Direct answer and scope

A GPL is a New York funeral firm's price-list document offered at the beginning of an in-person price or arrangement discussion. The individual may retain the printed or typewritten list. The document identifies the true registered firm name, address, telephone number, caption, and effective date. These are identification and date fields for the GPL itself.

Telephone information, a written quote or estimate, a merchandise price list, and a selected-item statement should remain identified by the document or communication actually received. The supplied evidence describes different purposes and scopes, but it does not establish a formal shopping stage for every document or a required sequence for every inquiry.

The selected-item statement is the written itemization furnished at arrangements that identifies selected services and merchandise, each price, and the funeral total. It separately addresses funeral-home charges and cash-advance items paid to third parties. An advertisement, incomplete telephone figure, worksheet, or this resource is not the required itemized statement.

How to use the official evidence

Begin by distinguishing telephone price information, the GPL, and the selected-item statement without relabeling one as another. For a GPL, record the stated effective date. For a selected-item statement, record the date furnished. If the available evidence does not state a relevant date or item, leave that point unresolved rather than substituting information from another record.

For a GPL, check the true registered firm name, address, telephone number, caption, and effective date. Those fields help identify the document and its stated effective date. They do not establish current firm status or availability, and the dated list does not establish that every outside amount is final.

For a selected-item statement, check the registered firm identity, funeral director's name and signature, date furnished, selected services and merchandise, each price, outside items, and funeral total. Separately identify funeral-home charges and cash-advance or outside amounts. A line label alone does not establish a markup, identify the third party, establish a final amount, or determine a legal classification.

Compare records only when they identify comparable goods and services, prices, cash advances or outside amounts, and unresolved requirements. Missing information remains unresolved. Any reconciliation should preserve the scope of the information actually documented rather than supplying an unstated selection, amount, date, or total.

Decision framework

Use the documented category and scope as the first decision point. At the beginning of an in-person price or arrangement discussion, look for the retainable GPL and its effective date. Keep telephone price information identified as a telephone communication. At arrangements, use the written itemized statement and its date furnished to identify the documented selections, prices, outside amounts, and funeral total. Do not relabel one category as another.

Use selection status as the next decision point. A document that provides prices within a stated scope does not perform the same documented function as the selected-item statement. The statement identifies the selected lines, their prices, funeral-home charges, cash-advance or outside amounts, and funeral total.

Use reconciliation only when the evidence is comparable. The same controlled row set should be documented on both sides, including selected goods and services, prices, cash advances or outside amounts, and unresolved requirements. Any difference calculated from user-entered evidence is arithmetic on those records, not a savings claim, recommendation, quality score, final-price prediction, or compliance verdict.

Comparison from the supplied verified evidence
Information or documentDocumented purposeDocumented date fieldWhat it supportsWhat it does not supportReconciliation check
General Price ListOffered at the beginning of an in-person price or arrangement discussion and retainable by the individualEffective dateFirm identity and price-list information within the document's stated scopeCurrent firm status, availability, or finality of every outside amountCompare its listed goods and services with the selected-item statement
Telephone price informationPrice information supplied by telephoneNo date field established by the supplied evidenceThe price information communicated by telephoneThe selected services, merchandise, outside amounts, or written funeral total unless expressly documentedCompare only documented items and leave unstated points unresolved
Selected-item statementWritten itemization furnished at arrangementsDate furnishedSelected services and merchandise, each price, outside amounts, and funeral totalAmounts or requirements not identified in the statementCheck firm, director, date, selected lines, outside items, and total

Limits and what to verify next

Read a dated GPL as a document with an effective date, not as a complete record of a later selection. Confirm the registered firm identity shown on the document and retain the document itself. Do not treat the effective date as proof of current firm status or availability.

For the selected-item statement, verify the firm identity, funeral director's name and signature, date furnished, selected services and merchandise, each price, funeral-home charges, cash-advance or outside amounts, and funeral total. These fields provide the documented basis for identifying the selections and written total.

If a document is undated, incomplete, or does not identify whether an amount is a funeral-home charge or an outside amount, preserve that uncertainty. Do not convert a missing amount into zero or assume that an unresolved item is included, excluded, or final. Seek written evidence that identifies the relevant selection, prices, outside amounts, and total, and verify current requirements with the appropriate New York source.

Questions people ask

The three categories should be distinguished by their expressly documented purpose and scope. A GPL is offered at the beginning of an in-person price or arrangement discussion and may be retained. Telephone price information is supplied by telephone. The selected-item statement furnished at arrangements identifies the documented selections, prices, outside amounts, and funeral total.

