Practising Celebrants possess the ultimate in professionalism and empathy and have been rigorously assessed in order to gain and maintain membership status of the IoCF.

The Civil Funeral ceremony is fitting for either a cremation or burial and can be held at most appropriate locations with the exception of churches and religious buildings.



Ceremonies will usually be arranged through a Funeral Director who can organize a Civil Funeral by contacting the Celebrant directly. Once contact is made, a Celebrant will arrange a meeting with the family as soon as possible. Celebrants are identified by their official IoCF membership badge which is pictured above.

When meeting with the bereaved family, the Celebrant will explain what is involved and then plan the Ceremony together with the family; favourite readings and music can be incorporated and chosen from the wide selection available. Family members and friends can also be invited to take part in the ceremony.

Following the meeting, the Celebrant will create a ceremony that reflects the wishes and preferences of the deceased and the bereaved family and then seek the family's final approval of the text.



Client satisfaction is closely monitored and facilitated through a post-funeral questionnaire, where essential client feedback is gathered and acted upon where necessary.

A recent ceremony performed generated this feedback "Several people have said what an excellent ceremony it was.... So many people are too afraid to ask for what they really want. We will always remember your kindness, the day was exactly right and it was due to your (the Celebrant's) dedication in getting it right".



Quality accreditation requirements demand that high quality control standards are applied, not only to the training course but also post-training, where both the Celebrant and their actual management and delivery of the ceremony are monitored and audited to ensure quality control standards are met.

Civil Funeral Celebrants are required to take part in a CPD scheme(Continuing Professional Development) which ensures that their skills and abilitites are constantly developing.