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Join a community of independent funeral directors committed to serving families with care, professionalism and integrity.

SAIF represents around 1,000 funeral businesses across the UK. Our members play an important role in supporting families and communities, providing trusted guidance and personal service at life’s most difficult times.

SAIF offers Independent Funeral Director Membership and Associate Membership, along with a wide range of practical benefits and support. From professional guidance and training to networking opportunities and business services, we’re here to help members serve their communities with confidence.

Watch our video to hear from members about the value of being part of SAIF.

Complete our contact form to start your membership enquiry

SELECT A MEMBERSHIP OPTION BELOW TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BENEFITS, FEES AND HOW TO JOIN:

Funeral Directors

SAIF represents independent funeral directors across the UK, giving members a strong voice and access to practical support, professional guidance and a trusted network.

As a member, you can:

  • Demonstrate your commitment to high standards of service and professional practice
  • Access resources developed for independent funeral directors
  • Get professional guidance on areas including legal matters, taxation and customer care
  • Connect with other independent funeral directors through regional meetings, events and conferences
  • Offer families added reassurance through an independent complaints process certified by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute
  • Support your team’s development through training
  • Benefit from the support and shared strength of a national membership organisation
  • Download the Funeral Director Membership Benefits
  • Find out about the Diamond Partnership

ASSOCIATES

Associate Membership helps businesses connect with around 1,000 independent funeral directors across the UK.

Our Associate Members provide a wide range of products and services, including carriage services, insurance, IT and website support and memorial keepsake jewellery.

Download the Associate Member Benefits

Types of Funeral director membership

Our membership criteria and ongoing quality monitoring help maintain high professional standards.

The type of membership available will depend on where your business is based and whether the business, its owners or operating principals have been practising as funeral directors for less than one year.

Fees and payments

Applicants pay a non-refundable administration fee of £200.

Once membership is approved, you’ll receive a subscription invoice based on the month of approval. Future subscriptions are paid annually by Direct Debit.

 Direct Debit is the most efficient and cost-effective way for us to collect payments. It helps keep administration costs down so more of your membership fees can support important work, including government representation, education and professional standards.

If paying by Direct Debit would be difficult, please speak to our team. We’ll be happy to discuss other payment options.

See the ‘Membership Fees’ tab for full details.

How to apply

Complete our contact form to start your membership application.

Our team will contact you to discuss the appropriate membership type and provide the application paperwork.

Please complete and sign the application form, then return it promptly with all the documents listed on the declaration of ownership form. We’ll be unable to process your application until we’ve received all the required paperwork.

Telephone
01279 726777 or 0345 230 6777

Email
Contact us via our online contact form

Office opening hours
Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm

The type of membership available depends on where your business is based in the UK and whether the company, its owners or operating principals have been practising as funeral directors for less than one year.

If your business is based in Scotland or Northern Ireland, please complete our contact form. Our team will provide guidance on the membership options available and explain the next steps.

For full FD membership, the company must:

If either the company or the owners/operating principals have been practising funeral directors for less than 1 year, then Probationary membership may be granted.

Probation is for a year where a mentor will be assigned to liaise with you on a regular basis and reports provided as part of your probation.

Towards the end of the year a re-assessment will be required and if fully compliant then the applicant will be put to our Executive Approval Committee for full FD membership approval.

A company is able to hold the probationary membership grade for 12 months.

        • No admin fee but a payment of £608 for the year
        • The company will not be eligible to apply for SAIFCharter status whilst in probation.
        • The applicant will not automatically go straight into full FD membership and will need to be approved to become a full member.

Apply for Probationary Membership

Follow the steps as if applying for Full Membership.

FUNERAL DIRECTORS APPLICATION
  • Please note if your company is based in Northern Ireland, then please contact the SAIF Business Centre on 01279 726777 or email info@saif.org.uk for an application pack.

    The points below that are in bold, the documents need to be downloaded prior to starting the online application.
  • Download and read the Guidance Notes before completing the application
  • The reference template needs to be completed by the referee (and not the applicant) if the applicant has been employed by the company for less than 5 years
  • Collate the following information listed below which is required to be uploaded as part of the application process. For the estimates, invoices and confirmations to families and officiants, these need to be two different sets for an attended funeral.
  • Copies of estimates in accordance with SAIF’s Code of Practice
  • Copies of the funeral invoices
  • Copies of confirmations to families
  • Copies of confirmations to churches/officiants
  • Please note for all of the above, ensure that any personal information relating to the next of kin (not the deceased) is redacted. Failure to do this could be a breach of the GDPR
  • Fully itemised price list which conforms with SAIF’s Code of Practice
  • Copy of public & employer’s liability schedule, (recommend minimum £5 million)
  • Completed CPD form
  • Facilities Checklist
  • Copies of qualifications (if applicable)
  • Click 'Start Full Funeral Directors Application' to begin the process.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  • SAIF will carry out due diligence as well as running background checks on your company.
  • Details will be published on our website for 28 days as 'membership pending' - giving existing members the chance to raise any valid concerns.
  • SAIF will carry out a Quality Assurance assessment of all your premises.
  • If no concerns are raised the application will be presented to the SAIF Membership Approval Committee for consideration and final approval.
  • We will contact you with the decision of the Committee.
  • If you have any questions on the membership process, please contact SAIF Business Centre.
Contact SAIF to start Full Funeral Directors Application

Probationary Membership is open for funeral directors who have less than the requisite 12 months trading or funeral directing experience.  A probationary membership is for 12 months from the date of application approval.

  • No admin fee but a payment of £608 for the year is required
  • The company will not be eligible to apply for SAIFCharter status whilst in probation.
  • The applicant will not automatically go straight into full FD membership and will need to be approved by the Membership Approval Committe to become a full member.