An itemized statement is not the same as a GPL. The GPL identifies the registered firm and effective date and presents price-list information. The selected-item statement identifies selected services and merchandise, each price, outside amounts, and the funeral total, along with its required firm, director, and date fields.

The selected-item statement is the document that records the selected goods and services and the written funeral total. Telephone price information is not interchangeable with that statement and does not by itself establish the statement's documented selections, itemization, outside amounts, or total.

If a document does not state a date, selected line, outside amount, requirement, or total, leave that point unresolved. Do not infer a value or use another document to fill the gap. Preserve the document's own scope and seek written evidence that addresses the unresolved point.

Evidence behind this page

Each point below is restricted to what the cited primary source supports. Administrative listing status is not a quality endorsement.

Claim-level evidence used on this page
EvidenceSupported pointScope and limitation
Evidence 1Explain the in-person handoff point and distinguish receiving a retainable General Price List from viewing advertising or an informal estimate.Keep this statement within the in-person scope of the regulation and do not broaden it to a universal email or website-posting duty.
Evidence 2Use firm identity and the General Price List effective date as document-quality fields in the worksheet.A dated General Price List does not prove current firm status, availability, or that every outside amount is final.
Evidence 3Explain how to reconcile a General Price List or quote with the selected-item statement and its written total before signing.Do not treat an advertisement, incomplete telephone figure, worksheet, or this website as the required itemized statement or contract.
Evidence 4Provide a document-completeness checklist for the firm, director, date, selected lines, outside items, and total.The browser worksheet must not request or retain the deceased person's name, place of death, date of death, or the consumer's identity.
Evidence 5Separate user-entered funeral-home and cash-advance subtotals and retain an estimate as an estimate.Do not infer a markup, third-party identity, final amount, or legal classification from a line label alone.
Evidence 6Display a scenario difference only after the same controlled row set is documented on both sides and every unknown status is resolved.The difference is arithmetic on user-entered evidence, not a savings claim, recommendation, quality score, final-price prediction, or compliance verdict.
Evidence 7Compare only the expressly documented purpose and scope of telephone price information, the General Price List, and the selected-item statement; use the statement for the documented selections and written total.Do not invent formal shopping stages, a required sequence for estimates, or document fields that the supplied evidence does not state. Do not call an advertisement or worksheet a GPL, statement, contract, final quote, or proof of current availability.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between telephone price information and a GPL?

Telephone price information is communicated by telephone within the communication's stated scope. A New York GPL is a printed or typewritten price list offered at the beginning of an in-person price or arrangement discussion, and the individual may retain it. They are not interchangeable documents.

Is an itemized statement the same as a GPL?

No. The GPL identifies the registered firm and its effective date and presents price-list information. The itemized statement furnished at arrangements identifies selected services and merchandise, each price, outside amounts, and the funeral total, together with the required firm, director, and date fields.

Which document records selected goods and services?

The written itemized statement furnished at arrangements records the selected services and merchandise, each price, cash-advance or outside amounts, and the funeral total.

Which document records the written funeral total?

The written itemized statement furnished at arrangements identifies the funeral total. Telephone price information is not interchangeable with the required itemized statement.

Which identity fields belong on a New York GPL?

The GPL identifies the true registered firm name, address, telephone number, caption, and effective date. These fields identify the document and its stated effective date; they do not establish current firm status or availability.

What should remain unresolved when a document does not state it?

Leave an unstated date, amount, selected line, outside-item status, requirement, or total unresolved. Do not convert missing information into zero, included, excluded, or final. Keep the document within its own stated scope and seek written evidence addressing the unresolved point.

Primary sources

  1. Federal Trade Commission — Complying with the Funeral Rule Verified 2026-08-26
  2. Federal Trade Commission — Shopping for Funeral Services by Phone or Online Verified 2026-08-26
  3. New York State Department of Health — 10 NYCRR 79.4 General Price List Verified 2026-08-26
  4. New York State Department of Health — 10 NYCRR 78.1 Contents of Statement Verified 2026-08-26
  5. Office of the New York State Attorney General — Funeral Services Verified 2026-08-26
  6. New York State Department of Health — A Consumer's Guide to Arranging a Funeral Verified 2026-08-26
  7. New York State Department of Health — 10 NYCRR 77.12 Misconduct Verified 2026-08-26