Funeral Terms and Contact Information
This article provides a glossary of terms you will encounter when planning a funeral.
Glossary of Funeral Terms
Alternative container—An unfinished wood box or other nonmetal receptacle without ornamentation, often made of fiberboard, pressed wood, or composition materials, and generally lower in cost than caskets
Casket/coffin—A box or chest for burying remains
Cemetery property—A grave, crypt, or niche
Cemetery services—Opening and closing graves, crypts, or niches; setting grave liners and vaults; setting markers; and long-term maintenance of cemetery grounds and facilities
Columbarium—A structure with niches (small spaces) for placing cremated remains in urns or other approved containers which may be outdoors or part of a mausoleum
Cremation—Exposing remains and the container encasing them to extreme heat and flame and processing the resulting bone fragments to a uniform size and consistency
Crypt—A space in a mausoleum or other building to hold cremated or whole remains
Disposition—The placement of cremated or whole remains in their final resting place
Endowment care fund—Money collected from cemetery property purchasers and placed in trust for the maintenance and upkeep of the cemetery
Entombment—Burial in a mausoleum
Funeral ceremony—A service commemorating the deceased, with the body present.
Funeral services—Services provided by a funeral director and staff, which may include consulting with the family on funeral planning; transportation, shelter, refrigeration, and embalming of remains; preparing and filing notices; obtaining authorizations and permits; and coordinating with the cemetery, crematory, or other third parties
Grave—A space in the ground in a cemetery for the burial of remains
Grave liner or outer container—A concrete cover that fits over a casket in a grave. Some liners cover tops and sides of the casket, while others, referred to as vaults, completely enclose the casket. Grave liners minimize ground settling.
Graveside service—A service held at the cemetery before burial to commemorate the deceased
Interment—Burial in the ground, inurnment, or entombment
Inurnment—The placing of cremated remains in an urn
Mausoleum—A building in which remains are buried or entombed
Memorial service—A ceremony commemorating the deceased, without the body present
Niche—A space in a columbarium, mausoleum, or niche wall to hold an urn
Urn—A container to hold cremated remains that can be placed in a columbarium or mausoleum, or buried in the ground
Vault—A grave liner that completely encloses a casket
For More Information About Funerals, Funeral Providers, and Where to File a Complaint
Most states have a licensing board that regulates the funeral industry. You may contact the board in your state for information or help. If you want additional information about making funeral arrangements and the options available, you may want to contact interested business, professional and consumer groups.
Resolving Problems
If you have a problem concerning funeral matters, it's best to try to resolve it first with the funeral director. If you are dissatisfied with the funeral services you receive, the Funeral Consumers Alliance offers advice on how best to resolve a problem (Link opens in a new windowhttps://funerals.org). In addition, the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) at Link opens in a new windowhttps://nfda.org, and the International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association (ICCFA) Cemetery Consumer Service Council (CCSC) at Link opens in a new windowhttps://iccfa.com/ccsc may be able to provide informal mediation of a complaint. You also can contact your state attorney general's office (Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.naag.org) or local consumer protection agencies (Link opens in a new windowhttps://www.usa.gov/state-consumer).
In addition, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online at Link opens in a new windowhttps://reportfraud.ftc.gov. Although the Commission cannot resolve individual problems for consumers, it can act against a company if it sees a pattern of possible law violations.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC). (2012, July). Funeral terms and contact information. In Shopping for funeral services. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://consumer.ftc.gov