Obituaries in The Washington Post
There are two types of obituaries that appear in The Washington Post.
Death Notices
One type is a death notice — the boxed, alphabetical listings that include such information about a death as funeral arrangements, memorial contributions, and survivors.
The second type of obituary is the news obituary, the biographic articles written by The Post that appear on the obituary page.
Death notices are billed at a seven-line minimum and must be verified prior to publication. Standard-sized emblems for fraternal, religious, professional or other organizations may be included in the notice. A standard-sized photo of 27 lines may also accompany the notice.
To place a death notice, call the Classifed Advertising Department at 202-334-4122 or 800-627-1150 ext. 4122, or send a fax to 202-334-7188. The fax deadline is 3 p.m. daily. Notices totaling $250 or more must be paid in advance.
Additional Ad Classifications:
In Memoriam/Cards of Thanks/Condolences/Memorial Services/Cemetery Lots
News Obituary Standards
We will write about anyone, regardless of status, who has lived in the Washington area for a substantial part of their life, typically about 20 years. But the person has to have had some involvement in the community outside the family, such as a church membership or job.
We tend not to write about elderly people who have come here at the end of their lives and aren't able to participate in the community.
We will not publish obituaries more than a month after death, so we must receive your submission within that timeframe.
This is the information required for a news obituary:
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Age |
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Specific medical cause of death. We will use "congestive heart failure" or "heart attack" or "cardiac arrest," which are medical conditions, but NOT "heart failure," which happens to everybody, regardless of cause. |
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Work history, including last job title and year retired. |
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Town of residence. |
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Town of birth. Length of time lived in the Washington area. If the person came here and moved away and moved back, typical of military, CIA, AID, Foreign Service and others, we say "lived in the Washington area off and on since 19.., or from 19.. to 20..." |
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Colleges and Washington area high schools attended (high schools in other areas are not included). |
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Degrees earned and in what subject. We typically say something like: "... was a graduate of the University of Maryland and received a master's degree in English from George Washington University." |
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Military service (where assigned abroad, personal decorations such as Bronze Star or Purple Heart, but NOT campaign ribbons): Typically, "served in the Army in Europe during World War II..." or "in the Pacific..." |
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Other honors. |
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Memberships and volunteer work in the Washington area. |
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Names and towns of survivors, including spouse, children and siblings and parents, and numbers of grandchildren. |
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WE NEED TO ACCOUNT FOR ALL MARRIAGES: Our style is to say, i.e., "His marriage to Jane Smith ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife, Mary Smith; a son of his first marriage, John Smith of Washington; a daughter of his second marriage, Cathy Smith of Washington...." |
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We DON'T include funeral or memorial information, and we can't promise that an obit will run on a specific day, like the next day or Sunday, the most frequently requested. |
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But we do need the name of the funeral home. We don't publish it but need to be able to confirm the death.
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