China: Three departments issue subsidy policies to promote ecological burial

Date: January 27th, 2026

The National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Ministry of Finance of China jointly issued a notice to provide "appropriate rewards and subsidies" for ecological burial methods such as tree burial and deep burial without leaving graves, as part of the national funeral service price reform to reduce funeral costs and promote green practices.

Notice to establish a new two-tier pricing system: basic services will be priced under government guidance by provincial governments; Non basic service fees must be charged within the scope recommended by the government. The notice clearly prohibits funeral institutions from charging any fees beyond the prescribed items, and requires institutions to disclose all service fees and funeral supplies prices.

After the State Council announced the revised "Regulations on Funeral Management" on January 8th, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance jointly issued the "Notice on Further Improving the Funeral Service Fee Policy" (NDRC Price [2026] No. 108) on January 27th. This notice is the first important supporting policy implementation of the revised Regulations. Its core is to establish a model of "national basic project list+two-level pricing system+full process supervision" to ensure the public welfare nature of funeral services from the perspective of price formation mechanism.

The following is a summary of the core points of the notice from the three departments: