Notification of fee changes for cremation, interment and funeral services (2018-2020)

Consumer Protection BC is an independent, self-funded, not-for-profit organization. Government has tasked us with regulating and licensing your sector. We have the legal authority to set your licensing and other fees and charges. In doing so, we are required by law to recover our costs, to consult with you and to provide at least ninety (90) days’ notice prior to changing or introducing new fees.

What is happening?                                                                                   

We are notifying you that our licensing and other fee charges for 2018-2020 are changing. Our Board of Directors has approved the following fee changes that will take effect January 1, 2018.

• Licensing and other fee charges will increase 2% annually for 2018-2020.
• The funeral service administrative fee (volume based), as set at $30, will remain unchanged through 2018-2020.
• All Places of Interment licensees will be required to move to a one-year licencing renewal cycle upon expiry of their current licence. Licensing fees will be tiered based on the volume of interments conducted each year. For licensees currently on a five-year licensing cycle this change will take effect in 2019 – when your current license expires.
• Fees for duplicate replacement licences, issuance of embalmer / funeral director ID card, and late licence renewal have been eliminated.

Funeral Services

For a full listing of all fees for funeral services, please review the 2018 fee schedule.

Places of Interment

For a full listing of all fees for places of interment, please review the 2018 fee schedule.

Crematoriums 

For a full listing of all fees for crematoriums, please review the 2018 fee schedule.

* For more information about changes to the structure of licence renewals, effective January 1, 2018, please read the information below.

Why are fees changing?

Your licensing fees pay for the direct costs of regulating your sector, such as licensing, compliance inspections, complaint handling and enforcement activities, as well as indirect costs like IT, finance and accounting, office rent, etc. Every effort is made to control and maintain the cost of regulating your sector; however, some increases are unavoidable. In some cases, cost increases are consistent with inflation, in other cases, increases are based on specific and unique factors related to a sector (for example, changes to the law that result in new regulatory requirements).

Consumer Protection BC’s costs for regulating the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services sector have remained relatively consistent since 2015. Therefore, we are continuing with 2% annual increases, as in the previous three years, and will maintain the funerals service administrative fee at $30, the rate set in 2015.

The changes to the structure of the Places of Interment licensing fee and cycle will have a number of benefits. First, it will align the timing of renewals for all licensees with this license type, creating efficiencies for our licensing process. Second, by facilitating more frequent and regular touch point between Consumer Protection BC and those Places of Interment that have previously been on a five-year licensing cycle, information such as contact information and licensing requirements will be kept up to date. The existing five-year licensing cycle has resulted in information being out of date, creating difficulties with the renewal process. Finally, tiered renewal fees based on the volume of interments each year will increase fairness in the marketplace and better align with how our cost recovery model is applied.

You will also notice a new structure for licence renewal fees, effective January 1, 2018. You will pay a lower fee if you renew your licence at least two (2) weeks before it expires. This means you will pay less if you renew your licence at least two weeks prior to its expiry starting with 2018 licence renewals.

Additionally, we will no longer be charging late fees. If you don’t renew your licence by its expiry date, you will need to submit a new licence application, which costs more money.

The purpose of these changes is to encourage you – our licensee – to renew your licence before its expiry date. This will create efficiencies when we process licence renewals and will benefit you, as a licensee.

If you want to learn more about the fee review process to date, please read the fee review consultation document.

What did we hear from you?

We heard from 4% of licensees on our e-mailing list. Our goals for the consultation were to make licensees aware of pending fee changes and to solicit feedback on those changes and our process. Of those licensees who responded to our survey, 96% indicated they understood that we were proposing to change licensing and other fees. Further, 88% of respondents indicated they understand how we use your fees to regulate your sector.