General Price List

The Funeral Rule and outline of the general price list requirements are not guarantees that the law will be followed. This section will educate you on what the FTC states funeral home providers are required by law to list. Many funeral homes still do not adhere to this rule due to little enforcement and minimal penalties.

Information Required for Funeral Homes to List on the GPL

Identifying Information

The General Price List should be printed or typewritten, and must contain the following identifying information:

• The name, address, and telephone number of the funeral provider's place of business, including (if relevant) the address and telephone number for each branch
• Titled: "General Price List"
• The current effective date of the price list

Required Disclosures on the GPL

The Rule also requires you to make six disclosures on your General Price List. These disclosures are listed below.

• The consumer's right to select only the goods and services desired
• Embalming
• Alternative containers for direct cremation
• The basic services fee
• The Casket Price List
• The Outer Burial Container Price List

Each of these disclosures is discussed in the following sections. You must place these required disclosures on the General Price List exactly as the Rule provides.

In addition, you must use the identical wording given in the Rule. You cannot edit or paraphrase.

Note: You can include additional information, such as a reference to your own state laws. But, you cannot change the FTC language or add anything that will modify the FTC language.

• Right of Selection
  The first disclosure informs consumers that they have a right to select only the items they want to buy, besides a non-declinable basic services fee (see below for a detailed description of this fee). You should place this statement immediately above the prices of the goods and services that you offer. The statement should read as follows:
  
  The goods and services shown below are those we can provide to our customers. You may choose only the items you desire. However, any funeral arrangements you select will include a charge for our basic services and overhead. If legal or other requirements mean you must buy any items you did not specifically ask for, we will explain the reason in writing on the statement we provide describing the funeral goods and services you selected.
  
  You must include the third sentence of the disclosure, indicated above, if customers cannot decline the basic services fee. You may add the phrase "and overhead" after the word "services," as shown above, if the fee includes the recovery of overhead costs.
  
  
• Embalming
  The second disclosure tells consumers that the law does not require embalming. The statement should read as follows:
  
  Except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law. Embalming may be necessary, however, if you select certain funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing. If you do not want embalming, you usually have the right to choose an arrangement that does not require you to pay for it, such as direct cremation or immediate burial.
  
  You do not need to include the phrase, "except in certain special cases," indicated in bold-face above, if state or local law in the area where you do business does not require embalming under any circumstances. If you want to add information about state law requirements, you can do so after the FTC disclosure. You should place this disclosure in immediate conjunction with the price for embalming.
  
  Note: "In immediate conjunction" means that the embalming disclosure must appear directly next to the price for embalming. You should not put the disclosure on a separate page or anywhere else on the GPL apart from the embalming price.
  
  
• Alternative Containers
  The third disclosure informs consumers that they may use alternative containers (see the revised Rule for a full definition of this term) for direct cremations. This disclosure must read as follows:
  
  If you want to arrange a direct cremation, you can use an alternative container. Alternative containers encase the body and can be made of materials like fiberboard or composition materials (with or without an outside covering). The containers we provide are (specify containers).
  
  You should place this disclosure in immediate conjunction with (directly next to) the price range for direct cremation. At the end of the last sentence, you should describe the specific kind of container(s) that you offer. If you don't arrange direct cremations, you don't need to include this disclosure on the GPL.
  
  
• Basic Services Fee
  The fourth disclosure tells consumers about any "basic services fee" (the fee for the professional services of the funeral director and staff) that you will add to the total cost of the funeral arrangements. This basic services fee could include a charge for the services you perform in conducting the arrangements conference, planning the funeral, securing the necessary permits, preparing the notices, and coordinating the cemetery or crematory arrangements. This fee also may include overhead that you have not allocated elsewhere. You can include this fee on your General Price List in one of two ways:
  
  
  • Option 1: If you list a separate basic services fee and the charge is non-declinable (the consumer does not have the option of declining the charge), you must provide the following disclosure:
    
    This fee for our basic services and overhead will be added to the total cost of the funeral arrangements you select. (This fee is already included in our charges for direct cremations, immediate burials, and forwarding or receiving remains.)
    
