

For example, if you require customers to pay a deposit or apply charges for late payment, the relevant information needs to be displayed in branch and on your website.

Again, it's worth asking yourself: is this information easy for a customer to find?

The aim isn't to hide information in the smallest possible font at the bottom of a page. The CMA's requirements are designed around transparency. And from my perspective, that's a good principle for any funeral director's website.

Disclosure of interests

There are also requirements around disclosure of interests.

The CMA checklist includes information relating to the ultimate owner of the business and certain financial relationships or contributions involving other organisations.

This is another area where your website needs to reflect the actual structure and circumstances of your business. If you've changed ownership or your business structure has changed, it's worth checking whether your disclosure information needs updating.

There are practices funeral directors must not engage in

Compliance isn't only about displaying prices. The Funerals Market Investigation Order also prohibits certain practices.

For example, funeral directors must not enter into arrangements that could incentivise or require hospitals, hospices, care homes or similar institutions to refer customers to them. There are also restrictions around marketing through coroner and police contracts.

These requirements are particularly important because they go beyond your website. They relate to how the business operates.

This is why I would never suggest that a website checklist alone means a funeral director is fully compliant. It doesn't. Compliance is much broader than your website.

What if you're a small independent funeral director?

This is something I think is particularly important for independent funeral directors to understand.

If you have four or fewer branches, you don't have to submit financial information or compliance statements to the CMA unless the CMA specifically requests them.

However, that doesn't mean you're exempt from the other requirements of the Order. You still need to comply with the relevant requirements around things such as:

• Price information
• Standardised Price Lists
• Additional Options Price Lists
• Crematorium pricing
• Terms of business
• Disclosure of interests
• Prohibited practices

The CMA explicitly states that funeral directors with fewer than five branches still have to comply with the other requirements of the Order. So being a small independent funeral director doesn't mean you can ignore CMA compliance.

Your website can make compliance easier

This is one of the reasons I think good web design is so important for funeral directors.

A properly structured website can make it much easier to keep important information accessible. For example, your website could have a clear Prices & Information section containing links to:

• Standardised Price List
• Additional Options Price List
• Crematorium prices
• Terms of business
• Disclosure of interests

That doesn't replace your responsibility to make sure the information is correct. But it can make it much easier for families to find what they need. It can also make things easier for you and your staff when information needs to be updated.

Don't just upload a PDF and forget about it

This is something I would specifically check when reviewing a funeral director's website.

A business may have uploaded a PDF price list several years ago and never looked at it again. The website still works. The link still works. But the information may no longer be correct. That can be a problem.

Your website should be treated as part of your business rather than something you built once and forgot about. Prices change. Services change. Crematorium charges change. Business details change. Your website needs to change with them.

Compliance and SEO can work together

Something I find interesting about compliance is that it doesn't have to work against SEO. In fact, a well-structured website can make both better.

For example, creating clear pages for your services and pricing can make your website easier for visitors to navigate. Clear headings and page structures can help search engines understand your website. Useful information can help visitors. Internal links can help people find related pages. A clear website structure can improve the overall user experience.

The key is to avoid treating SEO and compliance as completely separate jobs. Your website should be designed to do both.

But compliance should come before SEO tricks

There is one thing I would never recommend.

Don't make important compliance information difficult to find because you are worried about how a page looks. Don't hide your price list because you're worried people will compare your prices. Don't make somebody click through five pages to find information they are entitled to see. And don't create a website that is designed purely to generate enquiries while making important information difficult to access.

Your website should be transparent. It should be straightforward. And it should make it easy for families to understand their options. That's good practice whether Google is watching or not.

A simple compliance check you can do today

If you're an independent funeral director, I'd recommend taking fifteen minutes to look at your website.

Start at your homepage.

• Can you find your Standardised Price List within one click?
• Can you find your Additional Options Price List?
• Are the prices current?
• Are your crematorium prices current?
• Can customers easily find your terms of business?
• Is your disclosure of interests information available?
• Are all the services you're advertising properly reflected in your pricing information?
• Does the website show accurate contact information?

If you aren't sure about any of these, don't simply ignore it. Find out what the current requirements are and take appropriate advice where necessary.

I've created a free CMA compliance checklist

I created a free CMA Compliance Checklist for Funeral Directors because I wanted to make this process a little easier for independent funeral directors.

It's designed as a practical starting point for reviewing the information on your website and checking some of the key areas covered by the CMA's requirements. You can use it alongside the official CMA guidance to identify areas you may need to review.

And remember, the checklist isn't a substitute for the CMA's full guidance or professional legal advice. The CMA itself says its checklist is not legal guidance and isn't a complete list of everything a funeral director must do.

Why I created this for funeral directors

I could have created a generic compliance checklist and put it on the website.

But working in a funeral home myself means I know how busy it gets. I know that compliance isn't necessarily the first thing you're thinking about when you've got families to look after.

That's why I wanted to make something straightforward. Something you can download, print or keep on your computer and work through when you have time.

I'm passionate about helping independent funeral directors because I've worked in the profession myself. I know how important the job is. And I want Agnew Digital to help good funeral directors do what they do best: look after families.

My role is to help with the things around the business that can sometimes get overlooked. That includes websites. That includes SEO. And, in this case, helping funeral directors think about whether their website is doing what it should from a compliance perspective.

Your website is part of your funeral home

I think it's worth looking at your website differently. It isn't just an online advert. It's part of your business. It's often the first place a family will encounter you.

It needs to represent you properly. It needs to provide useful information. It needs to make it easy to contact you. It needs to work well on mobile. It needs to be visible on Google. And where information needs to be displayed for compliance purposes, it needs to make that information easy to access.

That's what good funeral director web design should do.

A final word from me

I work as a funeral director myself, so I know how much there is to think about. The website isn't always going to be at the top of your list. But it is an important part of your business.

If you haven't reviewed your website and CMA information recently, I'd encourage you to take a look. You might find everything is exactly as it should be. You might find a couple of things that need updating. Or you might discover that your website needs a more thorough review.

Whatever you find, it's better to know. I've created the free CMA Compliance Checklist for Funeral Directors to give you a simple place to start.

And if you'd like me to take a look at your funeral home's website from a web design, SEO and usability perspective, you can get in touch with me at Agnew Digital.

I'm Cameron, the founder of Agnew Digital and a working funeral director. I understand both sides of the conversation. You look after the families. I'll help you look after the website.

CMA compliance resources

The CMA's official guidance should always be your primary source for understanding your legal obligations. The CMA's Compliance Checklist for Funeral Directors was updated on 21 January 2025 and covers the Standardised Price List, Additional Options Price List, local crematorium prices, terms of business, disclosure of interests, prohibited practices and other requirements. You can also read the CMA's full guidance on working with the Funerals Market Investigation Order.