Immediate burial

What it means

Immediate burial is the burial counterpart of direct cremation: the body is buried without a prior service, and any memorial happens separately.

Because there is no viewing, embalming is generally not involved.

It is one of the specific priced items a funeral provider must be able to quote separately.

Why it matters

It is usually among the least expensive options a provider offers, and it is rarely volunteered.

It also separates the burial from the ceremony, which lets a family gather when relatives can actually travel.

When you are likely to meet it

• When arranging a funeral.
• When reading a general price list.
• When relatives cannot gather quickly.

Related terms

• Burial transit permitThe permit that authorizes burial, cremation or moving a body — usually before anything else can happen.
• Direct cremationCremation without a viewing or ceremony beforehand. It is one of the least expensive options a funeral provider must offer.
• EmbalmingA chemical preservation of the body. It is rarely required by law, and a funeral provider must not tell you otherwise.
• Final dispositionWhat ultimately happens to the body — and the phrase every authorization form uses, which is why it appears on paper before anybody has explained it.
• The Funeral RuleA federal consumer protection rule that gives you the right to prices in writing and the right to buy only what you want.
• General price listThe itemized list of prices a funeral provider must hand you to keep, as soon as arrangements are discussed in person.
• Outer burial containerA vault or liner placed around a casket in the grave. Cemeteries often require one; state law usually does not.
• Veterans' burial benefitsWhat a veteran's family may claim after a death: interment in a national cemetery, a headstone or marker, a burial flag, and in some cases an allowance toward costs.

Official sources

The authority this page describes, at the agency that publishes it. Sahvelo does not restate a rule from a secondary source.

• 16 CFR Part 453 — the Funeral Rule, as published (opens in a new tab)The rule itself. The FTC's consumer guidance summarizes it.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• Funeral price rights