The Pursuit of Excellence Award is presented by NFDA annually to firms that have demonstrated a commitment to raising the bar on funeral service excellence by adhering to strict ethical and professional standards and providing outstanding service to families and communities.
To earn a NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award, a funeral home must demonstrate proficiency in key areas of funeral service, including compliance with state and federal regulations; staff participation in ongoing education and professional development; offering outstanding programs and resources to bereaved families; maintaining an active level of involvement in the community; active participation in and service to the funeral service profession; and promoting funeral home services through a variety of marketing, advertising and public relations programs. Participants are also required to adhere to a Pledge of Ethical Practices.
Information about the NFDA Pursuit of Excellence program can be found by visiting nfda.org/pursuitofexcellence.
Entry Deadline
The application opens October 19, 2026.
Entries are due 11:59 p.m. CT on July 15, 2026. No exceptions.
Entries must be submitted online via our easy-to-use SurveyMonkey Apply application platform. Entries will not be accepted by any other method (e.g., mail, email, fax, etc.).
Register Your Firm for the 2027 Pursuit of Excellence Program
Funeral businesses need only submit one entry representing the work and accomplishments of all locations that operationally share staff and resources.
For funeral businesses with locations in two or more states, an entry is limited to locations within a single state that, operationally, share staff and resources.
Program Registration Fee: Your registration fee is based on the number of locations in your business.
- Main Location: $325 (U.S. Dollars)
- Each Additional Location: $100 each (U.S. Dollars)
If a multi-location funeral business does not register all of its branch locations, it cannot rightfully claim the entire business has earned the award. Only those particular funeral home locations that have registered and received recognition in the Pursuit of Excellence program may hold themselves as Pursuit of Excellence honorees.
For some firms, registering and submitting a single entry for all locations doesn’t make sense because of how their business operates. Some funeral homes may simply prefer registering and submitting an entry for each individual location. In that case, that business may register each location separately and submit an entry for each individual location. The registration fee will be $325 per location.
To Register Your Funeral Home:
- Please contact your NFDA Member Service Representative at 262-789-1880 or nfda@nfda.org.
- Your Member Service Representative can take your credit or debit card payment by phone or, if you contact us by email,
send an invoice with instructions for payment by check or credit or debit card.
Please note: A fee of up to 3% may be assessed on all applicable credit card transactions, governed by the card brand rules.
Entry Requirements
Please review these requirements carefully.
- All funeral businesses that wish to qualify for Pursuit of Excellence recognition must register and submit an entry that demonstrates their proficiency in six key areas of funeral service.
- First-time participants may describe programs and activities completed during the last three years (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027) in their entry.
- Returning participants may only describe programs and activities completed during the past year (July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027) in their entry.
- Please review each criterion carefully and note the specific information required in your description and any documentation that must accompany your entry.
- All descriptions of how a funeral home has fulfilled a particular criterion must be specific. Participants must provide names, dates, places, etc., indicating the "who, what, when, where," etc., as applicable.
- Most criteria do not require documentation; however, criteria descriptions can be supported by documentation (e.g., pictures, certificates, badges, etc.) if the entrant chooses. If documentation is required, it is noted in the criterion description.
- An activity may only be described once in a funeral home's entry (i.e., a single activity cannot be used to fulfill multiple criteria).
- Incomplete or unsatisfactory descriptions for any criterion from the "Basic Requirements" category, or more than three criteria from the remaining five categories of achievement, will result in immediate disqualification. Three or fewer incomplete or unsatisfactory criteria descriptions from the last five categories of achievement will be brought to the attention of the participant. The participant may resubmit items for further review when requested by the Pursuit of Excellence Work Group; if the participant chooses not to do so, they will be disqualified.
- Entries must be submitted in English.
- Please proofread your entry carefully. Spelling and grammar errors are not a sign of excellence and can reflect poorly on a funeral home. Consider having a colleague review your entry before you submit it to NFDA.
- Firms that submit Pursuit of Excellence entries grant NFDA permission to use their firm's name and any materials submitted as part of their entry to promote the Pursuit of Excellence program and in any other manner deemed appropriate by NFDA.
