What is a funeral concession?
Verified 09 November 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)
A funeral concession is a paid site in a cemetery (cellar, tomb). It can also be a place reserved for funeral urns (rip, box of one columbarium). The contract signed with the municipality (concession act) specifies the beneficiaries and the duration of the concession. We present you the information to know.
Offering funeral concessions (paying) is a faculty for municipalities (or EPCI: titleContent), not an obligation.
The granting of concessions and the allocation between concessions and common ground are the responsibility of the municipality or the EPCI.
To propose a burial in common ground (or common ground) is a obligation for municipalities.
The common ground consists ofindividual locations, in which the deceased are buried for free for a minimum period of 5 years.
The common ground welcomes anyone who chooses this burial or whose family makes this choice.
It also welcomes people without sufficient resources (or indigent).
You can be buried in a municipality if you have a family concession.
If not, you can apply for a concession (paid) in the municipality.
However, the mayor may refuse to issue a funeral concession, for example by citing a lack of places in the cemetery.
The Cemetery rules and regulations the municipality may lay down specific provisions. It is therefore useful to consult it before submitting your application.
A hut (or niche) in a colombarium is also a funeral concession. The rules are the same.
FYI
The rules are different for a burial in common ground.
To have the right to be buried (burial in common ground) in a municipality, one must be in one of the following situations:
- Be deceased in the municipality, regardless of the person's domicile
- Be domiciled in the municipality
- Be registered or fulfill the conditions to be registered on the electoral lists of the commune if you live abroad.
You have to make your acquisition request with the town hall on which the cemetery depends.
The procedures for making the request (on site, by post, etc.) are set by each municipality.
Concessions are distinguished by persons to whom they are reserved.
You can find the following concessions:
- Individual : it is reserved for the person who acquired it (only 1 name in the concession deed)
- Collective (or nominative): it is reserved for the persons designated in the concession deed (certain persons may be excluded by name)
- Family : it is reserved for the person who acquired it and for members of his direct family (including his wife or spouse).
FYI
A concession does not sell with a number of seats. This only gives an indication of the volume of the concession. If necessary, the funeral directors check the space left available in the concession since the previous entrance.
The concession is a simple right of use. The municipality remains the owner of the land.
The founder (or dealer) of the funeral concession is the person who acquires it.
His name appears in the deed of concession.
If the concession is acquired by more than one person, founders (or dealers).
If there are several purchasers, their names must be indicated in the concession deed. For example, when a concession is acquired by a couple (married or not), the names of the two spouses must appear in the deed so that they are all 2 considered as the founders of the concession.
The duration varies according to the types of concession following:
- Temporary: between 5 and 15 years
- Thirty years: 30 years
- Fifty years: 50 years
- Perpetual: unlimited duration (if maintained and there are still heirs).
Warning
Municipalities may propose one or more categories of concessions, according to their free choice.
The term of a funeral concession begins on the date of its acquisition.
The duration of the concession may be extended.
It is converted into a longer-term concession (for example, a 30-year-old concession into a 50-year-old concession), depending on the concession periods proposed by the municipality.
You must contact the town hall that granted the concession.
The price of a concession is set by the municipal council.
It varies from one municipality to another.
The price varies according to the duration and size of the concession.
It may also vary depending on the location of the concession.
It is proven by the act of concession.
It is handed over by the town hall to the purchaser of the concession.
The concession deed must be kept for the duration of the concession (with no limit for perpetual concessions).
Warning
A funeral concession cannot be presumed. In the absence of a deed of concession, it is a burial in common ground.
The city council keeps a register of concessions.
Concessions are administrative documents containing private information. He is possible to access it under conditions.
You can request a copy of a concession deed from the relevant town hall (preferably by mail) RAR: titleContent).
You must justify your situation (founder or beneficiary of the concession).
Please note
You cannot obtain a copy of the deed if the deceased objected to this communication during his lifetime.
During the lifetime of the purchaser
The concession belongs to the person who acquired it or to its purchasers if there are several (the founders or dealers).
The founder may modify the rules chosen when purchasing the concession.
For example, he can choose the people who can be buried in the concession, even if he has acquired a family concession (it is therefore a collective concession).
