How to File a Complaint Against a Funeral Home in Texas
A funeral home, crematory, or cemetery let your family down. Here’s how to file a complaint with the Texas Funeral Service Commission, what the state can and can’t do, and when a complaint should be a lawsuit.
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When the People Trusted With Your Loved One Get It Wrong
The wrong body in the casket. Ashes that don’t come back. A grave opened in the wrong place. Families who find out usually want two things: answers, and to make sure it never happens to anyone else.
A state complaint can lead to discipline against a license. It cannot pay your family for what happened. That takes a claim. See how funeral negligence claims work in Texas.
You can do both. The order matters, and the clock is already running.
⚠ Talk to us before you file: your complaint can be used against you
A complaint to the Texas Funeral Service Commission is a statement by you. The funeral home can see it and use it against your family later. And the commission’s file stays closed to you, even by subpoena.
Call us before you file. We’ll help you write a complaint that supports your family’s case instead of hurting it.
How to File a Complaint Against a Funeral Home in Texas
- Call Malley Law early. A complaint is a statement by you, and it will be used against you. Talk to us before you file anything, so it helps your family’s case instead of hurting it.
- Write down what happened today. Names, dates, times, and exactly what staff told you, while it’s fresh.
- Keep every document. The contract, the General Price List, receipts, the death certificate, and any texts or emails. Send copies, never originals.
- Fill out the TFSC complaint form. Email it to [email protected] or mail it to 1801 Congress, Suite 11-800, Austin, TX 78701. Get the form on the commission’s complaint page.
- File within two years. Texas generally gives you two years to file a lawsuit, and the TFSC generally requires complaints within two years too. Funeral homes only have to keep records that long.
Not a funeral home? The TFSC covers funeral homes, funeral directors, embalmers, and crematories. Cemeteries and trust-funded prepaid funeral contracts go to the Texas Department of Banking, (877) 276-5554. Insurance-funded prepaid contracts go to the Texas Department of Insurance, 1-800-252-3439. Price list and package problems can also go to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
How to Write a Funeral Home Complaint Letter, With a Sample
Here’s our practical opinion: the Texas Funeral Service Commission does not investigate much. It has two funeral investigators for the whole state, and more than 1,700 licensed funeral homes, crematories, and other facilities to watch. In our experience, it is also a very political agency.
Most families write the complaint the way they lived it. Every relative, every phone call, every text before, during, and after the funeral. Those complaints go nowhere. The investigator has to dig for the violation, and with two investigators, nobody digs.
The TFSC form says you don’t need to cite a law, and we don’t. Instead, we lay out the facts so clearly that the violation is obvious without a citation. When the investigator reads it, they already know which rule was broken.
A strong complaint:
- Starts with the violation, in one or two sentences: what the funeral home did, the date, and its name, address, and license number.
- Makes the violation obvious, without citing a law. State the facts an investigator would need to see it, such as who signed the cremation authorization and who had the right to sign it.
- Names who was involved: the funeral director, embalmer, or crematory.
- Lists only the facts that prove it, in date order.
- Attaches proof: the contract, the General Price List, the cremation authorization, photos, texts and emails. Copies only.
- Leaves out everything else, however hard it was to live through.
| Hard to act on | Easy to act on |
|---|---|
| “When Dad passed, my sister called the funeral home first, then my brother called back on Tuesday, and the director told us…” | “On May 2, 2026, Example Funeral Home, 100 Main St., Houston, License No. ___, cremated my husband. I am his surviving spouse. I never signed a cremation authorization, and no one asked me to.” |
Even a precise complaint has a hard limit. By law, the TFSC’s file stays closed to you, even by subpoena. You’ll get status letters, but you may never learn what it found unless it issues a public order.
Malley Law knows the funeral statutes and the TFSC’s rules, and how to put a complaint in front of the agency so it can’t be ignored.
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How to Look Up a Funeral Home's Violations in Texas
Before you file, see what the state has already found. The TFSC’s License Search and Verification shows whether a funeral home, funeral director, embalmer, or crematory is licensed, and any probation or discipline on that license.
- Search by name or license number on the TFSC License Search and Verification page.
- Check the license status. Many providers advertise in Texas without a Texas license, and the TFSC can do very little about them.
- Look for probation or disciplinary actions. Those come from final orders, which are public.
