FTC Funeral Rule Rights: Prices, Choices, and Written Statements

Direct answer and scope

A practical first step is to determine whether the business fits the federal definition of a funeral provider: a business that sells or offers both funeral goods and funeral services to the public. The federal duties described here attach through that definition. A business selling only a particular type of merchandise or a third party involved in another part of the transaction should not automatically be treated as covered on the same facts.

A covered provider must give accurate price information by telephone when asked. It may not require the caller to provide a name, address, or telephone number before answering. A caller can ask for prices without identifying a consumer or committing to an arrangement. The telephone response is not the final written statement for selected goods and services, and it does not establish current availability or a final total.

During an in-person discussion about funeral goods, funeral services, or their prices, the provider must give the person a General Price List that the person can keep. The federal telephone right does not independently require the provider to email or mail that list or post it online, although a business may choose to provide access in those ways. Additional state or local requirements must be checked separately.

How to use the official evidence

Keep each record connected to the stage when it was provided. For a telephone inquiry, note the specific goods or services asked about and the prices given. At an applicable in-person discussion, retain the General Price List offered by the provider. After making arrangements, obtain the separate written statement before payment. A price list, advertisement, telephone answer, worksheet, or incomplete quote should not be treated as the selected-goods-and-services statement.

On the General Price List, look for the disclosure that consumers may choose only the goods and services they want, subject to the basic-services fee and items required by law or by a cemetery or crematory. The list also carries a prescribed disclosure for the non-declinable basic-services fee and identifies that fee's price. The disclosure and the listed price are separate fields to preserve. A charge cannot be classified from its label alone.

The General Price List also carries the prescribed embalming disclosure explaining that embalming is not required by law except in certain special cases. If the provider offers direct cremation, the list must include the conditional disclosure that alternative containers are available for direct cremation. That requirement does not establish that any particular provider currently offers direct cremation or that a particular container will be accepted.

After selections are made and before payment, the written statement must list each selected good and service, each individual price, cash-advance items, and the total cost. If an item was represented as required by law, a cemetery, or a crematory, the statement must identify and explain that requirement. Preserve both the stated reason and the category of authority without assuming that the requirement applies.

Decision framework

Before choosing goods or services, ask for prices by telephone if that is the shopping method being used. Ask about each relevant item separately rather than treating the response as a final total. If the conversation moves to an in-person discussion covered by the Rule, ask for and retain the General Price List. Compare the requested items with the disclosures and prices actually shown on that document.

Build the arrangement from the items wanted. The Funeral Rule permits itemized selection rather than requiring acceptance of an unwanted package. Under the federal selection framework, the basic-services fee is the only non-declinable funeral-provider fee. Other items may be required by law or by a cemetery or crematory, but an actual requirement depends on current written authority and the facts of the arrangement.

If a package is selected, keep its documented components visible on the written statement. Do not divide a package price among components when the document does not make that allocation, and do not infer missing components. The existence of a package does not by itself resolve whether the written statement accurately records the selected arrangement.

For embalming, ask whether it was selected or authorized and preserve the provider's written explanation. The Funeral Rule requires prior approval when the consumer did not select embalming, subject to its limited exception framework. The General Price List's embalming disclosure and any authorization record should be considered separately because they document different parts of the transaction.

Limits and what to verify next

Federal materials provide a framework for identifying documents, disclosures, selections, and prices, but a factual record must still be examined in context. A telephone answer does not show a final total or availability. A General Price List is not the arrangement's written statement. A differently named charge cannot be classified solely by its title, and an undocumented package amount should not be allocated among individual components.

When a provider says an item is required, request the written explanation on the selected-goods-and-services statement and identify whether the claimed authority is a law, cemetery requirement, or crematory requirement. Then verify the current written authority with the relevant regulator, cemetery, crematory, or other authoritative source. The federal disclosure does not establish that the claimed requirement exists or applies to the particular arrangement.

Questions about embalming may involve authorization, an asserted exception, or separate health and care considerations. Preserve the General Price List disclosure, the selection or authorization record, and any written explanation. Current official sources or qualified professional guidance should be used for questions about applicable public-health rules or individual circumstances.

State and local rules can add duties beyond the federal framework. The federal distinction between telephone information and an in-person General Price List should not be used to dismiss a separate state law, local rule, settlement, or business promise concerning mailed, electronic, or online price access. Verify current requirements in the jurisdiction where the arrangements occur.

Evidence behind this page

Each point below is restricted to what the cited primary source supports. Administrative listing status is not a quality endorsement.