Funeral Directors

Before you apply, we recommend you: 

• Contact our Environmental Health team to discuss your licensing requirements

• Contact a duty planner to check if it is permitted to operate a Mortuary or Funeral Director at the proposed address. Please note, prior to issue of your Mortuary or Funeral Director registration certificate, we will need confirmation that you have either;

  • Applied for and been issued a resource consent (if needed), or

  • Your proposed Mortuary or Funeral Director location and activity is permitted under the District Plan.

• Be familiar with the Health (Burial) Regulations 1946.  This sets out of the legal requirements you need to comply with. 

  • Health (Burial) Regulations 1946    

• Contact one of our Building Officers to check whether a building consent is needed.

  • Please note, prior to issue of your Mortuary or Funeral Director registration certificate, we will need confirmation that you don’t need a consent or have applied for and been issued either a Code of Compliance Certificate (CCC) or Certificate of Public Use (CPU).

• Contact our  Trade Waste Officer to discuss any requirements under the  Trade Waste Bylaw.

Complete the form below, pay the fee and submit  your application using the following instructions:

How to pay your fees:  

Via online banking: 02 0948 0002000 00.  Please ensure you add  the identifying number, which can be found on the registration certificate (FD##), as a reference.  This will ensure the correct allocation of fees.    If you're a new business, please include your trading name. 

In person at any Council office.  We accept cash, eftpos, Mastercard or Visa.   

How to submit your application

Email it to services@qldc.govt.nz

You can also drop off your completed application at any of our Council offices.  

Please note, a pre-opening inspection will be completed prior to the issue of a registration certificate.

As part of any Mortuary registration, we'll assess your application against all the requirements of Section 21 of the Health (Burial) Regulations 1946. If these are met, a  ‘Certificate of Fitness’ will be issued as part of the registration certificate.

Once you receive your registration certificate you must clearly display it in a public part of the premises.

If you're taking over existing premises, you'll need to apply for a transfer within 14 days of taking over the business.   

After 14 days, the existing registration will lapse and you cannot transfer it into your name.
If the business is not registered, you need to apply for a new registration.

Transfer the registration into your name by completing and submitting the above Mortuary or Funeral Director registration form and pay the transfer fee.

The annual registration period for Mortuary’s or Funeral Director’s is  1 April - 31 May each year.

We'll send you a renewal application form and annual registration fee invoice before your expiry date.

New Mortuary or Funeral Director Registration and Renewal fee: $300.00 (GST Incl.)

Transfer of registration: $72.50

If you need any help, give us a call on 03 441 0499 (Queenstown) or 03 443 0024 (Wanaka)  or email us at 

services@qldc.govt.nz