New tax ordinance regulates the municipal cemetery and funeral home fee

The City Council has made final the provisional plenary agreement of July 9, 2026, by which the fiscal ordinance regulating the municipal cemetery fee is approved, as no claims were filed during the public exhibition period. The full text is made public in the Official Gazette of the Province of Ciudad Real on August 28, 2026 (announcement number 2768), in compliance with article 17.4 of the Recast Text of the Law Regulating Local Treasuries, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004, of March 5.

The regulation is issued in exercise of the powers under articles 133.2 and 142 of the Spanish Constitution, articles 105 and 106 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, and articles 15 to 27 and 57 of the aforementioned Royal Legislative Decree 2/2004. Its purpose is to regulate the fee for the use of the municipality’s cemetery and funeral parlor services, affecting all residents in funeral proceedings.

Taxable event and obligated parties

The fee taxes the provision of cemetery services and the assignment of funeral rights over graves, niches, and pantheons, through the issuance of the corresponding funeral titles, as well as the inhumation and exhumation of corpses, the transfer of corpses, the placement and movement of tombstones, and the transfer of licenses and authorizations.

The taxable persons are the applicants for the authorization or the provision of the service, the holders of the funeral right and, where applicable, the holders of the granted authorization. The fee accrues from the moment the authorization or service is requested, and the obligated parties must perform the self-assessment and pay the amount to the City Council, at municipal offices or via bank transfer.

Fees and exemptions

The ordinance sets the following fees:

• Transfer of licenses to family members: €100.00
• Inhumation of corpses: €20.00
• Exhumation of a corpse: €20.00
• Exhumation of cadaveric remains: €20.00

Burials of corpses that are “poor of solemnity” (indigent burials) and inhumations ordered by the Judicial or Administrative Authority are exempt from payment.

Transfer of licenses and concessions

The change of the name of the holder of a grave may be requested due to death or by the will of the interested party, by submitting the documentation to the municipal Registry. If the holder has passed away, there is a period of 30 years to request the transfer, with a fee of €100.00; the return of the grave to the City Council is processed free of charge.

• Former perpetual concessions maintain the concession at 99 years.
• New concessions are granted for a maximum of 75 years.
• The deadline for resolution is 6 months, with a dismissive effect in the event of administrative silence.

The ordinance repeals the previous one and will enter into force after its final publication in the BOP, remaining in effect until its modification or repeal is agreed upon. An administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement before the Administrative Litigation Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Ciudad Real within two months of its publication.

The new regulation provides legal certainty to the municipality’s funeral procedures, unifying fees, deadlines, and conditions for grave concessions, and is of particular interest to families managing funeral rights or inheritances regarding graves.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Ciudad Real, August 28, 2026, City Councils section, pp. 23-25 (announcement number 2768; official reference: CVE aVsxtYdwJLR4uaLACoy9).