Your Funeral Consumer Rights: How the FTC Funeral Rule Helps You Get Clear Prices

When you’re making funeral arrangements, it can feel like you’re learning a new language in the middle of grief. You’re trying to do the right thing, protect your family, and honor someone you love—while people use terms like “basic services fee,” “cash advances,” “use of facilities,” and “alternative container.” If you’ve ever thought, “I just need a straightforward total I can understand,” you’re not asking for anything unreasonable. In fact, the law is on your side.

The FTC Funeral Rule exists because families deserve clear, itemized pricing and the ability to choose what they actually want—not what they feel pressured into. It sets ground rules for transparency, including your right to see a General Price List (GPL), ask questions by phone, and decline items you don’t need. Once you understand the basics, you can compare providers more confidently, keep your budget intact, and make decisions that feel steady instead of rushed.

Why price transparency matters more than ever

In many families, the first big financial decision after a death is also one of the most emotional. At the same time, funeral choices have changed. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the U.S. cremation rate was projected to reach 63.4% in 2025—more than double the projected burial rate. As cremation becomes the majority choice, many families are making arrangements in stages: a simple cremation now, a memorial later, and then decisions about an urn, jewelry, or scattering when everyone is ready.

According to the Cremation Association of North America (CANA), the U.S. cremation rate in 2024 was 61.8%. Numbers like these don’t tell you what you should choose—but they do explain why pricing questions come up so often. With more families choosing cremation, more families also find themselves comparing direct cremation quotes, trying to understand what’s included, and wondering how to handle things like an urn, a celebration of life, or keeping ashes at home.

This is where your funeral consumer rights are practical, not abstract. The FTC Funeral Rule is designed to help you get funeral price transparency in moments when you may not have the energy to push back. You don’t have to be confrontational. You just need a plan—and a few phrases you can use.

What the FTC Funeral Rule actually gives you

The simplest way to think about the Funeral Rule is this: it’s meant to stop vague pricing and make itemized lists the default. The FTC’s consumer-facing overview explains that you have the right to buy only what you want and to get price information so you can compare providers. You can read the FTC’s plain-language explanation here: The FTC Funeral Rule.

While the Rule has many details, most families benefit from remembering a handful of core protections:

• You can request a written, itemized price list—especially the funeral home price list known as the General Price List (GPL).
• You can choose goods and services individually rather than being required to accept a package.
• You can ask for price information over the phone (and you can take notes and call more than one provider).
• You can ask for a clear explanation of “cash advances” and whether they’re estimates or exact pass-through costs.

If you want a simple checklist you can print or keep on your phone, the FTC also offers a comparison tool here: Funeral Costs and Pricing Checklist. It’s a surprisingly calming resource when you feel overloaded, because it breaks the costs into categories you can recognize.

How the General Price List works (and why it’s your best tool)

The general price list GPL is the foundation of everything. It’s the document that turns a confusing conversation into something you can evaluate. In plain terms, it’s the funeral home’s itemized menu of services and merchandise—plus required disclosures that help you understand what is optional, what is required, and what fees may be non-declinable.

One of the biggest misconceptions is that you must “commit” before you see real numbers. In reality, a price list is a normal, lawful request. If you feel nervous asking, you can use language that is both respectful and direct:

• “Could you please provide your General Price List (GPL)? I’d like to review itemized costs before we decide.”
• “Can you help me understand what’s included in the basic services fee and what’s optional?”
• “If we choose cremation, can you show me the line items that apply to direct cremation versus cremation with services?”
• “Can you give me a written total that includes your fees and any third-party costs so we can compare providers fairly?”

If the idea of comparing providers feels exhausting, keep it simple: compare two. The act of seeing two GPLs side-by-side often reveals big differences—not only in totals, but in what each provider assumes you want.

For a deeper walkthrough of how funeral home price lists work, including “cash advances” and how to compare quotes without getting trapped in package language, you may find this Funeral.com guide helpful: Funeral Home Price Lists Explained: GPL, Cash Advances, and How to Compare Quotes (FTC Funeral Rule).

The three pricing pitfalls that make families overspend

Packages that hide itemized choices

Packages can be convenient when they match what you want. The problem is when a package becomes a default, and you never see the individual prices. Under the Funeral Rule, you can ask for itemized options and choose only what fits your family. If you hear “Most families choose our standard package,” you can respond with, “I appreciate that—can we walk through the itemized list so we can choose what’s right for us?”

Cash advances that aren’t clearly explained

“Cash advances” are third-party charges the funeral home pays on your behalf—like death certificates, clergy honoraria, newspaper notices, flowers, or cemetery/crematory fees. Sometimes those costs are pass-through; sometimes there’s a service charge; sometimes they’re estimates. You’re allowed to ask, “Is this the exact cost or an estimate?” and “Is there any additional fee added to cash advance items?” Clarity here matters because two quotes that look similar can end up very different once these third-party items settle.

Cremation totals that don’t include the details

Cremation is often chosen for flexibility and cost, but it still deserves line-item clarity. If you’re comparing how much does cremation cost, ask specifically what the quote includes: transportation, permits, the crematory fee, an alternative container, and the return of cremated remains. A “low” quote that excludes key items can become more expensive than a higher quote that is complete.

