By the Templateez Team · Licensed Attorney · June 2026

Funeral Home Intake Forms: What to Capture at the Arrangement Conference

The arrangement conference is one of the most consequential meetings in any service industry. A family is making dozens of decisions — many of them legally binding, most of them irreversible — within hours or days of losing someone. The funeral director's job is to guide them through those decisions with clarity and compassion while simultaneously collecting every piece of information needed to file a death certificate, comply with federal and state regulations, coordinate with cemeteries and crematories, and produce an accurate itemized bill.

That is an enormous amount of information to capture under difficult emotional circumstances. A funeral home intake form that is thorough, well-organized, and logically sequenced is not a luxury — it is the foundation of every case file. Here is what it should include, section by section.

Decedent information: the death certificate starts here

Nearly every field in this section feeds directly into the death certificate. State vital records offices reject certificates with errors or omissions, and corrections after filing require court orders in some jurisdictions. Getting this right the first time — at the arrangement conference — is not optional.

• Full legal name — as it should appear on the death certificate. Not a nickname, not a shortened version. If the decedent went by "Bill" but the legal name is "William," the certificate needs "William." Confirm spelling letter by letter with the informant.
• Maiden name — required for death certificate filing in most states. Often overlooked, particularly for decedents who married decades ago.
• Date of birth and date of death — these must be exact. If the date of death is uncertain (unattended death, body discovered after some time), note the estimated date and who made the determination.
• Place of death — hospital, residence, nursing home, hospice facility, or other. Include facility name and full address. The place of death determines which county files the certificate and which medical professional certifies the cause.
• Social Security number — required for the death certificate filing, Social Security Administration notification, and any survivor or VA benefit claims. Families do not always have this number readily available; note whether it has been confirmed or is pending verification.
• Marital status at time of death — married, widowed, divorced, or never married. If married, capture the surviving spouse's full legal name. This affects estate administration, survivor benefits, and cemetery rights.
• Residence at death — full address including county, state, ZIP, and how long the decedent lived at that address. The county of residence determines filing jurisdiction if it differs from the county where death occurred.
• Education — highest level completed (elementary, high school, some college, bachelor's, graduate degree). This is a required death certificate field in most states. It is purely statistical — used by the CDC and NCHS for demographic research — but the certificate will be rejected without it.
• Occupation — usual occupation during the decedent's working life, plus the kind of business or industry. Not "retired" — the death certificate asks for the occupation the person held for most of their working career, even if they had been retired for twenty years.
• Veteran status — if the decedent served in the U.S. Armed Forces, capture the branch of service, dates of service, type of discharge, and VA claim number if applicable. Veteran status triggers eligibility for military funeral honors, a VA headstone or marker, burial in a national cemetery, and the VA burial allowance. A DD-214 (discharge papers) should be requested if the family has access to it.
• Race and ethnicity — required for the death certificate. The categories are defined by the state vital records office and must match their classification system exactly.

Next of kin and informant

The arrangement conference typically involves one or two family members making decisions, but the legal and financial responsibilities may fall on different people. Your intake needs to distinguish between them clearly:

• Legal next of kin — name, relationship to the decedent, full address, and phone number. This is the person with legal authority over disposition decisions. In most states, the right to control disposition follows a statutory hierarchy: surviving spouse, then adult children, then parents, then siblings. If there is a dispute among family members about disposition, this hierarchy governs.
• Informant — the person providing the biographical information for the death certificate. This is often the same as the next of kin, but not always. The informant's name, relationship, and address appear on the certificate itself. Confirm that this person actually has firsthand knowledge of the decedent's biographical details — a son-in-law, for example, may not know the decedent's mother's maiden name.
• Responsible party for charges — the person who is financially responsible for the funeral bill. This may be the next of kin, the estate executor, a family member who has volunteered to pay, or multiple people splitting the cost. Get a clear commitment and signature at intake. Funeral homes that fail to establish financial responsibility upfront face collection difficulties later.
• Estate representative — executor, administrator, or holder of power of attorney. If the estate is paying, you need the representative's name, contact information, and documentation of their authority (letters testamentary, letters of administration).
• Pre-need contract — does the decedent have an existing pre-arrangement with your funeral home or another provider? If so, pull the pre-need file immediately. Pre-need contracts establish pricing (often at the prices in effect when the contract was written), service selections, and payment status. An at-need arrangement conference for a family with a pre-need contract is substantially different from one without.

If the decedent had estate planning documents — a will, trust, or advance directive — those documents may contain specific instructions about disposition, service preferences, and who has authority to make decisions. Ask the family whether such documents exist and whether they have been reviewed.

