Should every case use the same checklist?

Use one standard list as the base and adjust it per case. A cremation with a memorial service will skip some burial steps; a veteran’s service will add some.

A funeral arrangement checklist for small funeral homes

Updated October 22, 2026 · For independent funeral homes

In a small funeral home, a lot of the process lives in the director’s head. That works until two cases overlap, someone is out sick, or a family calls and the person who answers doesn’t know what’s been done. A shared checklist for every case solves most of it.

Below is a starting checklist. Adjust it to your state’s requirements, your own services and the way your staff divide the work.

First call and transfer

Take the first call: name of the deceased, place of death, next of kin, contact number.
Confirm the death has been pronounced and whether the medical examiner or coroner is involved.
Arrange transfer into your care.
Schedule the arrangement conference with the family.

Arrangement conference

Confirm who has the legal right to make arrangements.
Choose burial or cremation, and the type of service.
Collect information for the death certificate and obituary.
Review the itemized statement of goods and services and get signatures.
Agree dates: visitation, service, burial or cremation.

Paperwork and permits

File the death certificate and obtain certified copies for the family.
Obtain the burial or cremation permit required in your state.
Cremation authorization, if applicable.
Notify Social Security and help the family with veterans’ benefits if eligible.

Service preparation

Confirm clergy or officiant, music and readings.
Order flowers, printed programs and memorial items.
Coordinate with the cemetery or crematory.
Publish the obituary.
Arrange vehicles and staff for the day.

After the service

Deliver remaining death certificates and paperwork to the family.
Return personal effects and photographs.
Close out the account.
Schedule an aftercare follow-up call.

Make it shared, not personal

The checklist only helps if everyone uses the same one and ticks items off as they’re done. Then anyone answering the phone can see where a case stands, and a director covering for a colleague can pick up where they left off.

Common questions

Should every case use the same checklist?: Use one standard list as the base and adjust it per case. A cremation with a memorial service will skip some burial steps; a veteran’s service will add some.