Before you sign with a funeral business, check that it holds a licence. It is quick and free, and the law is clear: no one may solicit or conclude a contract for a service that requires a funeral services business licence, such as a viewing or a cremation, without holding that licence (section 3 of the Act respecting arrangements for funeral services and sepultures).
Which services require a licence?
Under the Funeral Operations Act, a funeral services business licence is required to offer, or claim to offer:
- embalming;
- the viewing of a body or of ashes;
- cremation.
These licences are issued by Santé Québec. The business licence is valid for three years, and it lists the funeral services the business is authorized to provide. The embalmer must also hold an embalmer's licence, issued for one year to a natural person. Finally, a body can only be transported by a licensed funeral services business, or by a carrier acting under a contract with it.
How do you find the business's official name?
The Santé Québec directory lists each business under its official corporate name (dénomination sociale). This name may differ from the one on the sign or the website.
- Open the free search of the Registraire des entreprises (Quebec's enterprise register) on Québec.ca.
- Search for the business by its name, by a word in the name, or by its Québec Enterprise Number (NEQ).
- On the record, note the business's name ("Nom") and its other names used in Quebec ("Autres noms utilisés au Québec").
You can also ask the business directly for its corporate name and its licence number.
How do you search the Santé Québec directory?
- On Québec.ca, open the page "Permis de thanatopraxie et d'entreprises de services funéraires", then the link "Répertoire des entreprises de services funéraires" (both in French; the directory is a PDF file).
- Check the date of the list. The list of September 24, 2026 had 217 businesses, all with the status "Actif" (active).
- Use your device's search function (Ctrl+F, or Cmd+F on a Mac) with a distinctive word from the corporate name, or with the licence number: some long names are split over two lines. The list is sorted by region, then by licence number, not alphabetically.
| What the directory shows | What it does not show |
|---|---|
| Corporate name | The services authorized by the licence |
| Licence number (two digits, the letters FUN, then four digits) | The NEQ |
| Funeral services director, licence status, address and phone number | The licence dates |
Must the licence be posted?
Yes. The law requires an extract of the licence to be posted legibly, in a place easily seen by the public, in each facility where the business provides funeral services, for example a viewing room or a crematorium. If you visit the establishment, look for it.
What should you do if the business is not in the directory?
- Search again with the corporate name found in the Registraire des entreprises, or with the licence number.
- Ask the business for its licence number: a licensed business can give it to you.
- If you still find nothing, contact Santé Québec before you sign anything.
What else should you check?
- The "Get Information About a Merchant" tool of the Office de la protection du consommateur. The OPC is Quebec's consumer protection office; the tool's results are in French. You can search by name, address or NEQ. The tool only contains merchants the OPC holds information about, for example those that were subject to an OPC intervention, that received a formal notice from a consumer of which the OPC obtained a copy, that hold or held a licence or permit issued by the OPC, or that take part in Parle consommation. So if a business is not in the tool, it only means the OPC has listed no information about it; the OPC does not issue licences or permits for funeral services.
- The register of prearranged funeral services contracts. Before concluding a contract with you, the business must consult the register of prearranged funeral services contracts and prepurchased sepulture contracts and give you written proof of that consultation. This proof tells you whether a registered contract seems linked to the deceased. Only registered contracts can be found: also look through the deceased's papers.
- The contract. It must be in writing, give the price of each good and each service, and show taxes separately. See how to compare two funeral home quotes.
How does CompareFuneralHomes.ca check businesses?
Before accepting a business into its network, CompareFuneralHomes.ca checks that its licence is active in Santé Québec's directory. To know which fees to expect, also see fees often left out of a funeral package.