An obituary approval checklist should confirm names and dates, service details, photograph permission, privacy choices, and approval of the exact version that will be published. Give one staff member responsibility for the final release. A careful draft can still become an incorrect announcement if later edits bypass the approval step.
For U.S. funeral homes and memorial-service teams, this is a suggested publishing workflow. It does not decide who has legal authority when relatives disagree; disputed authority belongs with the manager and the firm's applicable state-law procedure.
Build one obituary approval checklist
Keep the working draft, requested changes, and approval record together. Identify the family contact responsible for reviewing the announcement through your established authorization process. Ask which other people that contact wishes to consult, but avoid sending simultaneous competing drafts to several relatives without an agreed way to consolidate changes.
Record the deceased person's preferred public name, pronunciation notes for staff, dates, relationships, and the family's wording. Mark unresolved items plainly. Do not turn a blank field into an invented birthplace, occupation, military history, or family relationship just to finish a paragraph.
Verify service information separately
Check the service information against the actual booking and the person managing the event. Confirm the day, date, start time, time zone where relevant, full address, and whether attendance is public or private. A proofreading pass for grammar will not catch a room change that never reached the writer.
Read the directions as a first-time visitor would. Distinguish the funeral home from a church, cemetery, or reception venue with a similar name. Confirm livestream instructions and donation links with their owners. If details are pending, say so with family approval rather than publish an assumption.
Ask a second staff member to review the logistical facts when staffing permits. Give that reviewer a specific task: compare the proof with the confirmed schedule. This is a different responsibility from improving the writing.
Confirm photograph permission and privacy choices
Ask where a submitted photograph came from and whether the funeral home has permission to publish it in the proposed places. The U.S. Copyright Office explains photograph ownership: the photographer generally owns the copyright initially, subject to exceptions such as work made for hire. Possessing a print alone does not establish permission to reproduce it.
Ask the family which details it wants public. A public obituary does not need to reproduce every fact in an internal arrangement record. As an editorial practice, leave out account information, government identifiers, private contact details, and a home address unless there is a considered reason and appropriate approval to include it.
Separate the obituary proof from the private case file. Have staff use the approved public facts rather than copying an internal form into a publishing tool. This also makes it easier to show the family exactly what is being released.
Approve the exact version and each destination
Send a clean final proof with a version date or identifier, the image to be used, and the intended destinations. Explain any newspaper charge or deadline that affects the decision. Ask for a clear response approving that version. A casual “looks fine” about an earlier paragraph should not silently authorize later additions.
Sample wording to adapt: “Please review this version, including the photograph and service details. With your approval, we will publish it on the locations listed below. Tell us about any changes before we release it.” Preserve the response through your approved records process.
If a staff member uses AI to help draft, verify every factual sentence against the family's supplied information. Keep private case material out of unapproved tools. Stylistic assistance cannot supply missing facts or replace the family's final review.
Plan corrections before publication
Keep a list of everywhere the announcement was sent and who controls each copy. If a correction is needed, establish the correct wording with the authorized contact, update the version your team controls, and notify the other publishers. Explain honestly when a printed edition, repost, or cached copy cannot be changed by your staff.
A disputed relationship or instruction needs a pause, not a quick editorial compromise. Ask a manager to resolve the approval path before releasing the affected wording. Avoid promising a universal right to edit or remove every third-party copy.
After publication, open the public page once as a reader would. Check the photograph, links, line breaks, and service details. Save the publication location with the approved version so the next staff member can respond without reconstructing the process.
Step by step
Put it to work this week
Adapt these steps to your team, service area, and responsibilities.
Create a single proof record
Keep the draft, logistics checks, photo permission, destinations, and final approval in one controlled place.
- Who does it
- Office manager
- When
- This week
Assign a factual review
Have a colleague compare the service block with the confirmed schedule and check names against supplied information.
- Who does it
- Publishing staff
- When
- This week
Document corrections
Write a short correction procedure with publisher contacts and an escalation route for disputed instructions.
- Who does it
- Manager
- When
- This week
Questions professionals ask
- Who should approve an obituary before a funeral home publishes it?
Use the contact established through the funeral home's authorization process and clarify any additional review the family requests. Record approval of the exact final text, photograph, and destinations. If authority or family instructions are disputed, pause the affected publication and follow the manager's state-specific procedure.
- Can a funeral home use a family photograph in an obituary?
Confirm permission for the intended use before publishing it. The photographer generally owns the copyright initially, and having a print or appearing in the photograph does not by itself settle reproduction rights. Ask about its source and resolve uncertainty with the rights holder or appropriate adviser.
- What happens when an obituary contains an error?
Verify the correction with the authorized contact, update the version your team controls, and contact every other publisher to which you sent it. Keep a record of the corrected wording and actions. Explain any limits affecting printed, cached, or independently reposted copies instead of promising complete removal.
Sources and references
These references support the guidance in this article. Each entry names the source and the date we checked it. Open the links for more detail, and confirm current requirements, availability, or costs with the relevant organization before relying on them.
- U.S. Copyright Office — Photographs and Copyright · checked
Generally, the author and initial copyright owner of a photograph is the person who “shoots” or “takes” the photo.