What If Someone Dies Out of State or Abroad? A Practical Guide

A death far from home adds distance, paperwork, and unfamiliar rules on top of grief. The steps are different depending on whether the death happened in another state or in another country, so this guide takes them separately.

What do I do first?

• In the U.S.: the local hospital, police, or EMS handle pronouncement of death, and a local funeral home can take the person into its care. If the death was sudden or unattended, a medical examiner or coroner may take jurisdiction first; see coroner vs. medical examiner. You don’t need to be there to start
• Abroad: hospitals or local police may notify the U.S. embassy or consulate, which then tries to locate and notify the next of kin. If you learn of the death first, contact the nearest embassy or consulate. If you’re in a different country from where the person died, the CDC lists the State Department’s Office of Overseas Citizens Services at 888-407-4747 (toll-free) or 202-501-4444 (weekdays, 8 am to 5 pm Eastern), and after hours or on holidays the State Department switchboard at 202-647-4000 (ask for the Overseas Citizens Services duty officer)

If the death was in another U.S. state

1. Decide where the funeral will be. You can hold arrangements near where the person died, or have the body transported home. A funeral home where the death occurred can handle the immediate care, and funeral homes routinely coordinate with each other. See choosing a funeral home right after a death.

2. Ask for itemized prices from both ends. The FTC’s Funeral Rule requires a funeral home’s General Price List to include a price for “forwarding of remains to another funeral home” and for “receiving remains from another funeral home,” each with a list of the services included. Ask both homes for these, and compare what’s included, since transport, embalming, a shipping container, and permits may or may not be part of the price. See can you negotiate funeral costs.

3. Expect permits and paperwork. Requirements vary by state. The usual items are the death certificate and a burial or removal permit. Texas, for example, says its registrar won’t issue a burial-transit permit until a death certificate has been filed. When remains cross state lines, one state’s authorization can carry through: D.C.’s law says an authorization for final disposition issued by another state and accompanying the body is sufficient authority for final disposition there. Your funeral director handles this, but ask which permits are needed in both states.

4. Understand the airline step. Air transport generally has to go through a funeral home that is an approved “known shipper” with the airline, and the airline sets its own requirements. See moving a body to another state.

5. Consider cremation first. If the person chose or you choose cremation, the logistics change, since cremated remains can travel differently. See traveling with cremated remains. Whoever has the legal right to authorize cremation must sign, and some places require extra approval; see who can authorize cremation in D.C. for one example.

If the death was in another country

What does the State Department do?

When a U.S. citizen dies abroad, consular officers can share information about local burial, shipment of remains or effects, and other arrangements, work with local authorities and the legal representative, provide a list of local funeral homes and lawyers, and help send instructions and private funds to the right offices in the foreign country.

The Department of State can’t pay to return a U.S. citizen’s remains or ashes to the United States. The family or estate bears those costs.

What happens to the body?

The State Department says burial or cremation must follow both U.S. and foreign law, and that options depend on the foreign country’s facilities and customs, which are often very different from those in the U.S. Some countries may require an autopsy before the remains can leave, according to the CDC. You should also expect an official identification of the body. Many families choose local burial or cremation, and others bring the person home; it’s a personal decision with no right answer.

What documents are needed to bring the body home?

The State Department says U.S. and foreign laws generally require four documents to send remains to the United States:

1. Consular mortuary certificate, prepared by a consular officer, in English, for the orderly travel and customs process
2. Local death certificate, from the local registrar or similar authority, authenticated as required by local law
3. Affidavit from a local funeral director, confirming that the casket contains only the remains, clothing, and packing materials
4. Transit permit, which local health authorities at the port of embarkation may issue

Depending on the circumstances you may need more. The consular officer makes sure the required documents travel with the remains.

What do U.S. health rules require?

