Texas Funeral Costs: Real Prices, Laws and How to Compare

Texas has no official average funeral price. The NFDA's 2023 national medians were $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $6,280 for one with viewing and cremation. Inside Texas, prices swing widely from one funeral home to the next: a 2026 survey of about 50 Austin-area funeral homes found direct cremation priced from $695 to $4,210 for the same basic service.

How much does a funeral cost in Texas?

The NFDA medians leave out the cemetery plot, the opening and closing fee and the marker. The Austin figures come from the price lists of funeral homes in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties, collected by volunteers between January and March 2026. They are a snapshot, and some listed price lists are older, so ask any funeral home for the effective date of the list it quotes. No comparable verified survey for Houston, Dallas or San Antonio turned up in our research. The Funeral Consumers Alliance has affiliates in Central Texas, North Texas and San Antonio if you want local help.

Direct cremation is an arrangement with no viewing or service, and immediate burial is the burial equivalent. Both cost far less than a funeral with a viewing. Our guides cover direct cremation in Texas, cremation costs in Texas and burial costs in Texas.

How do you compare Texas funeral homes?

Under the FTC Funeral Rule, funeral homes must give you prices over the phone without asking who you are, and give you a General Price List to keep. They must also let you choose individual items instead of a package.

1. Call at least three funeral homes, including some 20 to 25 miles away. The Austin survey notes most providers travel at least 25 miles one way before adding a mileage charge, and distance matters little for direct cremation if you hold a memorial later.
2. Ask the same questions each time: the total for the exact service, the effective date of the price list, and what the refrigeration charge is. The survey found some funeral homes charge more than $50 a day for refrigeration.
3. Compare totals, not packages. See how to read a General Price List.

What costs extra in Texas?

The funeral home's price usually does not include the cemetery plot, opening and closing the grave, a grave liner and a marker. Many cemeteries require a grave liner or vault under their own rules, so ask before you buy one. Cash advance items such as obituaries, flowers, clergy payments and death certificates are also separate.

You can buy a casket elsewhere. The FTC says a funeral home cannot refuse it or charge a fee to handle it.

What does Texas law require?

Is there a waiting period before cremation?

Yes. A Texas crematory cannot cremate remains within 48 hours of the time of death listed on the death certificate. A justice of the peace or medical examiner in the county where the death occurred, or a court order, can waive the wait. Cremation also needs a signed authorization form from the person with the right to control disposition, and the form tells them that unclaimed cremated remains may be disposed of 121 days after cremation.

Is embalming required?

No. Texas does not require embalming, and the FTC says no state requires it for every death. The Funeral Consumers Alliance of Central Texas says that after 24 hours a body must be kept between 34 and 40 degrees F, placed in an odor-proof and leak-proof container, or be embalmed. Many funeral homes will not allow a public viewing without embalming, so ask about refrigeration and a private family viewing. See embalming and the law.

Do you need a casket for cremation?

No. A funeral home that offers cremation must make alternative containers available, made from materials such as unfinished wood, pressed wood, fiberboard or cardboard.

Can your family handle the funeral without a funeral director?

Partly. A family can be closely involved in care, a home viewing and a simple burial. The Funeral Consumers Alliance of Central Texas notes, however, that the public cannot use the state's electronic death registry, so you will need a funeral director or mortuary service to handle the death certificate, and some charge a fee for it. Burial on private property inside a city or town is subject to local zoning, and the same group says burial outside a municipality is generally unregulated. See home funeral laws by state.

Who has the right to decide?

Under Texas Health and Safety Code 711.002, the order is usually:

1. the person the deceased named in a signed written instrument
2. the surviving spouse
3. an adult child
4. a parent
5. an adult sibling
6. the executor or administrator of the estate
7. the next adult relative in line to inherit

A person can lose the right if they were arrested in connection with a family-violence homicide involving the deceased, or if the deceased had a protective order against them. If someone with priority does not make arrangements within the statutory time after notice of the death, the right can pass to the next person. Naming an agent in writing ahead of time avoids disputes.

Who pays, and what help exists?

• The estate. Texas Estates Code 355.102 puts funeral expenses, up to $15,000, in the highest-priority class of claims. This helps a funeral home get paid from an estate, but it only matters if the estate has assets.
• Prepaid plans. The Texas Department of Banking supervises sellers of prepaid funeral contracts. Before you sign, ask how your money is held and what happens if you move or the price changes.
• Veterans. A national cemetery provides a gravesite, opening and closing, and a headstone at no cost to eligible veterans. For a private cemetery, the VA burial allowance is up to $1,002 for a non-service-connected death on or after October 1, 2025 (up to $1,032 for deaths on or after October 1, 2026), plus an equal plot allowance. The Killeen area has a Central State Veterans Cemetery. See veterans burial benefits.
• Counties. Each Texas county commissioners court must provide for the disposition of a deceased pauper, usually a basic burial or cremation. It is not a way to fund a family's own arrangement. See what to do if you cannot afford a funeral.

Are green options available in Texas?

Green burial, which skips embalming and uses a simple container or shroud, is a cemetery matter, so ask individual cemeteries what they allow. If you are interested in water cremation or natural organic reduction, ask funeral homes and the Texas Funeral Service Commission what is currently licensed in Texas before you make plans. This guide could not confirm availability.

What to do next

1. Ask three or more funeral homes for their General Price Lists and the effective date on each.
2. Confirm who has the right to decide and whether the person left written instructions.
3. If you want cremation, plan for the 48-hour wait, which funeral homes usually cover with refrigeration.
4. Order death certificates from the Texas DSHS at $20 for the first copy and $3 for each extra copy ordered at the same time.