How to handle the parts of a funeral yourself to cut cost

What you can legally do yourself

State law varies but most U.S. states permit families to handle some or all of these tasks without a funeral home:

• Pronounce and prepare the body. Most states permit family-led care of the body for an immediate-burial or direct-cremation pathway, with no embalming requirement.
• Transport the deceased. 41 states permit family-led transport of the deceased, typically with proper paperwork (death certificate, transit permit). The remaining 9 states require a licensed funeral director's involvement for transport.
• File the death certificate. Most states permit family-led filing of the death certificate at the state vital records office; some require submission through a licensed funeral director.
• Bury on family-owned land. 38 states permit private burial on family-owned land subject to local zoning, public health setbacks, and recordkeeping requirements.
• Hold a home wake or visitation. All states permit a home wake without embalming, subject to refrigeration or burial within state-specific time limits (typically 24-72 hours).

What you cannot legally do yourself

• Operate a crematory. Cremation must be performed by a licensed crematory.
• Sell funeral services to other families. State licensing applies the moment you charge for services.
• File the death certificate without state-mandated information. The certifying physician's portion of the certificate must come from a licensed medical professional.
• Bury in a regulated cemetery without paying the cemetery's required fees and meeting their requirements (outer burial container, casket, etc.).
• Transport the deceased across state lines without proper permits. Interstate transport requires a transit permit from the state of death.

Realistic DIY cost

A worked example for a fully DIY direct cremation with family-led transport and filing in a state that permits it:

The DIY savings range $400-$1,400 depending on state and crematory. The DIY emotional and time cost is significant and not suitable for every family.

Pricing source disclosure

Every dollar amount on Cheap Funeral is sourced from each funeral home's published General Price List (GPL) under the FTC Funeral Rule (16 CFR Part 453). The Rule requires every U.S. funeral home to provide an itemized GPL on request — by phone, in person, or in many cases online. Where a home has not published a GPL we mark the listing accordingly rather than estimate.

National benchmarks throughout this article are drawn from the National Funeral Directors Association 2023 Member General Price List Study (NFDA, July 2023), which reports the median U.S. cost of a funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300 and the median direct cremation at $2,495.