HomeAnswersWhat is a viewing at a funeral?
What is a viewing at a funeral?
A viewing is a time when mourners see the body of the person who died and pay their respects before the funeral or burial. Britannica notes that it tends to be shorter than a traditional wake and often takes place immediately before the funeral service. The FTC says a traditional full-service funeral usually includes a viewing or visitation as well as a formal funeral service, and the family decides whether the casket will be open or closed.
The National Funeral Directors Association describes two kinds of viewing, private and public, with a private viewing held in the chapel or viewing room of the funeral home. Embalming is not always required. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, funeral homes must tell you that embalming is not required by law except in certain special cases, although it may be necessary if you choose a funeral with viewing. Unless state or local law requires it, a funeral home may not tell you embalming is needed for a closed-casket funeral with no formal viewing or visitation when refrigeration is available. California's funeral regulator says its law does not require embalming, but an unembalmed body held over 24 hours must be refrigerated.
On price, the FTC's Funeral Rule compliance guide says a funeral home may charge a flat fee or an hourly fee for use of its facilities for a viewing, with one price covering both the staff and the facilities.
The sources behind this answer
- Britannica describes viewing the body as a tradition in which mourners pay their respects before the funeral or burial, usually shorter than a wake and often immediately before the funeral service. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Why Is the Vigil Before a Burial Called a Wake?
- The FTC says a traditional full-service funeral usually includes a viewing or visitation and a formal funeral service. FTC, Types of Funerals
- The FTC says family choices determine whether there will be a viewing or visitation and whether the casket will be open or closed. FTC, Types of Funerals
- The NFDA, the funeral directors' trade association, describes two kinds of viewing, private and public, with a private viewing held in the funeral home's chapel or viewing room. NFDA, Remembering A Life, Value of a Viewing
- The FTC Funeral Rule requires funeral homes to disclose on the general price list that embalming is not required by law except in certain special cases, but may be necessary for arrangements such as a funeral with viewing. 16 CFR 453.5 (eCFR)
- The FTC's compliance guide says that unless state or local law requires embalming, funeral homes may not say it is required for a closed-casket funeral with no formal viewing or visitation when refrigeration is available. FTC, Complying with the Funeral Rule
- California's Cemetery and Funeral Bureau says California law does not require embalming, but an unembalmed body held over 24 hours must be refrigerated. California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, Consumer Guide to Funeral and Cemetery Purchases
- The FTC's compliance guide says funeral homes may charge a flat fee or an hourly fee for use of their facilities for viewing, and the viewing price should include both staff services and facilities. FTC, Complying with the Funeral Rule
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