Preneed funeral contracts in Ohio
A preneed funeral contract is a written agreement to buy funeral services or goods before a death. Ohio gives a purchaser seven days to rescind a newly signed contract and receive one hundred per cent of everything paid, and ORC 4717.34 requires the contract to carry that notice in boldface. Only a funeral director licensed under ORC chapter 4717 may sell a preneed contract that includes funeral services. How the money is protected depends on whether the contract is funded by a trust or by an insurance policy. Statutory text read on 6 August 2026.
The seven-day right to change your mind
ORC 4717.34 provides that a purchaser, on initially entering into a preneed funeral contract, may within seven days rescind it and "request and receive from the seller of the contract one hundred per cent of all payments made under the contract". The section then dictates the notice the contract itself must carry, in boldface: "NOTICE: Under Ohio law, you, as the purchaser of this contract, may rescind it and receive a refund of all payments you made under the contract. To rescind the contract, you must notify the seller within seven days of signing the contract."
The same section provides that no preneed funeral contract may contain a provision restricting the purchaser from making the contract irrevocable. Reading the boldface notice before signing is the fastest check available: if it is absent, the contract in front of you does not comply with the section that gives you the refund.
Two ways to fund one, and two different regulators
A trust-funded contract is governed by ORC 4717.36, which applies only to contracts funded by something other than an insurance policy or annuity. A seller offering a guaranteed price may charge an initial service fee of no more than ten per cent of the total of all payments to be made under the contract. Every other payment must be payable to the trustee of the preneed funeral contract trust and remitted within thirty days, and the section states that "The funds deposited with the trustee shall remain intact and held in trust for the contract beneficiary."
The alternative is funding by the purchase or assignment of an insurance policy or annuity under ORC 3905.45. A contract funded that way is expressly not subject to ORC 4717.36, so there is no trust and the ten per cent cap does not apply; the protection comes from the policy instead. Enforcement splits accordingly. The Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors administers and enforces ORC 4717.31 to 4717.38 for the preneed contract, while the Superintendent of Insurance enforces several of those sections as they apply to insurance companies and agents.
Who may sell what is also fixed. Only a licensed funeral director may sell a preneed contract that includes funeral services. A licensed insurance agent may sell, solicit or negotiate the policy or annuity that funds one, but ORC 4717.31 states that in doing so the agent "may not offer advice or make recommendations about funeral services and may not discuss the advantages or disadvantages of any funeral service". An agent who starts advising you on the funeral itself has stepped outside the role the statute gives them.
If the funeral home closes
ORC 4717.13 requires a funeral home that closes to notify every preneed purchaser by first-class mail and to transfer the contracts within thirty days. Where the closing home fails to designate a successor, the statute provides that the board shall make the designations and order the transfer. A contract does not evaporate because the building did.
Ohio also maintains a preneed recovery fund under ORC 4717.41. The board's own site states, in a notice we read on 6 August 2026, that effective 1 July 2026 the required fee is five dollars per preneed funeral contract reported to ARPPS. That fee is paid by the seller, not by you, and the figure is the kind of number that moves: check the board's current notice rather than this page if it matters to a decision.
Before you sign
The Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule applies to arrangements made in advance exactly as it applies to arrangements made after a death. That means you are entitled to a General Price List at a preneed meeting, and a provider cannot offer only package funerals to preneed customers. Our separate guide to reading a General Price List covers what that document has to contain.
Three questions are worth asking before money changes hands: whether the contract is trust-funded or insurance-funded, whether the price is guaranteed and what happens if costs rise, and what the contract says about transferring it if you move or the firm changes hands. The answers should be in the contract, whose required contents are themselves set by statute at ORC 4717.32.
This is general information drawn from the current Ohio Revised Code and the FTC's published guidance, read on 6 August 2026, and it is not legal or financial advice. A preneed contract is a long-term financial commitment; confirm the details with the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, 77 South High Street, 16th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215-6108, (614) 466-4252, and take independent advice before signing.
Browse the directory of funeral homes. Each listing shows its verification status and the date it was last checked, so you can see how current the information is before you reach out.