NAFD and SAIF

NAFD (the National Association of Funeral Directors) and SAIF (the Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors) are the two main trade associations for UK funeral directors. Members follow a code of practice, and each association runs a complaints process if something goes wrong. SAIF represents independent, family-owned firms.

What membership means for a family

The associations represent their member firms and set standards for how those firms care for people and deal with families. NAFD was founded in 1905 and is the UK’s leading professional body for funeral directors. Both work across the whole of the UK, so the same codes apply in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Citizens Advice recommends choosing a funeral director who belongs to one of the two. The reason is practical. A member has agreed to follow a code of conduct, and a complaint about the firm has somewhere to go.

How to check

Member firms display the logo of the association they belong to. If you cannot see it, ask the firm which association it belongs to.

Price lists

Like every funeral director, a member firm must publish a standardised price list under the Competition and Markets Authority’s Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021. That list is how you compare the firm’s own fees, the coffin and the disbursements with another firm’s.

If someone has died abroad

Member firms appear on the UK government’s list of UK-based international funeral directors, which the government includes in the repatriation guidance it gives families. An international funeral director on that list can arrange to bring your loved one home.