French General Code of Local Authorities
In forceI.-Any person offering for sale a vehicle for transporting a corpse before burial, an insulated body or a cooling system likely to be installed in such a vehicle is required to have a model of the series placed on the market checked each year for compliance with the requirements of the articles D. 2223-110 to D. 2223-114 from a third-party body accredited for these activities by the Comité français d'accréditation (COFRAC) or by any other accreditation body that is a signatory to the multilateral recognition agreement established within the framework of the European Coordination of Accreditation Bodies (European Cooperation for Accreditation or "EA") in accordance with the general criteria relating to the operation of the various types of bodies carrying out inspections. It provides the purchaser with a copy of the inspection report. The body carrying out the conformity check must not have any links of interest with any company involved in the marketing of the vehicle, the insulated box or the cooling system, such as to affect its impartiality and independence.
Responsibility for compliance testing is assumed by the body accredited in accordance with the provisions of the previous paragraph.
Tests carried out under the provisions of Article D. 2223-111 are carried out by laboratories accredited for these tests by the Comité français d'accréditation (COFRAC) or by any other accreditation body that is a signatory to the multilateral recognition agreement established within the framework of the European Coordination of Accreditation Bodies (European Cooperation for Accreditation or "EA"), in accordance with the general requirements relating to the competence of calibration and testing laboratories.
The seller shall identify the vehicle, housing or cooling system belonging to a series that has undergone a conformity check by an irremovable plate or an unalterable engraving indicating the designation of the accredited inspection body, the series number, the date and the references of the check.
A copy of the inspection report shall be sent without delay by the purchaser to the prefect competent to issue authorisation in the funeral field.
II.-Vehicles manufactured in accordance with either French standards, foreign standards or the technical specifications provided for in the regulations of a Member State of the European Union or of a State party to the agreement establishing the European Economic Area ensuring a recognised equivalent level of protection are presumed to comply with the requirements of articles D. 2223-110 to D. 2223-114. The references of these standards and regulations are published in the Journal officiel de la République française.
New vehicles belonging to a series that has been certified by a qualified body as complying with a standard recognised as equivalent are exempt from the conformity inspection prior to their entry into circulation provided for in I of this article.
The producer or distributor of these vehicles shall identify the vehicle, casing or cooling system before placing it on the market by means of an irremovable plate or an indelible engraving indicating the series designation, the certification references, the reference to the standard concerned and the references of the certifying body. He will provide the purchaser of the vehicle with a certificate in duplicate showing the same details.
The purchaser of the vehicle, casing or cooling system is required to send a copy of the attestation mentioned in the previous paragraph without delay to the prefect competent to issue a funeral authorisation.
III.-The registration certificate provided for in article R. 322-2 of the Highway Code for vehicles used to transport bodies before coffining must specify that these vehicles are classified as "specialised self-propelled vehicles" (VASP), "funeral van" bodywork (FG FUNER).
