How to Find and Place Obituaries in the Chattanooga Area
When someone dies, families need to publish an obituary quickly, often within 24 to 72 hours to meet funeral home and newspaper deadlines. This guide covers where Chattanooga-area obituaries appear, how to submit one, what each option costs, and what information you'll need to have ready.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press
The primary daily newspaper for the region is the Chattanooga Times Free Press, which publishes obituaries in print and online. The paper reaches across Hamilton County and into surrounding areas, making it the default choice for families wanting broad local visibility.
Obituaries in the Times Free Press appear in the print edition and are archived on its website. The submission process typically runs through the newspaper's classifieds department or through partner funeral homes, which often handle placement directly. If you're working with a funeral home in the Chattanooga area, they usually manage Times Free Press submissions as part of their standard services.
For direct submission without a funeral home, contact the Times Free Press classifieds desk. Pricing for obituaries varies by length: a standard notice (50 words or fewer) costs less than an extended obituary with a photograph and biographical detail. As of 2024, expect to pay between $150 and $350 for a basic obituary in print and online, though rates shift annually. Verify current pricing with the newspaper directly, as funeral homes may negotiate package rates that differ from walk-in pricing.
The Times Free Press obituary archive is freely searchable online, indexed by name and date, making it a reliable reference point for family records and public documentation.
Funeral Home Websites and Networks
Most funeral homes operating in Chattanooga (including those in downtown, East Brainerd, and Hixson areas) post obituaries on their own websites at no additional charge beyond funeral services. This step is now standard practice and serves as a notification tool for family, friends, and colleagues who check the funeral home's site directly.
Many homes also submit to Legacy.com, a national obituary network that aggregates death notices from hundreds of newspapers and funeral providers. Legacy.com reaches people searching nationally and provides a condolence and memory-sharing platform. Some funeral homes include Legacy placement in their service packages; others charge $50 to $200 as an add-on. Confirm whether your funeral home includes this during contract discussions.
The funeral home's role matters significantly: they handle formatting, verification of details, photography, and often negotiate better rates with newspapers than families obtain independently. If you're not working with a funeral home, you lose this coordination advantage.
Other Regional and Online Outlets
The Chattanoogan, a community news outlet, accepts obituary submissions and publishes them online and in periodic print issues. This is a secondary option useful if the family wants broader distribution or prefers a different editorial voice. Submission is typically free or low-cost; contact the outlet directly for guidelines.
Legacy.com (mentioned above) also accepts direct submissions from families if you want to bypass a funeral home or newspaper. A single Legacy.com listing costs approximately $300 to $400 and remains searchable indefinitely.
Obituary.com and similar aggregator sites allow free posting in some cases or charge nominal fees ($20 to $50) for enhanced visibility. These serve primarily as backup repositories rather than primary publication channels in Chattanooga.
Social media and family email lists are free but do not create an official public record and may not reach distant relatives or community members who expect formal notification.
What You Need to Prepare
Before contacting a newspaper, funeral home, or online service, gather the following:
- Full legal name, nicknames or maiden names used during life
- Date of birth and date of death
- Parents' names (maiden name for mother, if applicable)
- Spouse's name and current status (if married, divorced, widowed, or single)
- Children's names and their spouses' names if desired
- Grandchildren count or names
- Employment history (employer name and position held)
- Education (schools and degrees)
- Military service (branch, rank, years)
- Organizational memberships or volunteer work
- Hobbies, interests, or accomplishments you want highlighted
- Preferred funeral home and service times
- Photograph (digital file, high resolution, preferred)
- Survivor information structured clearly
Having this ready before you call saves time and ensures the obituary is accurate. Errors are difficult to correct after publication, particularly in print editions.
Timeline and Deadlines
Obituaries for the Chattanooga Times Free Press print edition require submission by mid-afternoon to appear the following day. Online obituaries post more flexibly but should be submitted within 24 hours of death to ensure timely discovery by search engines and news aggregators.
Weekend and holiday deadlines shift; funeral homes know these constraints and will advise you. If the death occurs on a Friday evening, for example, the first print obituary may not appear until Monday, though online publication can happen immediately.
Cost Summary and Practical Approach
If you're working with a funeral home, most costs are already negotiated in the funeral service package. Expect $200 to $400 for newspaper placement and online aggregator inclusion combined. Funeral homes handle submission logistics.
If you're placing an obituary independently (because the family declined formal services or chose direct cremation with minimal ceremony), budget $150 to $300 for the Chattanooga Times Free Press alone, plus $300 to $400 if you want national reach through Legacy.com. Submitting directly to the newspaper is faster than submitting to a funeral home but requires you to manage formatting and photography.
Start with the Chattanooga Times Free Press if you want local visibility first, then add Legacy.com if the family wants out-of-state reach. The combination covers most readers in Tennessee and beyond.
Call the funeral home or newspaper within a few hours of death to confirm submission deadlines for that day. Published obituaries create a legal record of death notice and are referenced in probate, insurance claims, and family documentation for years afterward. Accuracy and timeliness matter.
