Funeral cost
How to Read a Funeral General Price List (GPL)
Reviewed by the Plainfare editorial team · Updated June 1, 2026
The General Price List, or GPL, is the single most useful document when arranging a funeral. The FTC Funeral Rule requires every funeral home to provide an itemized GPL, and to give you a printed copy to keep when you discuss arrangements in person. Reading it correctly is how you avoid overpaying.
What the GPL must show
The GPL lists each good and service the funeral home offers with the individual price of each, so you can choose only what you want. It must disclose the basic services fee, which is the one non-declinable fee, and it must include the required legal disclosures about your right to decline packages and to buy items separately.
Packages may also be listed, but you are never required to buy a package. You can build your own selection from the itemized list.
How to use it to compare
Ask several funeral homes for their prices by phone, then request the printed GPL once you begin discussing arrangements in person, and line up the same items across providers: basic services fee, transfer of remains, embalming if you want it, facilities for viewing or ceremony, the casket or urn, and any vehicles. Comparing the same line items is the only fair way to compare totals. One exception matters: for a direct cremation, an immediate burial, or forwarding or receiving remains, the basic services fee is already included in the quoted price, so do not add it again.
Watch for items presented as required that are not, such as embalming, and for handling fees on third-party caskets, which are not allowed.
Common questions
What is a General Price List?
An itemized list of every good and service a funeral home offers with the price of each. The FTC Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to provide it and to give you a printed copy to keep when you discuss arrangements in person.
Do I have to buy a package shown on the GPL?
No. You have the right to buy only the individual items you want. A funeral home cannot refuse to sell items separately or charge a fee for declining a package.
What should raise a red flag on a GPL?
Embalming presented as required when it usually is not, handling fees for third-party caskets which are not allowed, and vague bundled charges that are not itemized.
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