Funeral General Price List: Required Disclosures and Itemization

A funeral general price list, or GPL, is the itemized price document every funeral home in the United States must hand you, in print, the moment you begin an in-person conversation about services or costs. The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule has required it since 1984. It lists individual prices for sixteen specific goods and services, carries six disclosure statements written into federal regulation, and is yours to keep and take home whether you buy anything or not.

When and How You Must Receive the GPL

The printed list has to be in your hands at the start of the discussion, not after you’ve toured the facility, chosen a casket, or signed anything.¹ Flipping through a binder on the funeral director’s desk or scrolling a screen does not satisfy the rule. The regulation requires a printed or typewritten copy given “for retention,” so you can walk out with it and compare it against lists from other providers on your own time.²

Your reason for asking is irrelevant. The rule covers “any person who inquires in person,” which includes people planning ahead for themselves, someone helping a friend, or simply a curious shopper, and it applies equally to pre-need and at-need arrangements.³⁴

On the phone, staff have to answer price questions accurately from their price lists and share any readily available information that reasonably responds to what you asked.⁵ They are not required to mail or email you a copy of the GPL in response to a call. The Funeral Rule also does not currently require funeral homes to post prices online.³ Some providers do voluntarily; some states have moved to require it. Under federal law, in-person handoff of the printed list is still the only guaranteed way to see one.

The Six Required Disclosures

Alongside the prices, the GPL must carry six specific disclosure statements. The FTC dictates both the content and, in places, the exact wording.³

Right To Choose Individual Items

You can select only the goods and services you want. A funeral home cannot force you into a pre-set package. The single exception is the basic services fee, which every customer pays regardless of the arrangement.³

Embalming Is Usually Not Legally Required

No federal law requires embalming under any circumstances.³ Some states require it in narrow situations, such as when remains will not be buried or cremated within a set number of days. A funeral home cannot tell you embalming is legally required unless that is actually true in your jurisdiction, and the GPL must inform you that arrangements not requiring embalming, such as direct cremation or immediate burial, are available.

Alternative Containers for Direct Cremation

If you are arranging a direct cremation, you do not need to buy a casket. You can use an alternative container instead: an unfinished wood box or an enclosure made of fiberboard, pressed wood, or similar materials, without ornamentation or a fixed interior lining.⁶

The Basic Services Fee

This fee covers the funeral director’s core work: the arrangements conference, obtaining permits, preparing obituary notices, sheltering remains, and coordinating with cemeteries, crematories, and other third parties. It can also include general overhead. The GPL has to state that the fee will be added to whatever you select, and that it is already built into the quoted prices for direct cremation, immediate burial, and forwarding or receiving remains.¹ It is the only non-declinable charge the rule allows. A second mandatory fee, such as a separate “basic facilities fee,” violates the rule.³

Casket and Outer Burial Container Price Lists

The GPL must tell you that separate price lists exist for caskets and for outer burial containers, unless the funeral home simply includes those prices on the GPL itself.³ When separate lists are used, the funeral home must offer you the relevant list before showing you the merchandise, so you see prices before you see products.²

The Sixteen Itemized Goods and Services

The heart of the GPL is line-item pricing. Each price appears as a flat fee or a rate per hour, mile, or other unit. A provider only lists items it actually offers, but any offered item on this list must carry its price.

Basic services of funeral director and staff, the non-declinable fee.
Forwarding of remains to another funeral home, with a list of what the price includes.
Receiving of remains from another funeral home, likewise itemized.
Direct cremation, shown as a price range with separate prices when you supply your own container and for each option that includes an alternative container.¹
Immediate burial, structured the same way, with a price range and breakouts for buyer-provided caskets and each package that includes one.
Transfer of remains to the funeral home from a hospital, home, or other location.
Embalming, priced on its own so families who decline it can see the cost they avoid.
Other preparation of the body, including cosmetic work, hairdressing, and dressing and casketing.
Use of facilities and staff for viewing.
Use of facilities and staff for a funeral ceremony.
Use of facilities and staff for a memorial service (without the body present).
Use of equipment and staff for a graveside service.
Hearse.
Limousine.
Casket prices, either as individual prices or as a price range with a note that a full casket price list is available at the funeral home.¹
Outer burial container prices, with the same two options.

The itemization is what lets a family wanting, for example, a simple graveside service with no viewing, no embalming, and no limousine see exactly which charges apply and which do not.⁷

Cash Advance Items and Markups

Cash advance items are third-party costs the funeral home pays on your behalf and passes through: cemetery or crematory fees, clergy honoraria, flowers, musicians, obituary notices, death certificates, pallbearers. Because the amounts originate outside the funeral home, they do not appear as fixed prices on the GPL. But if the funeral home charges you more than it paid the third party, it must disclose that. The itemized statement has to identify which cash advance items carry a service charge. Representing that you are paying what the funeral home paid, when that is not true, is a deceptive practice under the rule.⁷

Your Right To Use an Outside Casket or Urn

You do not have to buy the casket or urn from the funeral home handling the service. The Funeral Rule lets you purchase one from any outside source, whether an online retailer, an independent casket store, or a warehouse club, and have it delivered.⁸ The funeral home cannot refuse to accept it, cannot require you to be present for delivery, and cannot charge any handling or acceptance fee. The basic services fee is the only non-declinable charge allowed, and adding a second one for outside merchandise violates the rule.⁷ Casket markups at funeral homes can be substantial, so this right is often where the biggest single savings come from.

The Final Itemized Statement

Once you have selected your goods and services, the funeral home must give you a written, itemized statement listing everything you chose, all cash advance items, and the total cost.⁷ If any item is required by law rather than by your choice, the statement must identify the specific law that requires it. Generic labels like “required” without a legal basis do not satisfy the rule. Keep this statement along with your copy of the GPL.

Who the Rule Covers

The Funeral Rule applies to any provider that sells both funeral goods and funeral services: traditional funeral homes, mortuaries, and cemeteries with an on-site funeral home. It does not apply to stand-alone cemeteries or mausoleums that do not sell funeral services, and it does not cover third-party sellers like independent casket dealers or monument companies.⁴ If you buy a casket from an online retailer, that retailer is not bound by the disclosure requirements, though the funeral home providing the service still is.

What To Do If a Funeral Home Breaks the Rule

Refusing to give you a GPL, dodging telephone price questions, claiming embalming is legally required when it is not, or charging a fee for accepting an outside casket are all potential violations. The FTC suggests raising the issue with the funeral director first. If that does not resolve it, you can file a complaint with the FTC online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).⁹ The FTC does not resolve individual disputes but can take enforcement action against providers with a pattern of violations. Your state attorney general and local consumer protection offices can also investigate, and many states impose additional funeral industry requirements. Violations of the Funeral Rule carry civil penalties of up to $53,088 per incident.³

1
eCFR. 16 CFR 453.2 – Price Disclosures
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eCFR. 16 CFR 453.2 – Price Disclosures
3
Federal Trade Commission. Complying with the Funeral Rule
4
BulkOrder.FTC.gov. Shopping for Funeral Services
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eCFR. 16 CFR 453.2 – Price Disclosures
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eCFR. 16 CFR 453.1 – Definitions
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eCFR. 16 CFR Part 453 – Funeral Industry Practices
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Federal Trade Commission. The FTC Funeral Rule
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Federal Trade Commission. Funeral Terms and Contact Information