What you won’t find: complaints that didn’t end in discipline. By law, the TFSC keeps those files closed, even to a subpoena.
When a Funeral Home Complaint Is More Than a Complaint
Many complaints are about rudeness, delays, or a bill. Those belong with the state. But when a funeral home, crematory, or cemetery mishandles a body or remains, Texas law lets the family recover for the harm, including mental anguish. No contract with the funeral home is required.
That covers wrongful cremation, grave disturbance, lost or mixed-up remains, and burial in the wrong place. If one of these happened, talk to a lawyer before you file.
Types of Funeral Home Complaints
Mishandled Remains
A body dropped, damaged, left unrefrigerated, or treated without respect.
Wrongful Cremation
Cremation without the family’s consent, or of the wrong person.
Lost or Mixed-Up Ashes
Cremains returned late, never returned, or not your loved one’s.
The Wrong Body
The wrong person shown at the viewing, buried, or cremated in place of your loved one.
Grave Errors
The wrong grave opened, a burial in the wrong plot, or remains disturbed.
Delays and Broken Promises
Services missed, a body held too long, or a family left uninformed.
Price and Contract Problems
No price list, a forced package, or fees the FTC Funeral Rule doesn’t allow.
Unlicensed Providers
Online or out-of-state sellers without a Texas license.
What Families Need to Know About Funeral Home Complaints
- Who do I file a complaint with about a funeral home in Texas?
The Texas Funeral Service Commission licenses funeral homes, funeral directors, embalmers, and crematories. Email the complaint form to [email protected] or mail it to the TFSC in Austin. - Should I talk to a lawyer before I file a complaint?
Yes. A complaint is a statement by you, and the funeral home can use it against you later. We help families file complaints that support their case. - How long do I have to file a complaint?
Generally two years from the event. The TFSC can waive that for good cause, but funeral homes only have to keep records for two years. - How long do I have to sue a funeral home in Texas?
Generally two years from the date of the incident, and a complaint to the TFSC does not stop that clock. But when what happened was hidden from you, the clock may not start until you knew, or reasonably should have known, about it. That is called the discovery rule. For example, if mislabeled cremains meant the ashes you received were not your loved one’s, and you did not find out until five years later, you would still have two years from that discovery to file your lawsuit, seven years after the cremation. Don’t wait to find out whether the rule applies to you. Call us as soon as you suspect something is wrong. - Who do I complain to about a cemetery or a prepaid funeral plan?
Cemeteries and trust-funded prepaid funeral contracts are regulated by the Texas Department of Banking, not the TFSC; insurance-funded prepaid contracts by the Texas Department of Insurance. Not sure? Send it to the TFSC, which forwards complaints to the agency that handles them. See how to file a complaint against a cemetery in Texas. - Do I need to cite a law in my complaint?
No, and we don’t. We state the facts so clearly that the violation is obvious without a citation, and attach copies of the proof. See how to write a funeral home complaint above. - Can I get the TFSC’s investigation file?
No. Texas law keeps the complaint and investigation file closed to open records requests and subpoenas. Only a final order becomes public. That’s one reason to start your own record, and your own case, early. - Will I hear back after I file?
You’ll hear that it was received, a status update every three months, and when it’s closed. You likely won’t learn what the TFSC found. Unless the complaint ends in a public order, the file stays closed by law. - Will a complaint get my family compensation?
No. The state can discipline a license, not pay your family. Compensation for mishandled remains comes from a claim against the funeral home, crematory, or cemetery. - Can I recover for mental anguish?
Yes. A Texas family can recover both past and future mental anguish. Texas courts define mental anguish as a high degree of mental pain and distress that goes far beyond mere worry, anger, frustration or embarrassment. To recover, a family must show that high degree of pain and distress, or a substantial disruption in daily routine, and courts look at its nature, duration and severity (as in Parkway Co. v. Woodruff and Saenz v. Fidelity & Guaranty Insurance Underwriters). It often shows up as severe depression, chronic anxiety, panic attacks or post-traumatic stress disorder. Complicated grief, now called prolonged grief disorder, is a form of mental anguish too: grieving that gets stuck, stays intense and debilitating, and lasts far longer than expected. Texas usually ties mental anguish to a physical injury and does not allow a stand-alone claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress, but it makes exceptions, and mishandling a loved one’s remains is one of them.
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