Death Services: State Regulation of the Death Care Industry Varies and Officials Have Mixed Views on Need for Further Federal Involvement

GAO-12-65. The extent to which the federal and state governments regulate the death care industry-funeral homes, cemeteries, crematories, pre-need funeral plans, and third party sales of funeral goods-varies, as does the extent to which regulation has changed since GAO last reported on the regulation of the death care industry in 2003. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continues to annually conduct undercover shopping at various funeral homes to test compliance with the Funeral Rule. Of th...