Your Funeral Rights: FTC Pricing Checklist (2026)
The FTC Funeral Rule gives you four legal rights at any funeral home: immediate access to the General Price List, the right to decline embalming, the right to buy caskets from outside vendors without a handling fee, and the right to select individual services instead of a package. These rights help you calculate the true final cost.
What Is the General Price List and Why Should You Get It First?
The General Price List is a federally required document listing every service and product a funeral home offers, with individual prices. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral home must hand you the GPL the moment you ask about prices in person. They must also give you prices over the phone. If a funeral home hesitates, hides the GPL behind a consultation, or says "we work with your budget first," that is a red flag—and a federal violation.
The GPL is your only tool for comparing funeral homes fairly. Without it, you are relying on advertised prices that exclude $500 to $2,000 in additional fees. Fewer than 25% of funeral homes post their GPL online, which is why most families do not see real prices until they are already in the arrangement room, grieving and time-pressured.
Your 4 Core Legal Rights Under the FTC Funeral Rule
| Right | What It Means | What to Say |
|---|---|---|
| GPL Access | Prices by phone and printed list in person, plus an itemized statement before payment | "Can you email me your General Price List?" |
| Decline Embalming | Not required for direct cremation or immediate burial in most states | "Is embalming required by law for this service?" |
| Outside Merchandise | Buy caskets or urns from any vendor; no handling fee allowed | "Do you accept outside caskets without a fee?" |
| Itemize Services | Decline any package and select only the services you need | "Can I see the price for each item separately?" |
Which Funeral Charges Can You Legally Decline?
Every charge on the GPL is optional except the Basic Services Fee. That means embalming, viewing, limousine, chapel use, flowers, stationery, obituary placement, and all merchandise are declinable. Arizona has no state law requiring embalming for direct cremation or immediate burial. It is only required if the body will not be refrigerated or cremated within 24 hours. A funeral home that tells you embalming is "required" without this specific circumstance is misleading you.
What Hidden Fees Should You Watch for on the GPL?
The gap between an advertised price of $995 and a final bill of $4,500 usually hides in surcharges you were not told about. Weekend and holiday fees add $150 to $2,995. Weight surcharges apply above 300 lbs ($300-$500). Mileage fees of $2 to $8 per mile apply beyond a 25-mile radius. Pacemaker removal for cremation costs $50 to $100. And crematory fees of $75 to $890 are frequently billed on top of the quoted cremation price. For the complete list, see What Does a Funeral Really Cost? How to Read a Price List.
What Is the Best Script for Calling a Funeral Home?
"Hi, I am price-shopping for [direct cremation / traditional burial]. I have a few specific questions: Can you email me your General Price List? Does your quoted price include the crematory fee and the alternative container? Is there a weekend, holiday, or mileage surcharge? What is the total out-the-door cost including all fees?"
This script works because it forces specificity. A funeral home cannot deflect with "we work with your budget" when you are asking for documented line items they are legally required to disclose. Any home that answers these questions directly is worth your consideration. Any that deflects is telling you something about how the rest of the process will go.
Where Farewell Finder Fits
Knowing your rights is step one. Applying them under grief and time pressure is harder. Farewell Finder removes the need to make those calls during the worst 72 hours of your life. Our verified directory surfaces GPL prices, flags additional fees, and calculates total out-the-door costs so you can exercise your FTC rights from your phone, on your schedule—before crisis hits.
For the complete Arizona pricing data these rights are designed to unlock, see Arizona Funeral Costs 2026: The 7 Numbers That Matter.
