Three departments: Establish and improve the list of funeral service charges and the system of publicizing charges. No charges shall be collected beyond the list.

On January 27, the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Ministry of Finance issued a notice on further improving the funeral service fee policy. Among them, it mentioned establishing a sound funeral service fee catalog and fee disclosure system. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, together with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, will formulate a national funeral service basic project list. Provincial civil affairs departments, together with the same level of development and reform, and financial departments, will determine the provincial funeral service basic project list. Local governments at the prefecture level and above, civil affairs departments, together with the development and reform, and financial departments, will reasonably determine the non-basic project list for funeral services. Based on this, civil affairs departments of local governments at the prefecture level and above will establish a local funeral service fee catalog, listing service items, fees, specific service contents, etc., which will be reviewed by the same level development and reform and financial departments, approved by the local government, and then implemented. All regions must strictly control funeral service fee projects and not charge beyond the catalog. The notice stated that funeral services (including funeral services and burial services) are divided into basic projects and non-basic projects. (1) Funeral service fees. The basic funeral service projects include body collection and transportation, body storage, body farewell, cremation, and ash storage. Provincial civil affairs departments, in conjunction with the same level of development and reform, and financial departments, may add body remodeling and body preservation as basic projects according to the actual situation of the province. On the premise of effectively guaranteeing the supply scale and quality of basic projects, non-basic projects will be reasonably determined by local governments at the prefecture level and above according to local residents' needs. The fee standards for basic projects will be formulated by the provincial development and reform department, together with the same level financial and civil affairs departments, or authorized by the provincial government to be determined by the local government and implement government-guided price management; non-basic project fees will be clearly defined by the civil affairs department of the local government at the prefecture level and above. The fee standard range, which guides funeral service institutions to charge reasonably. (2) Burial service fees. The basic burial service projects include ecological burial and ash burial provided by government-run funeral services. For ecological burials that do not retain ashes or bury bodies in unmarked graves, suitable incentives will be given as required by regulations. If the burial cost is too high and needs to be charged, an ecological burial fee may be collected appropriately. For burying ashes or bodies in tomb form, a tomb usage fee and maintenance fee may be charged; for burying ashes in grid form, a grid usage fee and maintenance fee may be charged. The tomb usage fee includes expenses such as tomb rental, tombstone construction, burial services, etc.; the grid usage fee includes expenses such as grid rental, construction materials, etc.; the maintenance fee includes costs for daily maintenance, cleaning, repairs, management, etc. In addition to the above fees, funeral service institutions may not charge any other fees related to burial. The ecological burial fee charged by various types of funeral service institutions, as well as tomb usage fees, grid usage fees, and maintenance fees charged by urban public cemeteries (columbariums) and government-run or privately-run profit-oriented cemeteries (columbariums), will be determined by the provincial development and reform department, together with the same level of financial and civil affairs departments, or authorized by the provincial government to be determined by the local government at the prefecture level and above, and implement government-guided price management. Rural public cemetery land generally should not charge villagers tomb usage fees; if maintenance fees need to be charged, the village committee or village collective economic organization should clearly define the fee standards based on actual costs. Tomb usage fees, grid usage fees, maintenance fees, and other charges in profit-oriented cemeteries (columbariums) are generally subject to market-regulated prices. Funeral service institutions should determine fees based on actual costs and reasonable profits and report to the local civil affairs department in writing. Civil affairs departments at the prefecture level and above should work with relevant departments to strengthen guidance on fees for profit-oriented cemeteries (columbariums), strengthen guidance by clearly defining the fee standard range, and take effective industry supervision measures. II. Clear funeral service fee standard development principles The government's guidance price for funeral services and burial service projects should adhere to a public welfare positioning. The baseline fee should be based on cost audits or investigations and should be set after deducting government subsidies, unremunerated donations, etc., based on cost compensation principles. The fluctuation range should comprehensively consider local economic development levels, institutional nature, service types, institutional cost differences, etc. Specific fee standards should be determined by funeral service institutions based on non-profit principles, considering local residents' income and affordability, within the range of the baseline fee and fluctuation range. For those who are temporarily unable to set pricing conditions, civil affairs departments at the prefecture and above can guide funeral service institutions to establish provisional fee standards based on a full assessment and notify the same level development and reform and financial departments. When determining the fee standard range, the above principles should be