If you’d like a practical overview of what you’re paying for—and what questions tend to lower the total without creating regret—this resource can help: Cremation Cost Breakdown: What You’re Paying For (and ways to lower the total).

How cremation choices connect to urns, keepsakes, and what happens next

Price transparency doesn’t end with the funeral home quote—especially when cremation is involved. After cremation, families often realize they still have decisions to make, just on a gentler timeline: what kind of urn, whether to share ashes, whether someone wants a keepsake, and what the long-term plan is for the remains.

Many families start by choosing a primary urn and then deciding whether to create smaller memorials for close relatives. That’s where cremation urns, cremation urns for ashes, small cremation urns, and keepsake urns come in. The best choice usually depends on what you’re trying to do: create a home memorial, place an urn in a niche, share ashes among siblings, or keep a portion while planning scattering later.

If you want to browse options calmly (without feeling like you have to decide on the spot), these collections can help you see the range:

• Cremation Urns for Ashes
• Small Cremation Urns for Ashes
• Keepsake Cremation Urns for Ashes

If you’re unsure how to choose, it helps to start with the “job” the urn needs to do, then choose the style. This guide walks you through sizing, materials, and personalization in a straightforward way: Choosing the Best Cremation Urn.

Pet loss has the same rights—and the same need for clear pricing

When a pet dies, families are often shocked by how intense the grief feels—and also by how quickly decisions must be made. If you’re arranging pet cremation through a veterinary clinic or a pet cremation provider, you still deserve clarity about what’s included: private vs communal cremation, return of ashes, the container used for return, and the timeline.

And when ashes come home, families often want something that feels specific to the bond they shared. That can mean a simple urn, a photo urn, a figurine urn that looks like them, or a small keepsake that stays close.

If you’re browsing options, these collections are organized for common needs:

• Pet urns and pet urns for ashes (including many pet cremation urns)
• Pet figurine cremation urns for ashes
• Pet keepsake cremation urns for ashes

And if you’d like a sizing-and-style guide that makes the decision feel less intimidating, this is a good place to start: Choosing the Right Urn for Pet Ashes.

Cremation jewelry and keepsakes: a gentle option that’s easy to misunderstand

Cremation jewelry can be deeply comforting, especially when grief follows you into everyday life. But it’s also an area where families benefit from clear expectations. A cremation necklace typically holds a very small, symbolic amount of ashes—often far less than people assume. That’s not a flaw; it’s the point. It’s meant to be close, discreet, and wearable.

If you’re considering cremation necklaces, it helps to think about security (threaded closures, sealing options), materials (stainless steel, sterling silver), and filling methods. Funeral.com’s guide here walks through what to buy and how to avoid the common mistakes: Cremation Necklaces for Ashes: Types, Materials, Filling Tips & What to Buy.

You can also browse wearable options here: Cremation necklaces and cremation jewelry.

Keeping ashes at home, water burial, and the question nobody asks out loud

Once cremation is complete, many families quietly ask the same thing: what to do with ashes. There’s no single “right” answer. Some families create a home memorial, some divide ashes into keepsakes, some plan a scattering ceremony, and some choose burial at sea or another form of water burial.

If you’re in the “in-between” time—ashes are home, but the plan isn’t final yet—you’re not alone. The most important things are practical: keep the container stable, dry, and secure, and talk openly with the people who live in the home about what feels respectful. This guide is a calm place to start: Keeping Ashes at Home: How to Do It Safely, Respectfully, and Legally.

If your family is considering a ceremony on the water, planning ahead reduces stress. Requirements can vary, and families often want to understand biodegradable options and timing. This resource walks through the practical steps: Water burial planning: a simple checklist for families.

The calm way to compare funeral homes without feeling “pushy”

If you take nothing else from this article, take this: you’re not being difficult by asking for itemized prices. You’re doing what the FTC Funeral Rule is designed to support. In fact, the FTC’s broader Funeral Rule information hub reinforces that consumers have the right to get a general price list and make informed choices: Funeral Rule (FTC topic page).

Here’s a simple approach that works even when you’re tired:

• Call two providers and ask for pricing on the same scenario (for example, direct cremation, or a funeral with cremation and a basic memorial service).
• Ask for the funeral home disclosure requirements documents: the GPL, and any related price lists that apply.
• Ask for a written total that includes the basic services fee, your selected line items, and a clear list of cash advances (not just “estimated costs”).
• Confirm what you can decline, and what is required by law or policy.

If you’d like a script you can read word-for-word, this line is usually enough: “I’m comparing providers and I want to make sure I understand the itemized costs. Could you email or walk me through your GPL, and then give me a written total for the options we discussed?”

And if you ever feel pressured into “upgrading” quickly, pause and return to your plan. The most meaningful funerals aren’t the most expensive ones. They’re the ones where choices are intentional—and where families feel supported rather than rushed.

FAQs about the FTC Funeral Rule and funeral price transparency