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Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations

Funeral Home Licence

Who Needs This Licence?
Any Funeral Home, Crematorium, and/or company providing funeral merchandise and/or services to the public in Nova Scotia.
Issuing Department / Agency:
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
Where can you get this Licence and / or further information?
  Contact: Business Licensing Section
Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations
  Phone:

(902) 424-5552

  E-mail: MACLELAD@gov.ns.ca
  Visit: Maritime Centre (Aliant Building)
8th Floor (South)
1505 Barrington Street (at corner of Spring Garden Road)
Halifax, Nova Scotia    B3J 3K5
  Write: PO Box 2723
Halifax, NS   B3J 3P7
  Fax: (902) 424-0702
  Website: http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/consumer/
Application Forms & Process:
With this Licence, there are two different ways to submit your application form: 

A) You can send in a hard copy. You can get a form by: 
       (1) downloading a form from our website; 
       (2) visiting any Access Nova Scotia Centre; or 
       (3) calling or writing the office listed above. 

B) You can fill it out on-line. To do this, you must be able to pay as follows: 
       (1) by Visa, MasterCard or American Express Credit Card; or 
       (2) with an already established positive balance account with the Nova Scotia Business Registry. 
       We cannot accept any form of Debit cards at this time. 

If you wish to apply on-line, click here. Before you begin, make sure you have at hand the information listed below! 

Information you will need to fill out your application form:

  • Details are required if the applicant or any partner, officer or director has
 

 

 

 

  • had a business licence
  • had a licence refused, suspended or revoked
  • been involved in a personal or corporate bankruptcy
  • unpaid judgments outstanding
  • been convicted of a offence under the law and not been pardoned
  • Name, address and date of birth for the applicant, partners and officers
  • Three year employment history for the applicant, partners and officers

You can get a Licensing Guide from any Access Nova Scotia Centre or from the Business Licensing Section listed above.

The completed application is submitted to the Department, along with the applicable fee (see Price below).

The application process includes a physical inspection of the funeral home for compliance with standards, confirmation that a licensed funeral director is in charge of the facility, and review and approval of both the location of the premises (site) and the signs to be used.

For further details of the facility and equipment requirements, see Additional Information, below.

The Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations has to approve the application and sign the licence.

If all requirements are met, the application is approved, and the licence is signed by the Minister, it will then be mailed to the applicant.

Waiting Period:
The initial application is normally processed within 3 to 4 weeks, once all items which must accompany the application have been received, and the premises have passed inspection.

Renewals are processed within 10 business days.

(Please allow several extra days for mail delivery.)

Expiry & Renewal:
This licence is valid for up to 1 year covering the period from July 1 of one year to June 30 of the next.  It can be renewed, and the Department will send out a renewal notice before it expires.
Price: (No tax is charged)
Initial Application and Annual Renewal:  $116.47

If you send in an application form, payment is by cheque or money order made out to the Minister of Finance. No credit or debit cards are accepted at this time. 

If you apply on-line, payment is (a) by Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit card, or (b) with an already established positive balance account with the Nova Scotia Business Registry. No debit cards are accepted at this time.

Related Requirements:
The business must be registered with the Registry of Joint Stock Companies .
Additional Information:
Who is regulated under the Embalmers and Funeral Directors Act?
Companies (facilities or establishments) offering or providing funeral merchandise or services to the public.  Every location from which such services are provided must be licensed.

What is regulated?
The physical facilities, equipment, signs and location of premises offering funeral services and merchandise and the advertising practices of funeral homes.

Every establishment making application for a funeral home licence must have the following facilities:
(a) office
(b) access to preparation room
(c) casket display room
(d) reposing room
(e) public washroom
(f) a funeral coach
(g) a lowering device
(h) a grass mat
(i) a removal cot
(j) a hearse

Note: There are further details in the Regulations regarding facilities and equipment.

Legislative Authority:

The Embalmers and Funeral Directors Act, Revised Statutes of Nova Scotia, 1989, Chapter 144



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