Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions about ObituaryMonitor's obituary surveillance service, pricing, features, and more.
Quick Overview
What is ObituaryMonitor?
ObituaryMonitor is an automated obituary monitoring service that scans over 2,500 sources 24/7 and sends you email and SMS alerts when a high-confidence match is found. We help families, legal professionals, investigators, and researchers track obituary notices reliably without manual searching.
How does monitoring work?
You add names of people you want to monitor along with their location and any other identifying information. Our system continuously scans funeral home websites, newspaper obituaries, and online memorials. When we find a potential match with 90% or higher confidence, we send you an immediate notification with the obituary details.
What does it cost?
Family plans start at $14.95 per month for monitoring up to 3 names. Professional plans for law firms and businesses start at $249 per month with features like bulk import, team access, court-ready audit logs, and API integration. All plans can be canceled anytime with no contracts or hidden fees.
How accurate is matching?
We use a multi-factor matching algorithm that considers name, location, approximate age, and relatives to achieve 90% or higher confidence before sending alerts. This threshold minimizes false positives while maintaining comprehensive coverage. For common names, adding location and relative information significantly improves accuracy.
Important Information
ObituaryMonitor monitors publicly available obituary notices across the United States. We scan over 2,500 sources including funeral home websites, daily and weekly newspapers, and online memorial platforms. Our coverage spans all 50 states, though coverage density may vary by region based on the prevalence of online obituary publication in each area.
It is important to understand that not all deaths result in a publicly published obituary. An estimated 30% of deaths in the United States do not have an online obituary for various reasons including family preferences, cost, or publication in print-only formats. Our service provides comprehensive monitoring of available online sources but cannot guarantee detection of every death.
For professional users such as attorneys, investigators, and insurance companies, our service provides audit-ready documentation demonstrating reasonable diligence in monitoring for death notices. However, we recommend supplementing automated monitoring with other verification methods when legal or financial decisions depend on confirmed death status.
Matching & Accuracy
Notifications
Creating Watches
Privacy & Security
Data Sources
Subscription & Billing
Match Management
Professional Features
Technical & API
Getting Started
General
Still have questions?
Can't find the answer you're looking for? Our support team is here to help. You can reach us through the contact form, email us directly at support@obituarymonitor.com, or browse our comprehensive help center for detailed articles and tutorials.
Additional Resources
For more detailed information about obituary monitoring, our features, and best practices for your specific use case, explore these helpful resources from our knowledge base.
How It Works
Step-by-step guide to our monitoring process and matching algorithm.
Guides & Tutorials
Detailed articles on obituary monitoring topics and best practices.
Pricing Plans
Compare family and professional plans to find the right fit.
Help Center
Comprehensive documentation for all features and account management.