Apply for Probationary Membership

  • Please read the 'Funeral Directors Application' section before starting the probationary application process.
Contact SAIF TO Start Funeral Directors Probationary Application

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  • SAIF will carry out due diligence including running a background check on your company.
  • Details will be published on our website for 28 days as 'membership pending' -giving existing members the chance to raise any valid concerns.
  • SAIF will carry out a Quality Assurance assessment of your premises. as part of the initial application process
  • If no concerns are raised the application will be presented to the SAIF Membership Approval Committee for consideration and approval .
  • We will contact you with the decision of the Committee.
  • Towards the end of the probationary period a further premises assessment will be carried out, after which your company details will be passed to the SAIF Membership Approval Committe for consideration for full FD membership.
  • We will contact you with the decision of the Committee.
  • If you have any questions on the membership process, please contact SAIF Business Centre.
      • Funeral Director Membership is annual, running from January to December. A pro-rata rate is applied if joining throughout the year.
      • Probationary Membership runs for one year, commencing when the company is approved for Probationary Membership. After the probationary period, your membership could be upgraded to full Funeral Director membership, following approval.  The member will then be charged at their grade level, on a pro-rata basis for the rest of the current membership year.
      • Subscriptions are calculated by the approximate number of funerals arranged per year, as well as taking into consideration if there are any additional premises (branches). Premises such as a garage or mortuary, where no member of the public visits, are not chargeable.
      • There is an non refundable administration fee of £200 on application for membership.

MEMBERSHIP TYPES

Funeral Director Membership – England and Wales

Funeral Director Membership – Scotland

Probationary Membership

FOR APPLICATIONS RELATING TO NORTHERN IRELAND, PLEASE CONTACT THE SAIF BUSINESS CENTRE ON 01279 726777 OR BY EMAIL

Funeral Director Membership – England & Wales

Grade 1

1-50 funerals per year

£433

Grade 2

51-100 funerals per year

£625

Grade 3

101-200 funerals per year

£770

Grade 4

201-300 funerals per year

£919

Grade 5

301-400 funerals per year

£1062

Grade 6

401-500 funerals per year

£1210

Grade 7

501-600 funerals per year

£1325

Grade 8

601-700 funerals per year

£1439

Grade 9

701-800 funerals per year

£1553

Grade 10

801-900 funerals per year

£1667

Grade 11

901-1,000 funerals per year

£1948

Grade 12

Over 1,000 funerals per year

£2634

Overseas

£383

Probationer

£608 for one year, commencing when approved as a Probationer. Once approved as a Full Funeral Director Member, they will be charged at their grade level pro rata for the rest of the year January to December.

Branches

Each Branch excluding head office

£64

Funeral Director Membership - Scotland

Grade 1a

1-50 funerals per year

£309

Grade 1B

51-100 funerals per year

£474

Grade 2

101-250 funerals per year

£694

Grade 3

251-500 funerals per year

£904

Grade 4

501-750 funerals per year

£1164

Grade 5

Over 750 funerals per year

£1571

Associate Membership is for businesses that provide products or services to the funeral profession.

Fees and payments

Once your membership is approved, you’ll be invoiced for

  • A subscription fee covering the remainder of the current year, calculated according to the month of approval
  • A full year’s subscription for the following year, charged at the current year’s rate

Future subscriptions are payable annually.

Subscriptions are collected by Direct Debit. This is the most efficient and cost-effective way for us to collect payments. It helps keep administration costs down so more of your membership fees can support important work, including government representation, education and professional standards.

If paying by Direct Debit would be difficult, please speak to our team. We’ll be happy to discuss other payment options.

How to apply

Complete our contact form to start your Associate Membership application.

Our team will provide the application paperwork and explain the next steps.

Please complete and sign the application form, then return it promptly with all the documents listed on the declaration of ownership form. We’ll be unable to process your application until we’ve received all the required paperwork.

If your business is based in Northern Ireland, please also complete our contact form. Our team will provide the appropriate application pack and guidance.

Telephone
01279 726777 or 0345 230 6777

Email
Contact us via our online contact form

Office opening hours
Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm

Associate Membership application
  • Download and read the Guidance Notes
  • Contact us via our contact form
  • Our team will send you the application paperwork and explain the next steps
  • A minimum of two customer testimonials and / or references will be required as part of the application form. The reference needs to be obtained by the applicant
  • Public liability insurance and employers liability certificate (if applicable)
  • Provide payment of a non-refundable administration fee £200 to process your application

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  • SAIF will carry out due diligence including running background checks on your company.
  • Details will be published on our website for 14 days as ‘membership pending’ – giving existing members the chance to raise any valid concerns.
  • If no concerns are raised the application will be presented to the SAIF Membership Approval Committee for consideration and final approval.
  • We will contact you with the decision of the Committee.
  • If you have any questions on the membership process, please contact SAIF Business Centre.
Start Associate Membership Application

Membership runs from January to December. A pro-rata rate is applied if joining throughout the year plus a full years’ subscription fee for the following year at the current year’s rate.

There is a non-refundable administration fee of £200 on application for membership.

MEMBERSHIP TYPES

Associate Membership – England and Wales

Associate Membership – Scotland

FOR APPLICATIONS RELATING TO NORTHERN IRELAND, PLEASE CONTACT THE SAIF BUSINESS CENTRE ON  01279 726777 OR EMAIL INFO@SAIF.ORG.UK

Associate Membership – England & Wales

Associate

£574 Associate Members will also be charged for their second year of membership once approved.

Associate Membership – Scotland

Associate

£574