Cremation Glossary: Price List Terms

Alkaline hydrolysis: Also called water cremation or aquamation. A process that uses water, heat and an alkaline solution instead of flame. It is legal in some states and not others.
Alternative container: A simple, rigid container made of cardboard, fiberboard or similar material, used to hold the body for cremation. Federal rules say a funeral home offering direct cremation must make one available. A casket is not required.
At-need: Arrangements made after a death has occurred, as opposed to arrangements made in advance.
Authorizing agent: The person with the legal right to authorize a cremation. State law sets the order: usually someone the deceased named in writing, then the spouse, adult children, parents and siblings.
Basic services fee: A charge for the funeral director’s time, planning, paperwork and overhead. It appears on almost every price list, and it is the one fee a family cannot decline.
Cash advance items: Things the funeral home pays an outside party for on your behalf and bills to you, such as death certificates, a crematory’s fee, an obituary notice or clergy. Ask whether the funeral home adds a service charge.
Certified death certificate: An official copy of the death certificate issued by the state or county, with a seal. Banks, insurers and government offices usually require a certified copy, not a photocopy.
Columbarium: A structure with small compartments, called niches, where urns are placed permanently.
Coroner or medical examiner: The county or state official who investigates certain deaths. In many places this office must approve a cremation before it takes place, and some charge a fee for doing so.
Cremated remains: What is returned to the family after cremation: bone fragments processed to a fine, sand-like consistency. Often called ashes, and sometimes cremains.
Cremation authorization: The form the authorizing agent signs to give permission for the cremation. It also records instructions for what should happen with the cremated remains.
Cremation permit: A permit, issued by a county or state office, that must be in hand before a cremation can go ahead. Some places call it a disposition or burial-transit permit.
Crematory: The facility where cremations are carried out. Some funeral homes own one. Others use a separate, licensed crematory and pass the fee on.
DD-214: A veteran’s discharge paper. It is needed to claim military funeral honors, a burial allowance, or a place in a national cemetery.
Direct cremation: A cremation with no viewing, visitation or ceremony beforehand. The funeral home brings the person into its care, completes the paperwork, carries out the cremation and returns the ashes. It is the simplest and usually the least expensive option.
Disposition: The legal term for what finally happens to a body: burial, cremation, donation or another lawful method.
Embalming: Preserving a body with chemicals. No state requires routine embalming, and it is not needed for direct cremation. A funeral home may require it for a public viewing.
Funeral Rule: The Federal Trade Commission rule, in force since 1984, that gives consumers the right to prices by phone, an itemized General Price List, and the freedom to buy only the goods and services they want.
General Price List (GPL): The itemized price list a funeral home must give to anyone who asks in person about its goods, services or prices. It is yours to keep.
Itemized statement: A written list of exactly what you have chosen and what each item costs. The funeral home must give it to you before you pay.
Memorial service: A ceremony held without the body present. After a direct cremation, a memorial can be held at any time and in any place.
Niche: A compartment in a columbarium that holds an urn.
Preneed: Arrangements made, and often paid for, before death. Prepaid contracts are regulated by each state.
Refrigeration: Keeping the body in cooled care until the cremation. Some price lists include a set number of days and charge a daily fee after that.
Scattering: Releasing cremated remains on land or water. Rules depend on where: private land needs the owner’s permission, public land may need a permit, and scattering at sea must take place at least three nautical miles from shore.
Temporary container: The simple box or plastic urn in which cremated remains are returned when the family has not chosen an urn.
Transfer: Bringing the person who has died from the place of death into the funeral home’s care. Price lists may call it removal or first call.
Urn: A container for cremated remains. You may buy one anywhere. A funeral home must accept an urn bought elsewhere and may not charge a fee for doing so.
Witnessed cremation: An arrangement in which family members are present when the cremation begins. Many crematories offer it, sometimes for an added fee.

See these terms in use: check a cremation quote, or read your rights under the Funeral Rule.

Cremation glossary