Welcome To The Institute Of Civil Funerals (IoCF)

We passionately believe that with the rapid increase of funeral celebrants in the UK over recent years, there is a need to ensure that those offering this service do so to the highest standard.

The IoCF is a not-for-profit organisation, registered as a company limited by guarantee at Companies House with institute status which provides support and representation for our members.

Although some of our members also deliver wedding celebrations, baby namings and a host of other celebrations of life, we focus purely on funeral ceremonies because we believe it is vital that this final rite of passage for a loved one is delivered to the highest standards possible.

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Update on celebrant service and fees

We are delighted that, following a campaign by the IoCF, legislation that could have restricted choices for bereaved families has been averted.

The legislation appeared to force independent funeral celebrants who work with funeral directors, to charge a fixed rate, wherever they are and whatever their input into the service. This could have made it impossible for them financially to create the personalised and bespoke ceremonies that bring comfort to so many families.

The new law, designed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has now been adjusted to ‘Prices on request’ in the wake of the IoCF’s representation, which was supported by the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF).

IoCF puts the well-being of all the families in our members’ care first and will always do our best to protect your interests.

Who we work with

Families

Work with someone who has the training, professionalism and empathy needed to ensure the funeral ceremony you are arranging will be all that you hope it to be.

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cremation, people and mourning concept - cinerary urn, photo frame with black ribbon and woman holding red roses at funeral in church

Funeral Directors

We share your professionalism, ideals and standards in everything we do. Add value to your service and find out why an IoCF member is the celebrant of choice.

Work alongside the IoCF

Celebrant performing naming ceremony for parents and their baby daughter in an historic barn.

Celebrants

Find out how you can be supported in all aspects of being a funeral celebrant with an organisation that puts the delivery of quality funeral ceremonies at its heart.

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Latest Articles

Dressing for a funeral

By Susan Flipping | Jul 21, 2021

As funeral traditions continue to change in the UK, so are people’s expectations about the ‘right’ thing to wear to the ceremony. For years there was no question; everyone who ...

Piecing the funeral sector together

By Susan Flipping | Jul 21, 2021

The world of death management and funerals is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. If there’s one thing that the pandemic taught us, it’s that the picture for bereaved families ...

Rosemary for remembrance 2

By Susan Flipping | Jun 30, 2021

Does the smell of rosemary evoke the same memories for you as it does for me? Family roast dinners, a butterflied leg of lamb thrown onto a summer barbecue, languid ...

View all articles

What people say about our celebrants

Everyone present commented on the love, warmth, humour and compassion that ran through the entire ceremony and how different the service was to was what they have come to expect from funerals. What was crafted was a fitting celebration of the amazing life of a remarkable man that is etched in people’s memories for all the right reasons.

Thank you…when you say that to somebody who literally has given you one of the best gifts just seems too little.

We managed to both laugh and cry at the service and that was a surprise.. The whole service went completely to plan thanks to you! Everything was perfectly timed. For me, you made one of the hardest days of my life so much easier.

You have a mixture of sympathy, empathy and knowledge that is just amazing!

So although these words are easily said, they are deeply meant.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

There can be few more painfully subjective moments than this, you are letting a stranger into your lives when your world has shattered and you can barely function. It is only thanks to the genuine sympathy and compassion that ‘our celebrant’ showed us that helped us get through this occasion.

The celebrant played a large part in transforming a dreaded day into a treasured memory for our family.

The celebrant captured mum’s essence perfectly. We wanted to reflect mum as our mum and as the woman she became once we had all grown up – with her quirkiness and fun for life. ‘Our celebrant’ did the most amazing job of hearing our babble and transforming it into the most heart-warming celebration of mum’s life.

What ‘our celebrant’ wrote and said about my brother meant a great deal to me; her ability to listen to what we said and crystallize it into a beautiful appreciation of him was more than I could have hoped for.