Seattle cremation costs

Typical costs for ZIP 98101

These figures are a Seattle, Washington metro typical range. They start from the NFDA 2023 member General Price List study national medians, then a documented ZIP multiplier. The dollar ranges on this site are typical local estimates for education. They are not a quote from a specific firm and not a contract.

Ask the licensed provider for an itemized General Price List before you buy. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, you have a right to that list. Read the full consumer-rights explainer on the General Price List guide. Package definitions stay on the direct cremation and cremation vs. burial guides — this page does not reprint them.

Local planning in Seattle

Downtown Seattle sits between Elliott Bay and I-5. Relatives often fly into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) in neighboring SeaTac, then ride light rail or stay near Pike Place while they decide between direct cremation and a later gathering. Ferry travel for relatives on Bainbridge, Vashon, or the Kitsap Peninsula is a schedule. It is not a reason to skip the General Price List, and it is not a price this calculator invents.

Sample ZIP 98101 is a downtown Seattle postal code on the Puget Sound placeholder (NFDA 2023 national medians times a documented metro multiplier). It is not a quote for Bellevue, Tacoma, or every 981xx ZIP. Rain can delay a graveside or outdoor memorial; that is timing, not a discount.

We do not invent a Seattle funeral establishment. Look up the firm on the Washington Department of Licensing professional-license lookup before you pay a deposit. Cemetery plot, niche, vault, and marker charges — including grounds on the east side of Lake Washington that people name in conversation — are usually a cemetery bill. This page does not publish those prices. This page does not state Elliott Bay scattering rules.

Cremation by ZIP does not operate in Seattle. We do not cremate, bury, or arrange services.

Paperwork and who to call

A death in Seattle is a Washington vital-records event. The Washington State Department of Health explains how to order a death certificate for a Washington death. King County also participates in local issuance for events in the county — confirm on the state vital-records pages which counter is fastest for a death that just occurred. Seattle City Hall is not automatically the vital-records window.

Washington licenses funeral establishments, funeral directors, and reduction facilities through the Department of Licensing Funeral and Cemetery Board. Use the official license lookup. The FTC Funeral Rule still applies in Seattle: itemized General Price List, alternative container for direct cremation, outside urn.

A medical examiner or coroner process applies only when the death is under that office’s jurisdiction. Ask the licensed funeral establishment, not this website, whether that applies in King County for your case.

Licensed providers in Seattle

Confirm a license on the Washington Department of Licensing, look up a professional license.

Questions to take to a licensed provider

This is a shopping list, not a script that binds any firm in Seattle.

1. May I have your current General Price List in writing, including the direct-cremation line?
2. What is the price of direct cremation when we use your alternative container?
3. If we bring an urn purchased elsewhere, what — if anything — do you charge to handle it?
4. Does your transfer area include ZIP 98101 and SEA, or is mileage extra from SeaTac?
5. If relatives arrive by Washington State Ferry, can you itemize cremation now and leave the later hall off the contract?

Nearby Washington city pages

• Spokane