Newspaper Obituary Submission

Who actually submits the obituary

In most cases the funeral home submits the obituary on the family's behalf as part of their service package. The funeral director already has relationships with the local papers, knows their formats and deadlines, and can coordinate the run date with the service date. If that is the arrangement, you write the obituary, send it to the funeral director, and they handle the rest. Some funeral homes include this in their base price; others charge a small coordination fee, usually $25 to $75. If the funeral home is not submitting on your behalf, or if you want the obituary to run in a paper outside their normal circulation area, you will submit directly to the paper through their obituary portal. Most papers now accept submissions online, with email backup for families who prefer it.

Cost expectations

Newspaper obituary pricing varies more than most families expect. Small local weeklies in rural areas charge $50 to $200 for a standard obituary. Mid-size regional papers and small daily papers usually charge $200 to $800. Major metro dailies, such as the Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, or Los Angeles Times, often charge $400 to $1,500, with longer obituaries running into four figures. National papers like the New York Times charge $1,200 and up for a print obituary, with significant Sunday premiums. Photos add $50 to $200 in most papers. Weekend runs add 20 to 50 percent. Online-only listings on the paper's website are sometimes free as a bundle with print, and sometimes a separate $30 to $100 fee. Always get a written quote that breaks out the per-line or flat-fee base, the photo upcharge, the weekend premium, and the online listing. Two papers in the same metro area can quote prices that differ by hundreds of dollars for the same word count.

Submission checklist

Before you start the submission, gather the following items in one document: the final approved obituary text, the photo file (typically JPG, at least 1000 pixels wide), the run date or dates you want, the section of the paper where it should appear (usually obituaries; sometimes families request a separate community announcement), the contact phone number and email for the family, the billing contact and payment method, and the funeral home name and contact information. Most submission portals walk you through these fields in order. Having everything in one document means you do not have to pause halfway through to look up a service time or a phone number.

Working with the funeral home

If the funeral home is coordinating, send them the final obituary text by email and ask for written confirmation that it has been submitted. The funeral director will receive the proof from the paper and forward it to you for approval. Read the proof against your original draft, line by line, and reply with either approval or a corrections list. Once the obituary runs, ask the funeral home for a clipping or a digital copy for the family archive. Many funeral homes also post the same obituary on their own website at no extra cost, which gives the family a permanent online version that does not depend on the paper's archive.

Online versus print considerations

Print runs in the paper edition for a single day, then lives in the paper's archive. Online listings stay on the paper's website for years and are searchable, which means a grandchild looking up the name a decade from now will find the obituary. Most families opt for both print and online when the paper offers a bundle. If the budget is tight, the online listing alone is often the better long-term value because it stays available and is shareable through links. If reaching older readers who still read the paper edition is important to the family, the print run is worth the extra cost.

Submission steps

A clear sequence from the first call to the funeral home to the day the obituary runs.

1. Step 1.Decide whether the funeral home submits on your behalf

   Ask the funeral director on the first call whether obituary submission is part of their service. Most are willing to coordinate with the paper for a small fee or as a bundled service. If they handle it, you write the obituary, send it to them, and they take care of the rest, including the proof review. If you decide to submit directly, the funeral home can usually still provide the photo and basic service details on request. Make this decision early so the timeline is clear.

2. Step 2.Identify the paper or papers

   Most obituaries run in the local paper of the city where the person lived. If the person moved cities later in life, families often run the obituary in both the paper where they spent most of their life and the paper where they died. If the person had a notable career, an obituary in a metro or trade paper may also be appropriate. Make a short list of papers, get a price quote from each, and decide together with the family which ones to use. Submitting in three papers is common; more than that is unusual and expensive.

3. Step 3.Gather the required fields

   Every newspaper obituary submission requires the same core fields: full name with maiden name if applicable, age, city and state of residence, date of death, biographical timeline, names of surviving family, service details, donation information, and a photo. Some papers also require a phone number for verification, which they do not publish but use to confirm the family submitted the obituary. Have all of this in front of you before you open the submission portal.

4. Step 4.Draft the obituary

   Write the obituary itself before you log in to any portal. A typical newspaper obituary runs 200 to 400 words. The guide on how to write an obituary covers the writing process in detail. Once the draft is approved by the family, paste it into the portal as a single block of text. Most papers will format the line breaks themselves; you do not need to add formatting marks. Spell-check the draft before you submit, then have one more family member read it on screen before you click send.

5. Step 5.Submit through the portal or by email

   Most papers now have a dedicated obituary submission portal on their website. You will create a one-time account, fill in the fields, paste the obituary text, upload the photo, and select the run dates. Some papers also accept email submissions, with the obituary text in the body of the email and the photo as an attachment. Email is slower because a human has to format the entry. If the deadline is tight, use the portal. Confirm the submission deadline for the run date you want; most papers require submission 24 to 48 hours before the run date, and weekend runs often require Thursday or Friday submission.

6. Step 6.Proof and approve

   After submission, the paper will send a proof, usually by email, within a few hours to a day. The proof shows the obituary as it will appear in print, with the chosen photo and the formatted layout. Read the proof carefully, checking every name, date, and address. The proof is your last chance to catch errors. Once you approve, the obituary is locked in for the run date. If you find an error on the proof, the paper will usually fix it at no charge as long as you reply before the deadline.

7. Step 7.Pay the fee and confirm the run date

   Most papers require payment before the obituary runs. Credit card is standard; some papers also accept funeral home billing if the funeral director is coordinating. After payment, the paper will confirm the run date and the issue or issues the obituary will appear in. Save the confirmation email for your records. Some families keep the printed paper as a memento and order extra copies through the paper's circulation department, usually for $5 to $10 per copy.

8. Step 8.Schedule the run date relative to the service

   The obituary usually runs one to three days before the service so readers have time to plan attendance. For a Saturday service, a Thursday or Friday run date works well. For a midweek service, the day before or two days before is standard. If the service date is still being finalized, ask the paper if they will accept a placeholder submission and update later. Many papers will, especially when the funeral home is involved. Avoid submitting before the service date is confirmed; printing the wrong service time is the most common obituary error and the hardest to correct.

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