Recognising Industry Excellence
This year’s Scottish Funeral Awards Is about to undertake its biggest change since its creation over 5 years ago. After listening to feedback and consulting with various businesses and experts from the sector we are delighted to announce our new categories and judging procedures moving forward.
We will be announcing our industry judging panel which will oversee submissions and pick our winners. For certain categories we will have site visits to inspect the business by Industry experts helping to improve the judging process. Its vitally important that our winners are fully inspected. With increased media and public attention, we will continue to build an event the industry can get behind and be proud to support.
Registration is now open for all businesses to take part. Moving forward, all Registrations and Nominations will be vetted prior to the final shortlist being announced. This will help make sure everyone is in the correct category for their business.
Categories
Best Specialist Funeral Service
Celebrates a provider offering something truly different in the funeral sector — whether it’s cultural expertise, eco-conscious services, or highly tailored support. This award recognises those who bring creativity and innovation to meet families’ unique needs with professionalism and care.
Outstanding Contribution to the Funeral Industry
Reserved for someone who has shaped the future of the profession through innovation, leadership, or long-standing dedication. This award honours individuals or organisations whose work has influenced not only colleagues but also the wider communities they serve.
Outstanding Customer Service
More than kindness alone, this award recognises excellence in listening, responsiveness, and attention to detail. It celebrates those who treat every family as though they were their own, setting the highest standards for service and compassion.
Scotland’s Best Funeral Officiant
A great officiant brings stories to life and gives comfort when words are hardest to find. This award recognises the individual who can craft a ceremony that reflects the personality of the deceased while offering solace to those left behind.
Scotland’s Best Memorial Company
Memorials stand as lasting symbols of love and remembrance. This award honours a company that combines artistry, craftsmanship, and empathy to create tributes that provide comfort for generations to come.
Scotland’s Best Crematorium
Acknowledging a crematorium that excels in both practical service and emotional support. This award highlights facilities that provide dignity, respect, and calm surroundings, helping families through one of life’s most difficult moments.
Scotland’s Best Family-Owned Business
Family businesses often carry traditions across generations. This award recognises those who balance heritage with modern service, proving that family ownership can bring a unique warmth, integrity, and community spirit to funeral care.
Scotland’s Best Florist
Flowers speak when words cannot. This award celebrates a florist whose arrangements go beyond decoration — turning petals and colour into messages of love, memory, and respect that truly enhance a service.
Scotland’s Best Female Undertaker
Recognises an outstanding female professional who has brought leadership, compassion, and strength to the funeral profession. This award celebrates her dedication and the positive difference she makes in a traditionally male-dominated field.
Scotland’s Best Funeral Director (50–100 funerals)
Smaller in scale but not in impact, this award celebrates a director who delivers personal, attentive care across 50–100 funerals annually. Their commitment ensures every family receives a service shaped around their needs.
Scotland’s Best Funeral Director (100–250 funerals)
Awarded to a director who balances scale with sensitivity. Managing 100–250 funerals a year, they uphold the highest standards of professionalism while never losing sight of the personal touches that matter most.
Scotland’s Best Funeral Director (250–500 funerals)
Recognising a leader who combines organisational skill with heartfelt compassion. This award goes to a director managing 250–500 services annually while consistently maintaining excellence across every aspect of their work.
Scotland’s Best Funeral Director (500–1000 funerals)
Honours a professional who has mastered the challenge of high-volume service without compromising on dignity, detail, or care. Managing 500–1000 funerals each year, they embody dedication at scale.
Scotland’s Best Funeral Director (1000+ funerals)
Awarded to a director operating at the highest level, overseeing 1000 or more funerals annually. This category recognises their ability to maintain excellence, consistency, and compassion across an impressive scale of service.
Best Memorial Product Supplier
From headstones to keepsakes, memorial products preserve connections to loved ones. This award recognises suppliers who combine quality, reliability, and thoughtfulness in the items that help families remember.
Scotland’s Best Funeral Director
The most prestigious category, recognising the very best overall. This award honours a funeral director who sets the benchmark for the industry — a true leader in compassion, professionalism, and service.
Scotland’s Best Improved Funeral Director
Celebrates transformation and progress within the profession. Whether through innovation, training, or improved services, this award goes to a director who has made remarkable strides in recent years.
Scotland’s Best Funeral Cortege
The cortege is the final journey, and this award recognises the team who makes that moment dignified and memorable. From presentation to precision, they deliver excellence in every detail.
Scotland’s Best Care Team
Behind every successful funeral director is a team who supports families day and night. This award celebrates the strength, compassion, and dedication of those who work together to make a difference.
The Wow Moment Award
Sometimes one gesture, act, or detail creates a memory that families treasure forever. This award recognises the business that went far beyond expectation to deliver a moment of unforgettable care.
Charity Partners
“ACCORD Hospice is delighted to be one of the charities who will benefit from the upcoming Scottish Funeral Awards which is taking place in Glasgow during August this year. It’s great to see Funeral Directors are being recognised for the exceptional work they do in communities across Scotland at the most difficult time of people’s lives. We want to wish all the nominees involved the best of luck for the awards night.”
SiMBA is here to support anyone who has been affected by the loss of a baby during pregnancy or close to the time of birth. Baby loss is a grief unlike any other and we are so very grateful to be chosen as a joint beneficiary of this event; to have the opportunity to thank those who have with their empathy and understanding, helped to make the next steps in our families’ journeys a little easier. SiMBA’s CEO Sara Fitzsimmons, MBE, has been chosen to sit on the judging panel for the Scottish Funeral Awards and we would like to wish everyone who has been nominated the very best of luck. For full details of all of SiMBA’s services please visit www.simbacharity.org.uk.
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