What Does a Funeral Director Do?

A funeral director looks after the body, completes and files the death certificate, gets the permits needed for burial or cremation, and helps you plan and run the service. You stay in charge of the decisions. The director explains your choices, handles the logistics and keeps the paperwork moving.

What does a funeral director do?

The work falls into four broad jobs:

• Bringing the person into their care. This usually means collecting the body from the hospital, hospice or home, often called a transfer or removal.
• Looking after the body. That means identification, storage and, if you choose it, preparation for a viewing.
• Handling the paperwork. The death certificate, disposition permits and cremation authorizations all pass through the funeral home.
• Planning and directing the service. The director meets with you, coordinates the cemetery, crematory, clergy and others, and runs the day.

O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database, describes the job as consulting with families on details such as obituary wording, casket selection and plans for services, handling body transportation and legal paperwork, coordinating cemetery and service schedules, and offering counsel and comfort to bereaved families.

What happens when you first call a funeral director?

The first call usually covers the basics: where the person is, whether the death is being reviewed by a coroner or medical examiner, and when the home can collect the body. If the death was unexpected or is being investigated, the body may need to be released first. The funeral home can tell you what to expect.

At an arrangements meeting, the director asks what kind of service you want, walks you through the options and gives you the prices. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, you must be offered a General Price List when you begin discussing arrangements in person, and you can get prices by phone. Before you pay, you must receive a written itemized statement of what you chose. Our guide to the FTC Funeral Rule explains these rights.

What paperwork does a funeral director handle?

This is where funeral directors earn much of their keep. The CDC's handbook for funeral directors says that funeral directors are responsible for making sure the death certificate is completed. In practice:

1. The director asks a family member, often the spouse, a parent or a child, for the person's personal details. These include full legal name, Social Security number, parents' names, spouse's name, military service and usual occupation.
2. The medical part of the certificate, including the cause of death, is completed by the doctor, or by the medical examiner or coroner in some cases. The director must obtain it.
3. The director files the certificate with the local registrar within the time limit set by the state.
4. In most states the director must also secure explicit authorization before burying, cremating or moving the body out of the state. Many states require an extra authorization for cremation, partly to confirm identification and avoid destroying evidence.

The exact steps vary by state and local practice. You will usually want several certified copies for banks, insurers and other accounts. See our guide on how many death certificates to order.

Directors often help with other tasks, too. The National Funeral Directors Association lists coordinating with clergy, cemeteries and crematories, arranging obituaries and musicians, and notifying agencies such as the Social Security Administration. For veterans, the VA says you or the funeral director can call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 to schedule a burial.

How do funeral directors care for the body?

Care begins with identification and storage, usually in refrigeration. Embalming is not automatic. The FTC says no state law requires routine embalming for every death. A funeral home generally needs your permission before embalming and charging for it, unless state law requires it. It must also disclose on its price list that embalming is not required except in certain special cases.

If you want a viewing, the director may suggest embalming or other preparation, such as washing, dressing and cosmetic work. Whether to do any of it is your choice. Our guides on what embalming is and viewing a body cover your options.

How do funeral directors plan and run the service?

Directors handle much of the practical planning for a funeral or memorial service. That can include:

• booking the chapel or another venue
• arranging the hearse and other vehicles
• coordinating with clergy or a celebrant
• setting the time with the cemetery or crematory
• helping write and place an obituary
• arranging music, flowers, programs and a reception
• arranging pallbearers and directing staff on the day

For a service that is not at the funeral home, a director can still coordinate the pieces. For cremation with a memorial held later, the director's role is shorter, since there is no service to run. Our funeral planning timeline shows how the days after a death usually unfold.

Funeral director, mortician and undertaker: what is the difference?

Not much. The CDC handbook explains that funeral service licensees "are known by several titles," including funeral director, undertaker, mortician, embalmer and mortuary science practitioner, and uses "funeral director" for all of them. Some people use "mortician" for the person who prepares the body and "funeral director" for the person who meets with families, but in many funeral homes one licensed person does both.

Funeral directors are licensed by the states, and the requirements differ from state to state.

How much does a funeral director charge?

Most of a funeral director's own charge is the basic services fee. The FTC says it covers funeral planning, securing the necessary permits and death certificate copies, preparing notices, sheltering the remains and coordinating the arrangements. It is the one fee under the Funeral Rule that a funeral home can require you to pay, and the price list must say so.

Everything else is optional or depends on what you choose: transfer of the body, embalming, use of the facilities, vehicles, a casket or container, and so on. The director may also pay outside vendors for you, such as flowers or an obituary notice. These are "cash advance" items, and the funeral home must tell you in writing if it adds a markup. For typical totals, see our guide to average funeral costs.

Do you have to use a funeral director?

In most states, no. The FTC says that in most states people are not legally obligated to use a funeral home, although many find the help valuable. The Funeral Consumers Alliance says families in the majority of states can care for a death without hiring a funeral director, and also says that some states require a licensed funeral director to arrange a cremation. Rules differ, so check with your state before deciding.

Even if you use a funeral home, you can still limit the work it does. Direct cremation and immediate burial are the simplest services, and you can hold a memorial elsewhere. Our guide on finding a direct cremation provider explains that option.

What to do next

1. Ask any funeral home you are considering for its General Price List, by phone or email.
2. Tell the director what you want and do not want, including whether you approve embalming.
3. Ask who will handle the death certificate and how many certified copies to order.
4. Get an itemized statement in writing before you pay.