What Is a Rental Casket?
Many Utah families assume that choosing cremation means giving up the viewing and funeral they grew up with. It doesn’t have to. A rental casket lets you hold a full traditional service first and choose cremation afterward. Here’s how it works, what it costs, and what to ask.
A rental casket is a casket used for a viewing and funeral service, then returned to the funeral home. The person rests on a removable insert that goes with them to cremation, while the outer casket is used again. Families get the viewing, the open casket if they want one, and the funeral service, and cremation takes place afterward instead of a graveside burial.
How a rental casket works
A rental casket has two parts. The outside is a finished casket, built to be used many times. Inside is a removable insert with its own interior, and that insert holds the person. It is replaced for every family.
During the viewing and service, it looks like any other casket. When the service ends, the insert is lifted out and goes with the person to the crematory. The outer casket is cleaned and returned to the funeral home.
Rental caskets are used only when cremation follows. If you’re planning a burial, the casket is buried, so it has to be purchased.
Can you have a traditional LDS funeral and still choose cremation?
Yes. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leaves the choice to the family. Its General Handbook says the family decides whether the body is buried or cremated, respecting the wishes of the person who died.
Utah funeral customs haven’t caught up as fast. Many families still picture a viewing, an open casket, a funeral in the ward building, a luncheon, and then a graveside burial, and assume cremation rules most of that out. With a rental casket, everything up to the graveside can happen as usual. Cremation takes the place of the burial.
Some families go the other direction: cremation first, then a memorial or celebration of life with the urn present. Both are options, and a funeral home can walk you through either.
Source: General Handbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, §38.7.2.
What does a rental casket cost?
It varies by funeral home. A rental casket usually appears as its own line on a funeral home’s casket price list, which federal rules require them to show you before you look at caskets. Ask for it by name.
In our Salt Lake County price survey, cremation with a service ranges from $1,895 to $7,000 across 19 providers, and the low end of that range is a private family viewing before cremation, not a rental-casket package (prices confirmed September 12, 2026). Direct cremation, with no viewing or service, runs $639 to $3,790.
When you compare, ask whether the rental price includes the insert and the cremation container, or whether those are separate charges. A quote without the container can look several hundred dollars lower than it will end up.
What to ask a funeral home
- Do you offer a rental casket for a viewing and service before cremation?Not every funeral home does, and some offer it only in certain packages.
- What does it cost, and is the insert or cremation container included?Get the rental line and the container line side by side.
- How does the total compare with buying a casket, and with direct cremation?Seeing all three helps the family decide what matters most.
- Can the service be held at our ward building or church?Ask about transportation and any added fees.
- Is embalming needed for the viewing we have in mind?For a public viewing, many funeral homes require it. Ask what applies and what it costs.