How Soon After Death is an Obituary Posted?
The timeline for obituary publication varies depending on several factors. Understanding this timeline helps you know when to expect notices and how quickly monitoring services can detect them.
Typical Timeline
Most obituaries are published within the following timeframe:
- 1-3 days after death - Most common for standard publications
- Same day to 1 day - For urgent notices or when services are scheduled quickly
- 3-7 days - For more detailed obituaries or when family coordination takes time
- 1-2 weeks - Less common, but occurs for complex family situations or delayed services
Factors That Affect Timing
1. Funeral Home Processing
Funeral homes typically handle obituary creation and submission. Their workload, operating hours, and processes affect how quickly an obituary is written and published.
2. Newspaper Deadlines
Print newspapers have submission deadlines (often 2-4 PM for next-day publication). Missing a deadline can delay publication by a day or more. Online obituaries may be posted faster.
3. Family Decisions
Families may take time to write or approve obituary content, coordinate with relatives in different time zones, or wait until service details are finalized.
4. Publication Type
Online-only obituaries can be published immediately. Print obituaries follow newspaper schedules. Some appear online first, then in print.
Where Obituaries Appear First
- Funeral home website - Often the first place, same day or next day
- Online obituary sites - Legacy.com, Tributes.com (1-2 days)
- Newspaper website - Before or same as print edition
- Print newspaper - 1-3 days after death typically
Why Timing Matters for Monitoring
Understanding obituary timing helps set expectations for when you might receive alerts. A good monitoring service scans sources continuously to catch notices as soon as they're published, often within hours of posting.