If you have a problem with a funeral industry service provider, it’s best to try to resolve it first with the funeral director. If you are dissatisfied with the funeral services you receive and cannot resolve the matter directly, you may contact the licensing board that regulates the funeral industry in your state. These organizations want to know about problems with their members, and some may also offer mediation help. Some additional agencies that could help are listed below.
- Cremation Association of North America
CANA is an association of crematories, cemeteries, and funeral homes that offer cremation. - Funeral Consumers Alliance
FCA is a nonprofit educational organization that supports increased funeral consumer protection. Their website has free pamphlets on funeral planning, plus a directory of local volunteer funeral planning groups. - Green Burial Council
GBC, an independent, nonprofit that encourages environmentally sustainable death care practices as a means of acquiring, restoring, and stewarding natural areas, assists consumers in identifying “green” cemetery, funeral, and cremation services. - International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association
ICCFA is a nonprofit association of cemeteries, funeral homes, crematories, and monument retailers that offers informal mediation of consumer complaints through its Cemetery Consumer Service Council. Its website provides information and advice in its Consumer Resource Guide. - International Order of the Golden Rule
OGR is an international association of about 1,300 independent funeral homes. - Jewish Funeral Directors of America
JFDA is an international association of funeral homes serving the Jewish community. - National Funeral Directors Association
NFDA is an educational and professional association of funeral directors, which provides consumer information and sponsors the NFDA Help Line, which is designed to help consumers resolve complaints about NFDA members. - National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association
NFDMA is a national association primarily of African-American funeral providers. - Selected Independent Funeral Homes
SIFH is an international association of funeral firms that have agreed to comply with its Code of Good Funeral Practices.
You also can contact your state Attorney General’s office, local consumer protection agencies, or file a complaint with the FTC, either online or by calling 877-382-4357. Although the Commission cannot resolve individual problems for consumers, it can act against a company if it sees a pattern of possible law violations.