He or she may also refuse the burial of one or more persons.
The founder may give or bequeath the concessionunder strict conditions.
After the death of the purchaser
After the death of the person who acquired the concession, and in the absence of a disposition by will, the concession is transferred out of succession to his heirs (the rights holders).
It belongs to them in undivided. It is not possible to put an end to this division (we are talking aboutperpetual indivision).
FYI
When the owner of the concession dies, remember to give the address of the heirs to the cemetery manager.
The rights holders all have the same powers.
The rights holders may not modify the rules of the concession. This power is reserved for the founder. For example, they cannot authorize the burial of a person who has been excluded by the founder.
If one of the beneficiaries pays for the renewal of the concession, the payment is valid for all.
In the family concession, the direct heirs (and the surviving married, non-separated spouse) each have one right to burial within the limits of available locations.
The allocation of places in the vault is done according to the order of death in the family.
If a rights holder wants get out of indivision, he must draw up an act of waiver of his rights.
He must register with a notary.
Who shall I contact
FYI
Respect for the will of the founder is required at the town hall, during his lifetime as after his death. Any authorized burial that goes against the will of the founder is a fault that entails the responsibility of the City Hall.
In case of dispute between rights holders, it's the court of justice which may be called upon to decide.
For example, in case of disagreement on the burial of a person in the concession.
Who shall I contact
Information
The town hall must inform you the termination of the concession and your right to renew it, including by:
- Sign at the foot of the burial.
Approach
The person who can renew the concession depends on the situation:
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Founder of the concession
In the event that the temporary concession purchased by the founder must be renewed during his lifetime, the latter must apply to the town hall to which the cemetery depends, within 2 years following the expiry of the concession.
The rate is the one in effect at the time of renewal.
It is not possible to carry out an early renewal.
Heirs of the founder of the concession
If you are heir to the concession, you can apply for renewal.
You must justify your situation (family record book, concession deed, etc.).
You must apply for renewal at the town hall where the cemetery depends, within 2 years following the expiry of the concession.
The rate is the one in effect at the time of renewal.
It is not possible to carry out an early renewal.
Other person
In the absence of an heir, you can also apply for renewal if a member of your family was buried in the concession (we are talking about person with an interest in acting).
Please note
Renewal gives you no right to be buried in the grave.
You must apply for renewal at the town hall where the cemetery depends, within 2 years following the expiry of the concession.
You must justify of your situation.
The rate is the one in effect at the time of renewal.
It is not possible to carry out an early renewal.
Retrocession to the municipality
You can return the concession which you have acquired (and which is empty of any body), for example in the event of a move or a change in the choice of funeral.
The application is made to the town hall on which the cemetery depends.
If the municipality accepts your request, you can be refunded part of the price paid, according to the rules set by the municipality (but this is not an obligation for it).
FYI
Retrocession is no longer possible after the death of the purchaser (founder) of the concession.
Non-renewal of a limited-term concession
If you do not ask for the renewal of a concession of limited duration, the municipality can take it back.
The resumption by the town hall may take place after a 2-year delay following the expiry of the concession.
Please note
To use a dealership within the 2-year period before taking over, you must apply for renewal.
Abandoned concession
If you allow a concession to deteriorate seriously (a collapsing monument, for example), the municipality can see its state of abandonment.
This is the case, for example, if it makes one of the following findings:
- Indecent or dilapidated
- Invasion by brambles or other parasitic plants.
The town hall which finds the state of abandonment warns, if it knows them, the following persons:
- Descendants (or successors) of the founders of the concession
- Possibly, persons responsible for the maintenance of the concession.
FYI
The notice of abandonment is posted at the town hall and the cemetery door.
The city hall can start a take-back procedure if the following 4 conditions are met:
- The concession is more than 30 years old
- The last burial was at least 10 years ago
- The family or person responsible for the maintenance of the concession shall be informed
- A waiting period of 1 year from the date of the abandonment is respected.
Please note
If a person dead for France is buried in the concession, a minimum period of 50 years must be respected from the time of his burial.
Who can help me?
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Administrative information by telephone - Allô Service Public
For more information on this subject, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Please note: the service does not have access to users' personal files and therefore cannot provide information on their progress.
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