Honest Funeral

What you can decline

Nine things a funeral home cannot make you buy.

Most families walk into the arrangement meeting assuming everything on the list is required. It isn’t. These are the nine biggest line items that are legally or practically optional.

The one question that changes the conversation

“Can I see your itemized General Price List before we begin?”

Under the FTC Funeral Rule, every funeral home must give you a printed General Price List when you ask in person, and must give accurate price information over the phone. Asking tells the director you know your rights — and the prices quoted after that are usually more honest.

  1. Embalming, in most states

    FTC Funeral Rule · 16 CFR 453.3 and 453.5

    No US state requires embalming for every death. About 15 states require either embalming or refrigeration after 24–48 hours, and a few require embalming for cross-state transport or for certain communicable diseases. Refrigeration is a legal alternative in every state. If a funeral home tells you state law requires embalming, that is almost always false — and itself an FTC Funeral Rule violation.

    What to say

    “We’re not having embalming. We understand it isn’t legally required for the service we’re planning.”

  2. A casket from the funeral home

    FTC Funeral Rule · 16 CFR 453.4

    Federal law requires the funeral home to accept a casket you buy from any third-party vendor — Costco, Amazon, a local casket store — at no additional handling fee. Funeral home casket markups run 300–500% above wholesale. A $1,200 casket elsewhere is routinely $4,000–$6,000 through the home.

    What to say

    “We’ll be bringing our own casket. Please confirm there’s no handling charge — I know federal law prohibits one.”

  3. A package — you can line-item everything

    FTC Funeral Rule — itemized price disclosure

    Funeral homes often present three tiers (basic, standard, premium). You are not required to pick a package. You can ask for the itemized General Price List and build your own combination from it. The only non-declinable charge is the basic services fee.

  4. A ‘protective’ casket seal

    Consumer protection — no legal basis for protection claims

    A sealed or ‘protective’ casket does not preserve remains or extend anything beyond what a standard casket does. The FTC Funeral Rule prohibits funeral homes from making preservation or protection claims about caskets that the casket cannot deliver. You’re paying for the name, not for any actual added preservation.

    What to say

    “We’re not interested in the protective seal. A standard casket is fine.”

  5. A concrete burial vault (in most places)

    Cemetery rule, not law

    Burial vaults or concrete grave liners are required by many cemeteries to keep the ground from settling. They are not required by law. Ask the cemetery for their minimum requirement, and buy the cheapest option that meets it. Upgrade ‘protective’ vaults are almost always optional.

    What to say

    “We’d like the most basic liner that meets the cemetery’s minimum requirement. Please show us that option.”

  6. A family limousine

    Pure upsell

    The family limo is not a service charge, a transport requirement, or a legal fee. It is transportation you are renting. Most families can drive themselves. This alone saves $150–$600.

    What to say

    “We’ll be driving ourselves to the cemetery. Please remove the limo.”

  7. Newspaper obituary placement through the funeral home

    Not required

    The funeral home will often charge a placement fee on top of what the newspaper charges. You can submit an obituary directly to any newspaper yourself, and most online obituary publications are free.

  8. Funeral-home-sourced flowers, programs, and memorial cards

    Not required

    Flowers through a funeral home are marked up 40–60% above a florist. Programs cost a fraction if you print them locally or at home. These are not required to be sourced through the funeral home.

    What to say

    “We’ll handle the flowers, programs, and obituary ourselves. Please leave those off the bill.”

  9. A specific cemetery or headstone vendor

    No bundling requirement

    The funeral home may suggest a cemetery or a monument company. Those referrals often involve referral fees. You can choose any cemetery that serves your area and buy a headstone direct from a monument company — funeral home markup on stones is among the highest in the industry.

One thing the FTC Funeral Rule does not cover

The Funeral Rule applies to funeral homes. It does not apply to cemeteries, crematories, or third-party sellers. Many of the upsells families face at burial — vaults, opening and closing, headstones, plot fees — come from the cemetery, not the funeral home. Those are governed by state law and the cemetery’s own contract. Ask the cemetery for its written rules in writing before you sign anything.

What to do if a funeral home refuses to honor any of these rights

File a complaint at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and with your state attorney general or state funeral board. Funeral homes face real penalties for Funeral Rule violations — but only if families report them.

Bring this into the meeting, not just into your head.

The printable cheat sheet has every line item, a fair price for your zip code, and word-for-word decline scripts on one page.

Open the Arrangement Kit