Funeral QuestionsObituaries & Funeral Notices
Writing and publishing obituaries, death notices, and funeral notices — wording, where to publish, and costs.
In the days after a death, families are often asked to produce three different pieces of writing at once: a notice, an obituary, and a eulogy, usually without ever having written any of them before. This hub brings together the site's guidance on what each one is for, how to write it, and what it typically costs to publish.
What Are Obituaries and Funeral Notices?
An obituary is a written account of someone's life; a funeral (or death) notice is a brief, practical announcement of the death and service details. Both are optional, both are commonly published in newspapers or online, and both are distinct from a eulogy, which is spoken aloud at the service rather than published.
Why Getting This Right Matters
A funeral notice with the wrong time or venue causes real distress on the day itself. An obituary that reads like a form letter, or omits the people who mattered most, is difficult for a family to see in print once it's published. And a notice written as a full life story, rather than a brief announcement, typically costs far more than it needed to. Getting the purpose of each piece right, before writing a word, saves both money and a painful correction later.
Key Concepts
- Funeral notice (or death notice): a brief, formal announcement (typically 50 to 150 words) giving service details. See how to write a funeral notice.
- Obituary: a longer written account of the person's life (typically 200 to 800 words), for a wider readership, with no strict deadline. See how to write an obituary.
- Eulogy: the spoken tribute delivered at the service itself; see how to write a eulogy (a sibling topic, not part of this cluster).
Typical Costs
Newspaper notices are typically priced by the line or word. A short notice commonly costs $50 to $150, with longer pieces, photos, or multiple publications costing more. Online publishing (funeral home websites, dedicated notice pages, online memorials) is usually far cheaper or free, which is why many families run a brief paid print notice alongside a longer, free online version. See how much does it cost to publish an obituary or funeral notice for a full breakdown.
Common Mistakes
- Writing the full life story into the funeral notice. That's the obituary's job: a lengthy notice reads as cluttered and costs more to publish.
- Treating all three pieces as compulsory. Only the notice has any practical necessity, and only when the service is public.
- Reusing one piece verbatim for another. An obituary read aloud sounds like a press release; a eulogy published as an obituary assumes context strangers don't have.
- Missing the notice's deadline. The notice must run before the funeral; the obituary and eulogy don't share that constraint.
Where to Get Help
- Your funeral director: most will draft or help edit the notice, and can advise on publications, deadlines, and typical costs.
- Healthdirect (healthdirect.gov.au): grief and loss support if writing about the death itself feels overwhelming.
Related Topics
- Eulogies and Tributes: the spoken tribute delivered at the service.
- Online Memorials: a lasting home for the words and photos gathered for a notice or obituary.
- Funeral Planning: where the notice and obituary sit within the broader sequence after a death.
Common Questions
Do you need both an obituary and a funeral notice? Not necessarily. See obituary vs death notice vs eulogy for how to decide which of the three you actually need for a given service.
Who usually writes each one? By convention rather than any rule: the funeral notice is often drafted with the funeral director's help; the obituary is written by whichever family member writes most comfortably, ideally pooling memories from others; and the eulogy is delivered by someone the family chooses.
Can you publish an obituary without a photo? Yes. A photo is optional in both print and online publishing, though most families include one where a suitable recent photo exists.
Is it too late to publish an obituary if the funeral has already happened? No. Unlike a funeral notice, which needs to run before the service, an obituary has no deadline and is commonly published days or even weeks after the funeral.
Knowledge Base
How-To Guides
- How Do You Write a Funeral Notice?
- How Do You Write an Obituary?
- How Do You Write an Obituary or Funeral Notice After a Suicide, Overdose, or Other Sensitive Death?
- How Do You Write an Obituary for Someone You Had a Difficult Relationship With?
Comparisons
After Publishing
Costs
Forum Discussions