Minimum Standards for Marketplace Participation

Passings operates a marketplace. Families search, compare, and choose providers on their own. We do not recommend a provider, do not rank providers by how suitable we think they are for you, and do not steer a family toward one.

How we are paid, plainly: businesses pay us to be listed. Some purchase Featured Placement, which positions their listing above the ordinary results and is always labeled as paid advertisement wherever it appears. Nothing else a business pays us changes the order of the ordinary results. We may also earn a commission when you buy something through a link we provide — see our Affiliate Disclosure for how that works.

This page sets out the minimum standards a business must meet to list on the Passings marketplace, and how we apply them.

Open participation

Any applicant that meets the standards below for its category is accepted. We do not cap the number of providers in a category, a city, or a ZIP code. We do not decline a qualified applicant because a competitor is already listed, because the applicant is small or new, or because the applicant declines to purchase any optional product we offer.

We do not exercise editorial or commercial discretion over qualified applicants. If an applicant meets the standards for its category, it lists.

The only basis on which we decline or remove a listing is failure to meet one of the standards on this page, or a violation of the Provider Agreement, the Acceptable Use Policy, or our Trust & Safety policies. Where we decline an application, we identify the standard that was not met.

The standards

These apply to every provider. Some categories carry additional standards, set out in that category's Provider Category Schedule — see “Category-specific standards” below.

1. Business standing and licensure

The applicant must operate as a registered business entity in each jurisdiction where it offers services, and hold all permits and registrations that jurisdiction requires (Provider Agreement §2.3). Sole proprietors must hold any applicable state or local business registration.

Where the services offered require a professional license — funeral directing, cremation, legal services, and others — the applicant must hold every license, registration, and authorization required for those services in every state where it operates and is listed (§9.1). License status must be kept current, and a change in status must be reported to Passings within seven (7) days.

2. Insurance

The applicant must maintain, at its own expense:

• All insurance required by law for the services it lists — including workers' compensation and commercial automobile coverage where the law requires them; and
• Commercial general liability coverage covering the services it lists, where the applicant's category is an On-Site Category — that is, a category in which the provider performs services at a family's home, at a venue, or at another location that is not the provider's own premises.

Commercial general liability is not required of every category. Whether it applies to a given applicant is determined by that applicant's category, and the requirement is set out in Provider Agreement §9.8 and in the applicable Schedule.

3. Accurate and current listing information

The applicant must provide accurate business information and keep it current (§2.1) — legal and trade name, service area, contact details, the services actually offered, and any pricing the provider chooses to display.

Pricing shown on a listing is the provider's own. Where a listing displays a starting price or a price range, that figure is a provider-supplied estimate and must be a good-faith reflection of what the provider actually charges. Passings does not set, negotiate, or take a percentage of what a family pays a provider.

4. Category-specific standards

Each provider category carries a Provider Category Schedule containing representations and warranties specific to that category — for example, disposition-method legality in the states served, facility licensure, or practice-area restrictions. The applicable Schedule forms part of the Provider Agreement and its standards apply in addition to those above.

The Schedule for a category is provided during onboarding for that category, and a copy is available on request.

What we verify, and what verification means

Passings verifies certain facts at onboarding — licensure status, and for some categories the legality of a service in the states where it is offered. Verified facts may be shown to families as a badge on the listing.

Verification confirms a fact; it is not an endorsement. A badge is not a rating, a recommendation, or a guarantee of service quality. Our verification framework is described for families on our Trust & Safety page and set out contractually in Provider Agreement §1.3 and §2.2.

What does not affect whether you are listed

• Payment to Passings plays no part in whether an applicant is accepted. Meeting the standards on this page is the whole of it.
• Search results are presented in two labeled parts. Featured Placements appear first and are marked as paid advertisement. Every other result is ordered by the family's own search inputs — service type, location, and the filters the family selects — and payment never affects that ordering.
• Featured Placement is advertising, and it is labeled. A provider may purchase a Featured slot, which places its listing above the non-Featured results in a ZIP code and category. Featured Placement is disclosed to families wherever it appears, is capped per ZIP and category, and is allocated first-come rather than by bid; every qualifying provider remains listed in the same results. It has no bearing on acceptance, on verification, or on any quality signal.
• Declining an optional product has no effect on an applicant's standing.

How we charge

Passings is paid by providers, not by families. Depending on the category and the plan a provider selects, we are paid either a per-lead fee when a provider unlocks a family's inquiry, or a subscription. Some categories are free to list and generate no fee at all.

We do not take a commission, a percentage of contract value, or a placement fee on what a family pays a provider.

Current fees are shown on the Pricing & Billing page in the Provider Portal and are governed by Provider Agreement §3.

Changes to these standards

We may revise these standards — for example, to reflect a change in law or to add a standard for a new category. Where a revision would affect a listed provider's eligibility, we give that provider notice in the manner set out in Provider Agreement §15.6 (Notices) before the revision takes effect for that provider, together with a reasonable period to come into compliance. Changes to fees are governed separately by Provider Agreement §3.6.

The version and effective date of the standards in force appear at the top of this page.

Applying, and questions

If an application is declined and you believe the standard was met, or if you have a question about a standard on this page, contact us at [email protected] and we will review.

The Provider Agreement governs the relationship between Passings and a listed provider; where this page and the Provider Agreement differ, the Provider Agreement controls.