    If you decide on Option 1, this disclosure must appear together with the price for the basic services and with a description of the services you include for that price. (You cannot place this disclosure on a separate page or anywhere else on the GPL apart from the basic services price.) If this basic services fee is non-declinable, the price also must include all charges for the recovery of overhead that you have not allocated elsewhere. In this situation, the first sentence of your disclosure can include the phrase "and overhead" after the word "services," as shown above.
    
    
  • Option 2: Instead of charging a separate basic services fee, you can include the services fee in your casket prices. With this alternative, you must include the following disclosure:
    
    Please note that a fee of (specify dollar amount) for the use of our basic services and overhead is included in the price of our caskets. This same fee shall be added to the total cost of your funeral arrangements if you provide the casket. Our services include (specify).
    
    If you decide on Option 2, the fee should include all charges for the recovery of overhead costs not allocated elsewhere, and you may add the phrase "and overhead" after the word "services" in the first sentence, indicated in bold-face above. The disclosure must appear on the GPL together with the prices for the individual caskets or together with the casket price range if you have a separate Casket Price List.
    
    
• Casket Price List
  The fifth disclosure tells consumers that a Casket Price List is available. You may list casket prices either on the General Price List or on a separate "Casket Price List." If you use a separate Casket Price List, your GPL should state the range of prices for the caskets you sell, together with the following disclosure: A complete price list will be provided at the funeral home.
  
  
• Outer Burial Container Price List
  The sixth disclosure informs consumers that an Outer Burial Container Price List is available. Again, you can either put the prices for the outer burial containers on your General Price List, or you can provide a separate "Outer Burial Container Price List." If you use a separate price list, your GPL should state the range of prices for the outer burial containers you sell, together with the following disclosure: A complete price list will be provided at the funeral home.
  If you put the prices for the outer burial containers on your General Price List, you also must include the following disclosure in immediate conjunction with (directly next to) the outer burial container prices.
  
  In most areas of the country, state or local law does not require that you buy a container to surround the casket in the grave. However, many cemeteries require that you have such a container so that the grave will not sink in. Either a grave liner or a burial vault will satisfy these requirements.
  
  If instead you provide a separate price list for outer burial containers, then you must include the above disclosure on your Outer Burial Container Price List. You don't have to include the phrase, "in most areas of the country," indicated above, in the disclosure if your state or local law does not require a container to surround the casket in the grave.
  
  

Required Itemized Prices on the GPL

The Rule requires you to itemize the prices for certain goods and services so consumers may choose only those elements of a funeral that they want. You must list the following 16 specified items of goods and services on the GPL, together with the price for each item:

• Forwarding of remains to another funeral home
• Receiving remains from another funeral home
• Direct cremation
• Immediate burial
• Basic services of funeral director and staff, and overhead
• Transfer of remains to funeral home
• Embalming
• Other preparation of the body
• Use of facilities and staff for viewing
• Use of facilities and staff for funeral ceremony
• Use of facilities and staff for memorial service
• Use of equipment and staff for graveside service
• Hearse
• Limousine
• Either individual casket prices or the range of casket prices that appear on the Casket Price List
• Either individual outer burial container prices or the range of outer burial container prices that appear on the Outer Burial Container Price List.

You can list these items in any order you want. You only have to list the items that you actually offer. If you do not offer one or more of the 16 items, you need not list those items on the General Price List. In addition to these 16 items, you also may list other items that you offer, such as acknowledgement cards and cremation urns. You also may provide prices for package funerals on your GPL. However, you must offer any package funerals in addition to and not in place of the required itemized prices.

The itemized prices on your General Price List, as well as your Casket Price List and Outer Burial Container Price List, should be accurate and up-to-date. These prices should reflect the prices that you actually charge your customers.

Of course, you can offer a discount when there are special circumstances, such as arrangements for a friend or relative or a family that otherwise could not afford your services. The Rule does not prevent you from doing this. However, you should not inflate the prices on any of your price lists in order to offer all or most of your customers a discount. In that case, the "discounted" prices would be the accurate prices and should be reflected on the price lists.

Items 1-4: Minimal Services

Four items that the Rule requires you to list are:

• (1) forwarding of remains
• (2) receiving remains
• (3) direct cremation and
• (4) immediate burial.

Unlike the rest of the goods and services that you must list on the GPL, the prices for these four items must include any fee that you will charge consumers for the basic professional services of the funeral director and staff.