One of the most common things families discover — often at the worst possible moment — is that they weren’t sure what they actually had to buy. When you’re sitting in a funeral home arranging services, it can feel like everything on the list is required. That’s not always true.
Ontario’s Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act 2002 (FBCSA) defines a specific baseline of services that must be purchased — and equally important, it makes clear what falls outside that baseline. Understanding this distinction puts real power back in your hands.
The Minimum Services Charge: What It Is
Under the FBCSA, every funeral engagement with a licensed funeral establishment involves what’s called a “Minimum Services” charge. This is the non-declinable fee — you cannot opt out of it — that covers the essential professional services required to facilitate the legal disposition of a deceased person.
The Minimum Services charge is not a penalty or an arbitrary fee. It covers genuine, necessary work that the funeral establishment must perform regardless of what other choices you make.
What the Minimum Services Charge Covers
According to the BAO’s Consumer Information Guide, the Minimum Services charge must be itemized and covers:
- Professional and staff services
- Documentation — including death registration and obtaining the necessary permits
- Minimum preparation of remains
- Facilities for preparation and shelter (such as a holding room)
- Initial transfer of remains — from the place of death to the funeral home or holding facility
- An administration vehicle
- Final transfer of remains — from the funeral home to the cemetery, crematorium, or other place of disposition
These are the baseline services every family will need, regardless of the type of service they choose — burial, cremation, or alkaline hydrolysis.
What Is NOT Included in the Minimum Services Charge
This is where families often have more flexibility than they realize. The following costs are separate from the Minimum Services charge — they are additional, and in many cases, you have control over where you source them:
- Supplies: Caskets, urns, outer burial containers, vaults, stationery. These are explicitly not part of the minimum — and crucially, you can purchase them from any supplier, including directly from Casket Mart.
- Embalming: Embalming is not required by Ontario law in most circumstances. It is an additional service you can choose, but you cannot be required to purchase it (with some narrow exceptions such as transportation out of province).
- Visitation and viewing: Optional. If you choose to have a visitation or viewing, this is an additional service.
- Pallbearers: Optional for burial services.
- Cemetery or crematorium fees: These are separate disbursements — fees paid on your behalf to third parties. They are not the funeral home’s revenue.
- Applicable taxes: HST is added on top of the service fees.
The casket — often the most expensive single item on a funeral invoice — is explicitly classified as a “supply” that sits outside the Minimum Services charge. That means you choose where to buy it, and no handling fee can be charged by the funeral home for accepting an outside casket.
Why This Matters Practically
Knowing this breakdown helps you ask better questions and make more informed decisions. When you see a funeral invoice, you can identify which items are non-negotiable (the Minimum Services fee), which are optional add-ons (embalming, visitation), and which are things you can source independently at a better price (the casket).
Many families are surprised to learn that a dignified, well-managed funeral doesn’t require purchasing every item from the funeral home. You can arrange a meaningful service — with all the professional care your family deserves — while making thoughtful, informed choices about where your money goes.
Getting More Information
If you’d like to understand Ontario funeral costs and regulations more deeply, the BAO’s Consumer Information Guide is an excellent resource — available free at thebao.ca. It covers everything from minimum services to prepaid contracts to your rights if something goes wrong.
And if you have questions specifically about casket purchasing — what’s available, how the process works, and how it interacts with your funeral home arrangement — we’re always happy to talk. Reach out to Casket Mart by phone at 519 532 2008 or toll free at 1 844 442 2008 or through www.casketmart.ca. No pressure, no obligation — just answers.