considered. Development and reform departments in all regions should work with civil affairs and finance departments to guide funeral service institutions in establishing sound internal price management, cost accounting systems, accurately record and account for all service costs and revenues. III. Strengthening regulation of funeral supplies prices Civil affairs departments at the prefecture level and above should strengthen guidance on the sale of funeral supplies by funeral service institutions, organize centralized purchases of funeral supplies based on the principle of "civilized frugality", streamline procurement links, reduce purchase prices, and ensure an adequate supply of mid to low-priced funeral supplies. For items within the scope of government procurement, the provisions of the Government Procurement Law must be implemented. Civil affairs departments at the prefecture level and above can guide funeral service institutions in determining reasonable sales prices for funeral supplies by specifying the price difference between purchases and sales or price difference rates. IV. Establish a regular evaluation system Development and reform, civil affairs, and finance departments in all regions should strengthen monitoring of funeral service fee management, accurately understand market changes and industry dynamics in a timely manner. In accordance with the requirements of the funeral service industry system and mechanism reform, establish a regular assessment system for fee policies, conduct regular assessments of fee projects, fee standards, price differentials, etc., through self-assessment, third-party evaluations, etc., and timely adjust and optimize them. The evaluation period should not exceed 3 years in principle. V. Establish a sound funeral service fee catalog and fee disclosure system (1) Establish a funeral service fee catalog. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, together with the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, will formulate a national funeral service basic project list (see appendix). Provincial civil affairs departments, together with the same level of development and reform, and financial departments, will determine the provincial funeral service basic project list. Civil affairs departments of local governments at the prefecture level and above, together with the development and reform and financial departments, will reasonably determine the non-basic project list for funeral services. Based on this, civil affairs departments of local governments at the prefecture level and above will establish a local funeral service fee catalog, listing service items, fees, specific service contents, etc., which will be reviewed by the same level development and reform and financial departments, approved by the local government, and then implemented. All regions must strictly control funeral service fee projects and not charge beyond the catalog. (2) Strengthen funeral service fee disclosure. Civil affairs departments of local governments at the prefecture level and above should improve the system of centralized disclosure of funeral services and fees, concentrating on the department's official website and other platforms, centrally publishing the list and nature of local funeral service institutions, as well as the funeral service fee catalog, and updating them in a timely manner. They should guide funeral service institutions to do well in fee disclosure-related work, prominently display information on service items, fee standards, document bases, exemption policies, complaint hotlines, service processes, and service contents in prominent positions at business premises. Funeral service institutions selling funeral supplies should also publish information such as the price, measurement unit, origin, grade, material, etc., of funeral supplies and encourage the simultaneous disclosure of purchase prices and selling prices of funeral supplies. If not displayed according to regulations or the content is not consistent with policies, fees should not be charged. Actively promote the establishment of a closed-loop service mechanism directly connecting funeral parlors with medical institutions, elderly care service institutions, etc., to provide contact information and fee standards for funeral service institutions, facilitating public contact. VI. Regulate funeral service fee behaviors Civil affairs departments in all regions should strengthen supervision of funeral service operators, study the establishment of inspection and inspection systems for the operation of funeral service operators, conduct annual reports, and promote funeral service operators to comprehensively use standardized contracts formulated by civil affairs and other departments, strictly fulfill contract obligations. Guide funeral service institutions to standardize service behaviors, guide the rational selection of service items by the public, and not limit or indirectly limit the use of civil burial supplies brought by the bereaved. Collaborate closely with relevant departments, take comprehensive regulatory measures, strictly deal with violations of industry management regulations, unauthorized establishment of fee projects, failure to implement government-guided prices, failure to clearly mark prices, etc., publicly expose severe cases, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the masses. Development and reform, civil affairs, and finance departments in all regions should attach great importance to the management of funeral service fees, urgently formulate and improve specific policies on funeral service fees in the local area, organically integrate fee policy improvement with strengthening industry management and improving service quality, strictly implement relevant tax and fee reduction policies, and government-operated public welfare funeral service institutions should charge water, electricity, and heating based on local residents' usage prices, and other related regulations; provide policy interpretations and respond promptly to social concerns. Appendix: National Funeral Service Basic Projects List National Development and Reform Commission Ministry of Civil Affairs Ministry of Finance January 26, 2026 This article is selected from the official website of the National Development and Reform Commission, edited by GMTEight: Feng Qiuyi.