Funeral Honorarium/Funeral Tipping

An honorarium is traditionally given to people who have performed a service without charging a fee. It is a token of appreciation and therefore has no set price associated with it. Some people who might receive an honorarium for their services at a funeral would be the clergy, choir, organist or soloist. It is not customary to tip the funeral director.

If you are unsure who gets an honorarium or how much to give, you can ask your funeral provider - or even the person who is performing the service. They can give you a range of what is customary for your area but the final decision of how much to give is up to you.

Some things to consider:

• How much can you afford?
• How many people provided the service?
• Did they travel far to provide their service?
• Did they do a good job?
• Do you know them well?

After doing some research we have found an average of $50-100 per hour is the norm for honorariums.

How do you give the honorarium?

An honorarium can be given after the service is performed in the form of cash (or a check) in a thank-you note or plain envelope. If you are offering the honorarium alone in an envelope, you should always follow up with a thank-you note. For tips on writing thank-you notes, visit Thank-You Notes.