Service selections

This is the core of the arrangement conference — the family is choosing the type of service, the venue, and the people who will participate. Each selection cascades into logistical, scheduling, and pricing decisions:

• Service type — traditional funeral with viewing, memorial service (no body present), graveside service only, direct cremation (no service), direct burial (no service), or celebration of life. Each type has different facility, staffing, preparation, and merchandise requirements. A traditional funeral with viewing requires embalming, dressing, casketing, use of the funeral home chapel, and visitation hours. A direct cremation requires none of those.
• Visitation — number of days, hours per day, and whether it is a private family visitation or open to the public. Two-day visitations (evening before, morning of the funeral) are traditional in many communities but declining in frequency.
• Ceremony location — funeral home chapel, church or house of worship, synagogue, mosque, graveside, private residence, community hall, or other venue. Off-site ceremonies require transportation of the casketed remains and coordination with the venue.
• Officiant — clergy, celebrant, military chaplain, family member, or funeral director. Capture the officiant's name and contact information. If the family does not have a clergy relationship, many funeral homes maintain a referral list.
• Music — live musician (organist, soloist, bagpiper), recorded music, or specific selections. If the family has specific songs, capture titles and performers. If the funeral home chapel has an audio system, note any format requirements.
• Readings and speakers — who will deliver the eulogy? Are there additional speakers? Specific readings (scripture, poetry, personal letters)? The number of speakers affects the length of the service, which affects chapel scheduling.
• Floral preferences — does the family want specific arrangements (casket spray, standing sprays, altar arrangements)? Are they requesting donations to a charity in lieu of flowers? If flowers are being received at the funeral home, who is coordinating delivery?
• Reception — location (funeral home reception room, church hall, restaurant, private home), catering arrangements, and expected number of guests. Some funeral homes offer reception services; others coordinate with external caterers.
• Obituary — who is drafting it (family, funeral home, both)? Where will it be published (local newspaper, online obituary sites, funeral home website)? Does the family want a photo included? Newspaper obituaries are priced by the line or by the column inch, so the content and length directly affect cost.

Disposition: burial, cremation, or other

Disposition is the final handling of the remains. Each method has its own logistical chain, regulatory requirements, and associated costs. Your intake must capture the specific details of the chosen method:

• Burial — cemetery name, section, lot number, and grave space. Is the space already owned, or does it need to be purchased? Does the cemetery require an outer burial container (vault or liner)? What is the cemetery's schedule for openings and closings? Is there a tent and seating setup for a graveside service?
• Cremation — which crematory will be used? What is the planned disposition of the cremated remains — placement in an urn for home display, scattering (where — permitted scattering locations vary by state and municipality), interment in a columbarium niche, or burial of the urn in a cemetery plot? Does the family want to witness the cremation (many crematories accommodate this)? Are there any items to be cremated with the decedent (religious items, personal effects)?
• Entombment — mausoleum name, crypt number, and whether it is above-ground or below-ground entombment. Mausoleum entombment requires a specific casket type and sealing process.
• Body donation — anatomical gift program name. The funeral home's role in a body donation is typically limited to preparation and transportation to the receiving institution. Many anatomical gift programs cover transportation costs.
• Green or natural burial — approved green cemetery name. Green burial has specific requirements — no embalming (or only non-toxic embalming fluids), biodegradable casket or shroud, no vault. Not every cemetery accepts green burials; approved sites are limited.
• Shipping or transfer — if the remains are being sent to another funeral home out of the area (or out of the country), capture the receiving funeral home's name, address, and contact person. Air shipment requires a specific container (air tray or Ziegler case) and compliance with airline and TSA regulations.

Merchandise selections

Merchandise is the tangible product component of the funeral. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, pricing for merchandise must be itemized and the consumer must be free to choose items individually — they cannot be required to purchase a package:

• Casket — material (wood, metal, cloth-covered), style, color, and interior fabric. Casket selection is typically done in a selection room or from a catalog. Record the specific model number and manufacturer. If the family is providing their own casket (which is their legal right under the Funeral Rule), note that as well.
• Outer burial container — vault or grave liner, if required by the cemetery. Not all cemeteries require one. If the cemetery does require it, note the specific requirement (concrete liner, steel vault, etc.).
• Urn — material (bronze, wood, ceramic, marble, biodegradable), size (standard adult, companion for two sets of remains, keepsake urns for dividing remains among family members). If the family is purchasing multiple keepsake urns, note how many and the style of each.
• Memorial stationery — register book (guest sign-in), acknowledgment or thank-you cards, memorial folders or programs (order of service), prayer cards or remembrance cards. These are typically printed with the decedent's name, dates, photo, and a verse or poem. Capture the family's selections for text, photo, and quantity.
• Memorial items — video tribute (compilation of photos and video set to music), portrait display (framed enlargement for the service), memory boards or photo collages, memorial candles, or other keepsake items. If the family is providing photos for a video tribute, establish the format (digital, print to be scanned) and the deadline for submission.

