The 14-Day Rule for Funerals in France

The Old Six-Day Rule

For decades, French law mandated that a burial or cremation must take place within six working days of the death. This rule was a constant source of panic for international families. Six working days sounds manageable until you factor in weekends, French public holidays, the time needed to fly family members to France, and the paperwork required for cross-border repatriation.

British families were routinely forced into expensive, rushed decisions — booking last-minute air freight instead of cheaper road transport, accepting the first repatriation quote without comparing options, or giving up on repatriation entirely and arranging a hasty local funeral because the clock ran out.

Any extension beyond six days required a formal application to the local préfecture, which involved paperwork, processing delays, and no guarantee of approval. Many families did not know extensions were possible until it was too late to apply.

Decree 2024-790 Changed Everything

On 10 July 2024, France enacted Decree No. 2024-790, which replaced the six-day working-day rule with a 14-calendar-day window. The new deadline runs from the day following the death.

Fourteen calendar days is a genuine game-changer for cross-border cases. It gives families enough time to:

• Travel to France from the UK without booking emergency flights
• Compare repatriation quotes from multiple funeral directors rather than accepting the first offer
• Gather the documents needed for a laissez-passer mortuaire (transit permit) without racing the clock
• Submit insurance claims and wait for approval before committing to a course of action
• Make a considered decision between local burial, local cremation, and repatriation

The extension applies universally — it is not limited to international cases. Every burial or cremation in France now operates under the 14-day window.

What Most Online Resources Still Get Wrong

This is where families run into trouble. Most English-language resources about death in France — expat blogs, forum threads, UK funeral director websites, and even some official government pages — still reference the old six-day rule. The information has not been updated to reflect Decree 2024-790.

If someone tells you that you must arrange a funeral within six days, that information is outdated. The current law is 14 calendar days. Do not let incorrect advice pressure you into a rushed and expensive decision.

That said, 14 days is still a firm deadline. If the burial or cremation cannot happen within 14 calendar days, contact the préfecture about a possible delay (dérogation) — approval is not automatic. So while the new rule provides breathing room, it is not unlimited.

How the Timeline Interacts with Repatriation

The 14-day clock governs when the disposition (burial or cremation) must happen on French soil. If you are repatriating the body to the UK, the clock effectively pauses once the remains are in transit — the disposition will happen in the UK under UK rules, which have no equivalent fixed deadline.

But all the French-side preparation must still happen within the 14 days: embalming, coffin sealing witnessed by a police or municipal officer, the laissez-passer application, and customs clearance. If any of these steps are delayed — by a prefecture closure over a weekend, by a backlog at the morgue, or by missing documents — the 14-day window can get tight.

Appointing a funeral director within the first 48 hours and getting the repatriation process started immediately is still essential, even with the longer timeline. The difference is that you now have a realistic amount of time to do it properly instead of cutting corners.

Extensions Beyond 14 Days

If a judicial hold prevents a burial or cremation within the ordinary window, the applicable 14-day period runs from the prosecutor's authorization. In other cases, the préfecture may grant a delay (dérogation) when particular circumstances justify it, but do not assume an extension is automatic.

Planning Around the Window

Our British Person Dies in France — Family Emergency Guide includes a day-by-day timeline template that maps every administrative step against the 14-day window, highlighting which tasks are deadline-critical and which can be handled in parallel. It is built around the current law — not the outdated six-day rule that still circulates online.