The goal is to ensure that the statutory services of the funeral services can be provided to a high standard in the future as well, even if the government funding allocated to the funeral services decreases. These services include funeral services, cemeteries and the related maintenance.

The preparation will be transferred to the Espoo joint church council and the Espoo Joint Parish Council for decision-making. We will announce any changes once the decisions have been made. Similar preparations are also under way in the Parish unions of Helsinki and Vantaa. 

Why are the fees increased? 

Funeral services are a statutory task assigned to parishes and supported by the central government. The Ministry of Education and Culture grants annual funding to the Evangelical Lutheran Church for statutory tasks related to funeral services, population records and the maintenance of buildings and movable property of cultural historical value. Funeral service costs are covered by central government funds and customer fees.  Customer fees must be the same for both church members and non-church members. The church tax is not enough to cover the costs of funeral services.  

The amount of the Finnish central government funding allocated to parishes has significantly reduced in recent years. This has a direct impact on the funding of funeral services. Decisions on price increases will be prepared and discussed in the Parish unions of Espoo, Helsinki and Vantaa in November and December. The Federation of Tampere Evangelical Lutheran Parishes and several smaller parishes have already announced increases in funeral fees earlier this year, as the share covered by the government no longer covers all statutory costs. 

What does this mean for Espoo residents? 

The potential increase in prices will affect the fees of funeral services and burial spots in a way that the fees still only cover the costs of providing the service. Parishes do not earn any profits from these services. The new prices, the amounts of the increases and the date they enter into force will be announced well in advance if the Joint Parish Council (yhteinen kirkkovaltuusto in Finnish) approves the changes. 

Why are we announcing potential increases already? 

We want to openly express the reasons that affect the prices of funeral services, to monitor general developments and make decisions in a responsible and transparent manner.  

Schedule for fee increases and the relevant decision-making 

After the preparation phase, the potential proposal for changes to the funeral fees will be submitted to the Joint Parish Board (yhteinen kirkkoneuvosto in Finnish) of the Espoo Parish Union on 17 November and then to the Joint Parish Council of the Espoo Parish Union on 17 December 2025. Once the decisions have been made, we will publish a new price list of the funeral fees and the date they come into use. 

Further information: 

Juha Ollila, Head of Funeral Services, Espoo Parish Union, juha.ollila@evl.fi, 050 594 5304. 
Risto Hämäläinen, Director of the Parish Union, Espoo Parish Union, risto.hamalainen@evl.fi, 09 8050 1 (switchboard). 
Elina Ylikoski, Communications Director, Espoo Parish Union, elina.ylikoski@evl.fi, 040 550 9393.

Check also the Frequently Asked Questions related to the funeral fees increase.