General Price List (GPL): What Funeral Homes Must Give You

The General Price List (GPL) is an itemized list of every good and service a funeral home sells, with a price for each. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, the home must hand you a printed copy to keep when you begin discussing funeral arrangements or prices in person. It must also give accurate prices by phone if you ask. The GPL lets you compare homes and choose only the items you want.

What is a General Price List?

The GPL is a price list that a "funeral provider" must have, and it is the basis of the FTC Funeral Rule (16 CFR Part 453). A funeral provider is a business that sells both funeral goods and funeral services to the public. The FTC says that can include a licensed funeral home, and also a cemetery or crematory that sells both goods and services. A cemetery that sells only plots is not covered.

The GPL is a consumer protection tool. Because every item has its own price, the home cannot force you into a bundle of things you don't want.

When must a funeral home give you the GPL?

The home must give you a GPL to keep when you start an in-person discussion about any of these:

• the type of funeral or disposition you want
• specific funeral goods or services
• the price of those goods or services

The FTC says the list must be given "to keep." Showing it on screen, offering it verbally or leaving it in a shared binder does not meet the rule.

What must be on the GPL?

The GPL must be printed or typed, unless a notebook, brochure or chart presents the same information just as clearly. It must show the funeral home's name, address and phone number, the title "general price list" and an effective date. It must list the price of each of these items, per unit, hour or mile where that applies:

• forwarding remains to another funeral home
• receiving remains from another funeral home
• direct cremation, with a price range that covers a container you provide and alternative containers
• immediate burial, with a price range that covers a casket you provide and containers the home supplies
• transfer of remains to the funeral home
• embalming
• other preparation of the body
• use of facilities and staff for a viewing
• use of facilities and staff for a funeral ceremony
• use of facilities and staff for a memorial service
• use of equipment and staff for a graveside service
• hearse and limousine

The GPL must also include required statements. The FTC lists six key ones:

1. You may choose only the items you want.
2. Embalming is not required by law except in certain special cases.
3. A direct cremation can use an alternative container, such as fiberboard, instead of a casket.
4. The basic services fee is added to the total, except where it is already included in the price of a direct cremation, an immediate burial or forwarding or receiving remains.
5. A price range for caskets, with a note that a complete casket price list is available, unless individual casket prices are on the GPL.
6. A price range for outer burial containers, with a note that a complete price list is available, unless individual prices are on the GPL.

The rule sets out the wording for several of these statements, so homes cannot reword them freely.

What is the basic services fee?

The basic services fee covers the funeral director's and staff's work to arrange the funeral. The FTC says it can include an arrangement conference, securing permits, preparing notices and coordinating with the cemetery or crematory. It is the only non-declinable fee the rule allows, unless another law requires a fee. A home can list it separately or build it into its casket prices, but it must say clearly which one it does.

What are the casket and outer burial container price lists?

If the GPL shows only price ranges for caskets or outer burial containers, the home must also give you separate printed lists before you look at the products. Each list must show retail prices, information that identifies each item, the funeral home's name and an effective date. They are titled "casket price list" and "outer burial container price list." An outer burial container is a grave liner or vault.

The last document is the contract-like summary. It must list each item you chose with its price, any cash advance items (third-party costs such as flowers or obituary notices) and the total. Compare it line by line to the GPL before you sign or pay.

Can you get prices by phone or online?

By phone, yes. The Funeral Rule requires a provider to give accurate information from its price lists, and other readily available information, when you call with questions about prices or services. The FTC says the home cannot require you to visit or give your name, address or phone number first.

Online, there is no requirement under the current rule. The FTC asked for public comment on possible changes to the rule in November 2022 and announced a public workshop in 2023 on potential amendments, including electronic disclosure of price lists. As of this update, the requirements described in this guide are the ones in effect, so check the FTC site for any new rule. In the meantime, ask any home to email you its GPL so you can compare at home.

What else does the Funeral Rule protect?

• No forced packages. A home may not make you buy one item as a condition of buying another, except where the law requires it. You can choose individual items.
• Outside caskets. A home cannot refuse a casket you bought elsewhere or charge a handling fee or surcharge. Our guides to bringing your own casket and buying a casket online explain the practical side.
• Embalming only with permission. A home may charge for embalming only if a law requires it, you gave express approval, or it could not reach the family after reasonable effort and had no reason to think they objected. It cannot require embalming for a direct cremation or immediate burial. See whether embalming is required by law.
• No caskets required for cremation. A home cannot say a casket is legally required for direct cremation.
• No false legal claims. A home cannot say that a law, cemetery or crematory requires a product unless that is true, and it must list any real requirement in writing on your statement.
• No preservation promises. A home cannot claim that a casket or vault will preserve remains indefinitely or offer protection it does not provide.
• Cash advance markups. If the home adds a charge to third-party items, it must say so on your statement.

What the rule does not cover

The Funeral Rule does not cover third-party sellers such as casket stores or monument dealers, or a cemetery that sells only goods without funeral services. Cemeteries that sell only plots may not have to give you a price list or let you choose items separately.

How to use the GPL to compare funeral homes

1. Call at least two or three homes and ask for the price of the service you want, such as a direct cremation, an immediate burial or a funeral with viewing. The price should include the basic services fee.
2. Ask each home to email or hand you its GPL so you can compare the same items.
3. Line up the items you actually want. Skip the ones you don't, such as a limousine or a formal procession.
4. Note any fee for a third-party casket or urn. There should be none.
5. When you arrange, review the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected against the GPL before you pay.

Our guides on shopping for funeral homes, funeral home fees explained and negotiating funeral prices give more ways to cut costs. See what direct cremation is if you want the lowest-cost option.

What if a funeral home breaks the rule?

Report it to your state funeral board, your state attorney general or the FTC. The FTC takes complaints at reportfraud.ftc.gov or 1-877-382-4357. The FTC's business guidance says violations can bring penalties of up to $53,088 per violation, a figure that is adjusted for inflation periodically. State laws add rules of their own, so also read our guide to state funeral laws.

What to do next

1. Ask two or three homes for a GPL by email or phone before you visit.
2. Decide which items you actually want, and skip the rest.
3. Write down your questions in advance. Our list of questions to ask a funeral director can help.
4. Keep every price list and your final statement of goods and services.