The CDC’s requirements depend on whether the body is embalmed or cremated and whether the person died of an infectious disease:

• Death certificate: non-cremated, non-embalmed remains must be accompanied by a death certificate stating the cause of death. If it isn’t in English, it must include an English translation, with a notary or similar person in the country attesting to its authenticity. If no death certificate is available, the embassy or consulate provides the consular mortuary certificate, the foreign funeral director’s affidavit, and the transit permit
• Leak-proof container: all non-cremated remains must be in a leak-proof container, such as a sealed metal body transfer case. This doesn’t apply to cremated remains
• Permits: the CDC says there are no permit requirements for remains that have already been fully cremated or embalmed before importation. A CDC import permit may be required for remains of a person who died from an infectious disease that haven’t been embalmed
• Embalming: the State Department says embalming isn’t needed to enter the U.S. if a death certificate states the cause isn’t a quarantinable communicable disease and the remains are in a leak-proof container. But the foreign government may not permit shipping unembalmed remains

What is the Consular Report of Death Abroad?

A Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad (CRODA) is an administrative report of death issued by the embassy or consulate in English. The State Department generally can’t issue one without a foreign death certificate or a finding of death by a competent local authority. The State Department notes that foreign death certificates are often not accepted in the U.S. for insurance and estate purposes, and the CRODA is the document generally used as proof of death to settle the estate.

• Timing: the process can take as long as four to six months, depending on the country
• Format: the embassy can issue paper copies or an emailed e-CRODA PDF with a digital signature and seal, from which you can print as many copies as you need. Keep the original PDF
• More copies later: copies of CRODAs filed in 1975 or later go to the next of kin or legal representatives for estate purposes. The State Department’s Passport Vital Records office charges $50 for each additional copy, and requires a notarized Form DS-5542, a photocopy of valid photo ID, and payment. It doesn’t issue CRODAs for lawful permanent residents

What about the person’s belongings and estate?

A consular officer can help identify and arrange the estate and personal effects. If there is no legal representative in the country where the person died, the officer may act as provisional conservator: taking possession of small, valuable items, inventorying and appraising the estate, sometimes paying local debts such as hospital or hotel bills from estate funds, and helping ship effects to the family. Officers can’t take dangerous, illegal, large, or bulky items, withdraw money from a bank, or cash checks, and can’t incur storage or shipping expenses without cash in the estate. Shipping costs fall to the legal representative, next of kin, or the estate. A legal representative can be the executor named in the will, a surviving spouse, child, parent, sibling or other next of kin, an administrator, or an agent of any of them. If you think there’s a will or a family lawyer, tell the consular officer. If there’s no will and the estate is small, the State Department says Form DS-5511, an affidavit for the surviving spouse or next of kin, may be enough to release it. See probate and estate administration.

What will it cost?

We did not find an authoritative published range for domestic shipping or international repatriation. Figures from insurers, shippers, and lead-generation sites disagreed widely, from a few thousand dollars domestically to five figures abroad, so we don’t print a number. What’s reliable: the State Department doesn’t pay; the FTC requires itemized forwarding and receiving prices for U.S. funeral homes; and costs depend on distance, preparation, container, permits, and airline. Ask for itemized written quotes and for a comparison with local arrangements. Check any travel insurance, credit card, or employer coverage the person had, since some policies include repatriation of remains; the State Department also has a page on travel insurance.

What should I do next?

1. Make the first call: the local funeral home (U.S.) or the embassy or Overseas Citizens Services (abroad)
2. Decide with your family: local arrangements or bring the person home
3. Get itemized quotes, including permits, container, and transport
4. For a death abroad, ask the consular officer for the CRODA, and ask about e-CRODA delivery
5. Order enough certified death certificates and CRODA copies for the institutions that will need them; see getting death certificates
6. Keep every receipt for the estate; see keeping the estate’s records

For families bringing a loved one home to the islands or to another state, see Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian funeral traditions for cultural considerations.

Requirements vary by country, state, and situation, and change. This is general information, not legal advice; the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate (for a death abroad) and your funeral director are the most reliable sources for current, specific guidance.