Funeral homes in Ticino: how to choose one and what to ask in the quote

Under the cantonal regulation, a funeral home is a business that takes charge of organising, directly or indirectly:

• the preparation of the body, meaning washing, dressing and everything needed to present it;
• transport and all or part of the burial or cremation;
• the staff and equipment for the lying in state, the procession and the ceremony;
• all the administrative formalities linked to the death.

Not every business offers everything in the same way. You can hand over the whole service or only a part.

Running a funeral home requires the authorisation of the cantonal Health Office. The regulation asks for a stable base with premises suitable for receiving families, a stock of coffins, a type-approved hearse and a refrigerator for bodies. The owner must hold the federal professional certificate for funeral directors, or a recognised equivalent diploma, and liability insurance of at least 3 million francs.

Authorised businesses are entered automatically in a register, which the Canton publishes on its website. Before signing, check that the name of the business is on the list.

The funeral home must tell the family in advance, precisely and clearly, the cost of each service and the total cost. If a quote gives only a total with no items, you can ask for the breakdown.

The regulation also limits how funeral homes make themselves known. They may not send advertising leaflets to the homes of the deceased’s family, nor look for clients in health facilities or public administration offices. They may not put their logo in the funeral notice without the family’s written consent.

Any agreement between a funeral home and health facilities or municipalities that limits the family’s freedom of choice or makes them dependent is forbidden. Nobody can impose a funeral home on you: not the hospital, not the care home, not the municipality.

Ask for the quote in writing and compare the same items:

• what is included: preparation, transport, refrigerated cell, lying in state, coffin or urn, ceremony, procession, notices, flowers;
• what is left out: municipal fees, such as the municipal lying-in-state room, the grave or niche concession, the gravestone and its fitting;
• timing: burial or cremation no earlier than 24 hours and no later than 96 hours after death;
• who your contact is and how to reach them;
• payment terms.

A clear quote lists the items one under the other and says who the costs that do not go through the funeral home are owed to.

Yes. Many people put their wishes in writing (burial or cremation, ceremony, cemetery) and talk about them with their family. It is not compulsory, but it spares the family difficult choices at a difficult time.

Many funeral homes also take care of the funeral notice. On Aevi, the funeral notices of Canton Ticino are published by accredited funeral homes, with name, dates, municipality, place and time of the ceremony.

For the memory over time, the family can gather photos, stories and tributes in an online page and link it to a plaque on the grave, if the cemetery allows it.