2027 NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Awards
The Pursuit of Excellence Award is presented by NFDA annually to firms that have demonstrated a commitment to raising the bar on funeral service excellence by adhering to strict ethical and professional standards and providing outstanding service to families and communities.
To earn a NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Award, a funeral home must demonstrate proficiency in key areas of funeral service, including compliance with state and federal regulations; staff participation in ongoing education and professional development; offering outstanding programs and resources to bereaved families; maintaining an active level of involvement in the community; active participation in and service to the funeral service profession; and promoting funeral home services through a variety of marketing, advertising and public relations programs. Participants are also required to adhere to a Pledge of Ethical Practices.
Information about the NFDA Pursuit of Excellence program can be found by visiting nfda.org/pursuitofexcellence.
Entry Deadline
The application opens October 19, 2026.
Entries are due 11:59 p.m. CT on July 15, 2026. No exceptions.
Entries must be submitted online via our easy-to-use SurveyMonkey Apply application platform. Entries will not be accepted by any other method (e.g., mail, email, fax, etc.).
Register Your Firm for the 2027 Pursuit of Excellence Program
Funeral businesses need only submit one entry representing the work and accomplishments of all locations that operationally share staff and resources.
For funeral businesses with locations in two or more states, an entry is limited to locations within a single state that, operationally, share staff and resources.
Program Registration Fee: Your registration fee is based on the number of locations in your business.
- Main Location: $325 (U.S. Dollars)
- Each Additional Location: $100 each (U.S. Dollars)
If a multi-location funeral business does not register all of its branch locations, it cannot rightfully claim the entire business has earned the award. Only those particular funeral home locations that have registered and received recognition in the Pursuit of Excellence program may hold themselves as Pursuit of Excellence honorees.
For some firms, registering and submitting a single entry for all locations doesn’t make sense because of how their business operates. Some funeral homes may simply prefer registering and submitting an entry for each individual location. In that case, that business may register each location separately and submit an entry for each individual location. The registration fee will be $325 per location.
To Register Your Funeral Home:
- Please contact your NFDA Member Service Representative at 262-789-1880 or nfda@nfda.org.
- Your Member Service Representative can take your credit or debit card payment by phone or, if you contact us by email,
send an invoice with instructions for payment by check or credit or debit card.
Please note: A fee of up to 3% may be assessed on all applicable credit card transactions, governed by the card brand rules.
Entry Requirements
Please review these requirements carefully.
- All funeral businesses that wish to qualify for Pursuit of Excellence recognition must register and submit an entry that demonstrates their proficiency in six key areas of funeral service.
- First-time participants may describe programs and activities completed during the last three years (July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027) in their entry.
- Returning participants may only describe programs and activities completed during the past year (July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027) in their entry.
- Please review each criterion carefully and note the specific information required in your description and any documentation that must accompany your entry.
- All descriptions of how a funeral home has fulfilled a particular criterion must be specific. Participants must provide names, dates, places, etc., indicating the "who, what, when, where," etc., as applicable.
- Most criteria do not require documentation; however, criteria descriptions can be supported by documentation (e.g., pictures, certificates, badges, etc.) if the entrant chooses. If documentation is required, it is noted in the criterion description.
- An activity may only be described once in a funeral home's entry (i.e., a single activity cannot be used to fulfill multiple criteria).
- Incomplete or unsatisfactory descriptions for any criterion from the "Basic Requirements" category, or more than three criteria from the remaining five categories of achievement, will result in immediate disqualification. Three or fewer incomplete or unsatisfactory criteria descriptions from the last five categories of achievement will be brought to the attention of the participant. The participant may resubmit items for further review when requested by the Pursuit of Excellence Work Group; if the participant chooses not to do so, they will be disqualified.
- Entries must be submitted in English.
- Please proofread your entry carefully. Spelling and grammar errors are not a sign of excellence and can reflect poorly on a funeral home. Consider having a colleague review your entry before you submit it to NFDA.
- Firms that submit Pursuit of Excellence entries grant NFDA permission to use their firm's name and any materials submitted as part of their entry to promote the Pursuit of Excellence program and in any other manner deemed appropriate by NFDA.