China's State Council unveiled sweeping revisions to funeral management regulations on Wednesday, aiming to reinforce the public-service nature of burial services and promote eco-friendly practices. The updated rules, the first major overhaul since 2012, will take effect on March 30. Key changes include banning new for-profit funeral entities, strict pricing controls, and encouraging environmentally friendly burial methods.
China's State Council unveiled sweeping revisions to the Funeral Management Regulations on January 8, 2026 (Wednesday), marking the first major overhaul since 2012. The updated rules, effective March 30, are built on principles of public welfare, civilized frugality, and green ecology, addressing emerging challenges in the sector and reinforcing the industry's public-service attributes.
Newly established funeral service institutions must be government-run and nonprofit, with no new for-profit entities permitted. Services are categorized into "basic" and "nonbasic": basic ones—including corpse transportation, storage, cremation, and eco-burials—will be listed nationally with fees set by law, while nonbasic services face strict pricing oversight. Providers are prohibited from unauthorized charges, price inflation, or fraud, with heavier penalties for violations. Hospital morgues cannot outsource or provide funeral services, facing fines of 30,000 to 200,000 yuan ($4,296 to $28,600). Online memorial platforms inducing excessive consumption risk fines of 100,000 to 300,000 yuan and potential closures.
"Eligible funeral services will gradually be incorporated into the national basic public service framework and adjusted dynamically," said Xu Xiaoling, vice-dean of the Life Culture Institute at China Civil Affairs University. She noted that a dynamic service list would bolster fee management by banning charges for unlisted items and clarifying pricing violations.
The regulations strongly promote eco-friendly practices: in cremation areas, sea, tree, flower, and lawn burials are encouraged; in soil-burial regions, deep burials without tombstones are advocated, with possible subsidies for green interments. Tombs are banned on cultivated land, forest land, urban parks, scenic areas, cultural relic zones, water protection areas, and along railways or highways; existing graves (except those of historical value) must be relocated or converted to mound-free deep burials. Ethnic burial customs are respected, but all are urged to adopt environmentally and land-efficient methods. Violations like manufacturing or selling coffins in mandatory cremation zones carry fines of 30,000 to 200,000 yuan.
Facilities must meet stricter construction standards and integrate into local plans per national land-use strategies. County-level governments and above are tasked with planning crematoriums and cemeteries based on population, land availability, and principles of demand-based supply, land conservation, and ecological protection.
High funeral costs drive the reforms. A 2020 SunLife study found Chinese residents spend an average of 37,375 yuan—45.4% of annual income—on funerals, ranking second globally. Amid rapid aging, over 310 million people (22%) were aged 60+ by end-2024, with 220 million (15.6%) aged 65+, and average life expectancy at 79 years.
