- 39pages
- 25examples of program wording, panel by panel
- 8complete orders of service with timings
- 21tables and worksheets
- 31checkboxes
How we check
Verified, page by page
- 108automatic checks run on the site before every update
- 4official .gov pages read and cited, on October 22 and 30, 2026
Reviewed by industry professionals.
- Primary sourcesThis guide is built from the guidance of the U.S. Copyright Office, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal Trade Commission.
- Every fact has its sourceEach guide lists the pages it relies on, with links, so you can check any point yourself.
- DatedSources read on October 22 and 30, 2026; each page shows when it was last updated.
What you will be able to do
- Settle the order of service in one meeting with the officiant and the funeral director, with the ten questions that decide most lines of the program.
- Build and time the service: the usual blocks of a funeral, their length, how to time each speaker at 140 words per minute, and who speaks in what order.
- Start from a complete order of service close to yours: traditional, Catholic funeral Mass, memorial, graveside, celebration of life, military honors, cremation memorial or small family service.
- Word every panel of the program: headings and cover lines, the life story, titles and names, pallbearers and honorary pallbearers, acknowledgments, the reception and the back panel.
- Choose readings and hymns you can print in full, and know which favorites to check first.
- Catch the mistakes families remember, with a proof-check and a table of common errors, then print the right number with the formats, paper and questions for the printer.
Who it is for, and who it is not for
For you if you are putting the program together yourself and want a clear order, wording for each part and a check before it goes to print.
Not for you if you only need a layout to print: the free funeral program template opens in your browser. And if you would rather not write the texts yourself, the personalized funeral program on TributePen is written from your answers.
What makes it different
Program templates are easy to find; the decisions behind them are not. Templates give empty boxes; funeral homes give a layout; the order of the service, the timing of each speaker, the right title for the minister, the wording of the pallbearers' panel and the question of which poem can legally be printed are left to the family. This planner puts them in one place, in the order you will meet them, with an example for every panel.
The complete table of contents
The real table of contents of the guide, with its page numbers.
- Before you planp. 5Three words that are often mixed up · Who decides what · How long you have · Questions for the planning meeting
- Building an order of servicep. 7The building blocks · Timing the spoken parts · Who speaks, and in what order · The run of show
- Eight orders of servicep. 10A traditional funeral · A Catholic funeral Mass · A memorial service · A graveside service · A celebration of life · A service with military honors · A cremation memorial · A small family service
- The coverp. 15Headings · Names and dates · Cover examples · The photograph
- The life story panelp. 18What it holds · Life story examples · Writing it quickly
- Inside the programp. 21Laying out the order of service · Titles and names · Pallbearers · Military honors in the program
- Thanks, the reception and the back panelp. 24Acknowledgments · The reception · The back panel
- Readings and hymns in the public domainp. 28Scripture (King James Version) · Poems · Hymns and songs (words) · Favorites to check before printing
- Before you printp. 31The proof-check · Reading it aloud · Common mistakes · The final approval
- Printingp. 33Formats · What goes on each panel of a bifold · Paper · How many to print · Printing at home · Questions for the print shop or the funeral home
- Worksheets to printp. 35The planning sheet · Participants · The run of show · Spoken parts and timing · The printing worksheet · The day before · Cover and panel drafts · Notes
- Sourcesp. 39
A look inside: real pages of the guide
In pictures
Illustrative photos, published by their authors under free licences.
The planner for the person putting together a funeral program: eight complete orders of service with timings and who speaks when (traditional, Catholic funeral Mass, memorial, graveside, celebration of life, military honors, cremation memorial, small family service), the wording for the cover, life story, participants, pallbearers, thanks and reception with 25 examples, readings and hymns in the public domain, a proof-check and a printing worksheet.
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Common questions
Which services do the eight orders of service cover?
A traditional funeral at a funeral home chapel or church, a Catholic funeral Mass (outline), a memorial service, a graveside service, a celebration of life, a funeral with military honors, a cremation memorial with the urn present, and a small family service. Each one lists every part in order, who leads it, and a working time from the start, followed by a note on who speaks and how to adapt it.
Are the examples real programs?
They were written for the planner, about invented people. They cover cover lines, life stories, pallbearers, acknowledgments, reception invitations and back panels, for a church funeral, a Catholic Mass, a homegoing service, a celebration of life and a young adult, each with a note on why it works and how to adapt it.
Can I print the readings and hymns in my program?
The planner lists Scripture passages from the King James Version, poems and hymn texts that were all published long before 1931, the date before which the U.S. Copyright Office says works published in the United States are in the public domain. It also lists favorite funeral poems whose date or author makes them unsafe to print in full without checking.
Does it include a template to fill in?
It is a planner, not a design file: it gives the wording, the order and the checks, and worksheets to print (planning sheet, participants, run of show, timing, printing). To lay out and print the program itself, the free funeral program template on TributePen opens in your browser.
Does it tell me what printing costs?
No. Prices vary by printer, paper and quantity, and the planner gives none. It gives the questions to ask the print shop or the funeral home so the price is in writing before you order, and the formats, paper and quantity to decide.
Sources cited in the guide
- U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 15A "Duration of Copyright" (revised April 2026), read on October 30, 2026.
- VA National Cemetery Administration, "Military Funeral Honors", read on October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "Burial flags to honor Veterans and Reservists", read on October 22, 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Advice, "The FTC Funeral Rule", read on October 22, 2026.