25 Questions to Ask a Funeral Home (Burial and Cremation)

The most important questions to ask a funeral home are about price, care and who does the work. Ask for the full price list and a written total. Ask where the person will be kept and who will carry out the cremation or burial. Ask how they make sure the right person is cremated, and when you will get the ashes back. The 25 questions below cover everything else, grouped so you can ask them in one calm phone call or visit.

You do not need to ask all 25. Pick the ones that matter to you. Print the list, or keep it on your phone. If you are calling on behalf of someone who has just died, a friend can make these calls for you. Facts were checked on 2 November 2026.

Why ask questions at all?

Because funeral homes are very different, and you usually choose one in a hurry. The prices can differ by more than three times for the same service in the same area. Our guide to funeral home price tricks shows real examples, and the rights the FTC Funeral Rule gives you in the US.

Care differs too. Most funeral directors are honest and kind. But the cases we have covered, like Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado and Legacy Funeral Directors in Hull, show what can happen when nobody checks. A few good questions are how families check.

What are your rights before you ask?

In the US, the FTC Funeral Rule gives you the right to prices by phone, a written itemised price list, and a written statement before you pay. You can buy only what you want, use a simple container for cremation, refuse embalming in most cases, and bring your own casket or urn (FTC).

In the UK, every funeral director must show a standard price list on its website and in its premises, under a Competition and Markets Authority order since 2021 (CMA).

So you are not being rude by asking. You are using rights the law gave you.

Questions about the funeral home itself

1. Are you licensed, and by whom? In the US, check the answer with your state's funeral or mortuary board. In Scotland, a statutory Funeral Director Code of Practice has applied to all funeral directors since 1 March 2025, and inspectors can check it (Scottish Government). In England and Wales, "there is currently no system of licensing for burial, cremation or related services" (Law Commission, 2026). There, ask about trade body membership instead.
2. Do you belong to a trade body? In the UK, the two main ones are the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and SAIF, the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors. Ask the funeral director which one, then check the trade body's own website for its standards and how to complain.
3. Who owns this funeral home? A local name can belong to a national group. That is not bad in itself. But you should know who you are dealing with.
4. Where is your mortuary, and will the person stay with you the whole time? Some homes use another company's facility. Ask where, and who runs it.
5. Who will be my contact, and how can I reach them out of hours? One named person makes everything easier.

Questions about prices

6. Can I have your General Price List (US) or standard price list (UK)? Take it home. Compare it with one or two others. The FTC suggests comparing at least two funeral homes (FTC).
7. What is the total for what we have chosen, in writing? In the US, you must get a written statement of every item and the total before you pay (FTC).
8. Which items are required, and which are optional? In the US, only the basic services fee is fixed. If a home says the law requires something, the Funeral Rule says it must name the law in writing.
9. What are your "cash advance" or third-party costs, and do you add a fee to them? These include death certificates, clergy, flowers and notices. A US home that adds a markup must say so in writing (FTC).
10. What could make the final bill higher than this quote? Ask about out-of-hours collection, home collection, a larger coffin, extra days of care, or a weekend service.
11. When do I need to pay, and how? Also ask: "Will you ever hold the ashes or the body until a balance is paid?" This has happened. In 2023, one US cremation business agreed to a $275,000 civil penalty. The FTC said it withheld remains to get unexpected fees (FTC, 7 April 2023).

If you want a quick sense of what is normal before you call, our free funeral cost estimator shows low, typical and high prices for your country.

Questions about care of the person who died

12. How soon can you collect, and from where? A home, hospital, hospice or care home. Some providers aim to collect within hours from a home, and take longer from a hospital while paperwork is done.
13. Is embalming needed for what we want? No US state requires routine embalming for every death (FTC). Ask whether refrigeration is available instead.
14. Can we see the person, and is there a charge? Ask whether a private family viewing is possible without embalming.
15. Can we dress them in their own clothes, and place items with them? Most homes say yes. Ask about any items that cannot go into a cremation.
16. Will you return jewellery, and how? Agree in writing what stays with the person and what comes back to you.

Questions about cremation

17. Who carries out the cremation, and where? Do you own the crematory, or use another company? How far away is it? The FTC's 2023 case involved a business that said it was local but often sent families to unrelated providers up to two hours away.
18. How do you make sure the ashes are the right person's? Ask about identity checks at each step. Pure Cremation, for example, places a numbered ceramic disc with each person, which goes through the cremation and comes back with the ashes (Pure Cremation).
19. Can the family be present at the cremation, or at the start of it? Some crematoria allow this. Some charge for it.
20. How long until the cremation, and until we get the ashes back? Write the dates down. One UK direct cremation provider says the cremation usually takes place 13 to 16 days from instruction, and it aims to return ashes within 14 days after.
21. What container will the ashes come back in? A temporary container, an urn, or a scattering tube? You can bring your own urn in the US without a fee.

Questions about burial

22. Who deals with the cemetery, and what will the cemetery charge? The plot, opening and closing the grave, and a marker are often billed separately. Ask the cemetery directly if a vault or grave liner is required. No US state law requires one (FTC).
23. Do you offer a natural or green burial, or know a ground that does? See our guide to green burial, water cremation and human composting costs.

Questions about after the funeral, and plans

24. How many death certificates do you suggest, and who orders them? Banks, pensions and insurers often need one each. Ask the cost per copy.
25. If we are planning ahead: do you sell prepaid plans, and who holds the money? In the UK, the plan provider must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In the US, ask whether the money goes into a trust or an insurance policy. Our guides on UK funeral plans and US prepaid funeral plans explain what to check.

How do you ask without feeling awkward?

Many people feel that asking about money at a time like this is disrespectful. It is not. Good funeral directors expect it.

Try opening with: "We want to do this well, and we need to know the costs. Could you take me through your price list?"

If you are planning ahead, say so: "Nobody has died. I'm planning my own funeral and comparing homes." You will get a calmer conversation and more time to think.

Take notes. Write down the date, the name of the person you spoke to and each answer. If a home will not give you prices, or rushes you, that is useful information too.

What are the warning signs?

Walk away, or at least call another home, if you hear any of these:

• "We don't give prices over the phone." In the US, they must.
• "We only sell packages." You have the right to an itemised list in the US.
• "The law requires embalming." Ask which law.
• "You need a casket for cremation." No US law requires one.
• "We'll release the ashes once you pay the extra fees."
• Vague answers about where the person will be kept, or who does the cremation.

Our full guide to funeral home price tricks explains each of these, with real FTC cases.

Why ask these questions before anyone dies?

Because then you can choose calmly. Today, more than half of UK families who arrange a funeral do not even know whether their loved one wanted burial or cremation (SunLife, 2026). They make every choice under pressure.

Call two homes this month. Ask questions 6, 7, 17 and 20. Keep the price lists in a folder with your funeral wishes. Our guide on how to plan your own funeral shows what else to put in that folder.

Will you be the one making these calls one day? The Library's After-a-Death & Executor Kit includes Scripts for Calls. It gives you words to use when a call is hard.