Death certificate details

The funeral director is the filing agent for the death certificate in most states. This means you are responsible for completing the non-medical portions of the certificate and coordinating with the certifying physician or medical examiner for the cause-of-death section:

• Cause of death — certified by the attending physician, the medical examiner, or the coroner, depending on the circumstances of death. If the death is a coroner's or medical examiner's case (accident, homicide, suicide, unattended death), the certificate cannot be filed until their investigation is complete, which may delay disposition.
• Number of certified copies needed — families routinely underestimate how many certified copies they need. Insurance companies, banks, brokerage firms, real estate title companies, the Social Security Administration, the VA, and the DMV all require original certified copies — not photocopies. Advise the family to order at least 10 to 15 copies upfront; ordering additional copies after filing is possible but slower and sometimes more expensive per copy.
• County of filing — typically the county where the death occurred, but rules vary by state.
• Physician name and contact — the attending or pronouncing physician who will certify the cause of death. In hospital deaths, this is usually straightforward. In home deaths or hospice deaths, the funeral director may need to coordinate with multiple physicians to determine who will sign the certificate. Delays in physician certification are one of the most common reasons death certificates are filed late.

Financial arrangements

Funeral costs are a significant financial event for most families. Your intake must establish pricing transparency, payment method, and funding sources clearly and completely:

• General Price List — the FTC Funeral Rule requires that every funeral home provide an itemized General Price List to every family at the beginning of the arrangement conference, before any selections are discussed. Your intake form should include a line confirming that the GPL was provided, with a date and signature. This is not a formality — it is a federal regulatory requirement, and failure to comply subjects the funeral home to FTC enforcement action.
• Total estimated cost — the sum of all selected services, merchandise, and cash advance items (cemetery charges, flowers, obituary notices, death certificates, clergy honoraria). This estimate should be itemized, not a lump sum.
• Payment method — insurance assignment (the funeral home collects directly from the insurance company), prepaid funeral plan (funds already held in trust or an insurance policy purchased for this purpose), or personal funds (cash, check, credit card). If the family is assigning a life insurance policy, capture the insurance company name, policy number, face amount, and beneficiary name.
• Burial insurance or final expense policy — a small whole-life policy specifically purchased to cover funeral costs. These are common among older decedents. The face amount is typically $5,000 to $25,000.
• Social Security lump sum death payment — $255, payable to the surviving spouse or eligible child. Not a large amount, but families should be made aware of it.
• VA burial allowance — if the decedent is a veteran, the VA provides a burial allowance (the amount depends on whether the death was service-related and where the burial takes place). Capture the information needed to file the claim: DD-214, VA claim number, and branch of service.
• Payment plan — if your funeral home offers payment arrangements, document the terms at intake: amount financed, payment schedule, interest (if any), and the responsible party's signed agreement.

Regulatory compliance: the framework you operate within

Funeral service is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the United States. Your intake process must account for multiple overlapping regulatory requirements:

• FTC Funeral Rule — requires that you provide a General Price List, a Casket Price List (if caskets are shown in a selection room), and an Outer Burial Container Price List at the appropriate points in the arrangement conference. The GPL must be offered at the beginning of any in-person discussion of prices. The Casket Price List must be offered before caskets are shown. These documents must be provided regardless of whether the consumer asks for them. Your intake form should document that each applicable price list was provided, with date and time.
• State licensing — the funeral director conducting the arrangement conference must hold a current state funeral director license. If embalming is being performed, the embalmer must hold a current state embalmer license. In many states, the funeral home establishment itself must be separately licensed. Your intake process should include verification that all applicable licenses are current.
• OSHA compliance — funeral home employees are subject to OSHA standards for formaldehyde exposure (29 CFR 1910.1048) and bloodborne pathogens (29 CFR 1910.1030). While these do not appear on a client-facing intake form, your internal case management should document compliance — particularly if the decedent had a communicable disease that affects handling procedures.
• EPA regulations — crematories are subject to EPA emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. If your funeral home operates its own crematory, document that the unit is in compliance and that the operator holds any required state certifications.
• Pre-need vs. at-need distinction — pre-need contracts (arrangements made before death) are governed by state-specific trust and insurance regulations that differ significantly from at-need arrangements. If the decedent had a pre-need contract, your intake must pull the pre-need file, verify the funding mechanism (trust or insurance), confirm whether the contract is irrevocable or revocable, and reconcile the pre-need selections with the family's current wishes. Differences between the pre-need contract and the at-need selections must be documented and any additional charges explained.

The arrangement conference sets the tone for the entire case

A funeral director who walks into an arrangement conference with a thorough, well-structured intake form communicates something important to the family: this person has done this before, they know what questions to ask, and nothing is going to fall through the cracks. That matters enormously to a family that is overwhelmed and relying on you to manage the details they cannot think about right now.

Every field on a funeral home intake form exists because someone, at some point, did not capture that information and a death certificate was rejected, a veteran did not receive military honors, an insurance claim was delayed, or a family received a bill they did not expect. The form is the institutional memory of everything that can go wrong — organized so that it does not.

If your funeral home also handles estate-related matters or coordinates with estate planning attorneys, the estate planning intake form guide covers the complementary documentation needed on the legal and fiduciary side.