When someone dies in another state or country.

Long-distance death care almost always uses two funeral homes that coordinate:

• The shipping (or “sending”) funeral home — located where the death occurred. They take custody of the body, complete the death-side paperwork, prepare the remains for transport, and hand off to the carrier.
• The receiving funeral home — located where you want the funeral or burial. They handle the destination-side paperwork and the final service.

Both charge a basic-services fee. Both will quote you the same line items required by the FTC Funeral Rule (GPL). The bill is the combination of: shipping home’s services + receiving home’s services + transport cost.

Important: the receiving home almost always recommends a specific shipping home in the death-location city. They have established relationships. You are not obligated to use the recommended shipping home. Comparing two or three options on the shipping side is the single biggest cost-reduction opportunity in this scenario, since shipping homes vary in price as much as any other funeral homes do.

Typical cost in 2026: $3,000–$8,000 all in (both funeral homes + transport + casket if required by the airline) for a body shipped by air. Ground transport, where feasible, runs $1,500–$3,500. Distance, regional pricing, and weekend surcharges all move the number.

Transport options:

• Commercial air cargo — standard for trips over ~500 miles. Body travels in a specific air-tray shipping container the funeral home prepares. Major US carriers (Delta, American, United) have dedicated human remains programs. Usually next-day delivery.
• Funeral-home ground transport — common for distances under 300–500 miles. Cheaper than air; some funeral homes drive the route themselves.
• Family driving — possible in states that allow family transport of remains (see home funeral guide for which states). You need a burial-transit permit from the death-location county. Generally the cheapest option but the most logistically complex — refrigeration on the road, timing, etc.

Paperwork the family handles: authorization for embalming (sometimes required for air transport even where it’s not required for burial), authorization for the casket choice, and signing the burial-transit permit. The shipping funeral home walks you through each.

Death certificate quirk: the death certificate is filed in the state where death occurred, not where the deceased lived. Your receiving funeral home will order extras from the death-location state on your behalf, but you may need to handle some institutions yourself if they want in-state certificates — particularly for property held in the deceased’s home state.

When a US citizen dies abroad, the nearest US embassy or consulate is automatically notified by local authorities (or by the family). The embassy can help in specific ways and not at all in others.

What the embassy will do:

• Issue the Consular Report of Death of a US Citizen Abroad (CROD). This document is accepted by US institutions as the equivalent of a US death certificate. Order at least 10 certified copies.
• Coordinate with the local authorities and the family on disposition decisions.
• Maintain a list of local English-speaking funeral homes and shipping agents you can contact.
• Notify next-of-kin if you weren’t the one who reported the death.

What the embassy won’t do:

• Pay for any of it. All costs are the family’s responsibility.
• Take custody of the body or remains.
• Override the destination country’s requirements (some countries require local embalming, lead-lined caskets, or specific paperwork that’s legally non-negotiable).
• Speed up local authorities. Some countries require autopsy by default; releasing the body can take 1–3 weeks.

Typical cost in 2026: $5,000–$20,000+ all in for international repatriation. Variables: country, distance, whether local embalming is required, casket type required by origin or destination country, airline carrier, time of year (peak-season air-cargo surcharges).

Steps:

1. Contact the nearest US embassy or consulate (24-hour emergency line). Phone numbers are at travel.state.gov.
2. Ask the embassy for their list of local funeral homes / shipping agents.
3. Choose a US receiving funeral home. They will coordinate with the foreign shipping agent.
4. Authorize the foreign shipping agent and the US receiving home (each will send paperwork).
5. Pay both. Wire transfers are common. Expect 6,000–15,000 dollars in wires across several recipients.
6. Wait for transport. International repatriation typically takes 2–4 weeks from death to arrival at the US receiving home.

Check for repatriation insurance. Many travel insurance policies (including the free-ish ones bundled with credit cards) cover repatriation of remains, often up to $25,000–$50,000. Check the deceased’s most recent travel booking and credit card benefits BEFORE paying out of pocket. Some employer travel benefits include this too.

Most large cruise ships have onboard morgue facilities that hold remains in cooled storage until the next US port. From there, the case becomes a standard out-of-state or international death, depending on where the ship docks.

If the ship is at sea long enough to require an in-port emergency landing in a foreign country, the international rules above apply.

Burial at sea of the full body is permitted under EPA rules more than 3 nautical miles from shore, with notification to the EPA within 30 days. Cremated remains can be scattered at sea with no permit required. Both options are common for US Navy veterans — the Navy offers free burial-at-sea services for eligible veterans and dependents (mynavyhr.navy.mil — search “burial at sea”).

A college student dies at school. The college’s dean of students or counseling office can connect the family to a local funeral home that handles student deaths regularly. Many universities will help coordinate with the receiving funeral home and may have a small fund for transport costs. Ask.

A snowbird dies in their winter home. Very common in Florida, Arizona, Texas. Many families in this situation skip out-of-state transport entirely by doing direct cremation in the winter state and carrying the urn back. The deceased’s legal home of record (not the death state) determines probate jurisdiction.

A vacationing family member dies. Tourism-heavy areas have funeral homes that handle this routinely. The hotel or resort can often refer you. Beware of mark-ups specific to tourist areas — compare 2 or 3 shipping homes by phone, the same way you’d compare at home.

Active military overseas. The Department of Defense handles transport and paperwork for service members who die on active duty. This is fully covered and procedurally different from civilian repatriation — the military casualty assistance officer assigned to the family handles most decisions. Family doesn’t need to arrange anything privately.

1. Don’t wire money on the first phone call. Scams targeting families who’ve just been notified of an out-of-state death are real. If anyone claiming to be a hospital, funeral home, or government official asks for an immediate wire transfer, hang up and call them back at a number you find independently (Google the institution).

2. Double-quoted basic services. Some receiving funeral homes try to charge a full basic-services fee in addition to the shipping home’s basic-services fee for the same case. The FTC Funeral Rule allows each to charge their own basic services, but the totals should reflect the division of work — not two full fees for the same case. Ask the receiving home to itemize what they’re doing that the shipping home isn’t.

3. Mandatory caskets for shipping. Airlines require a specific shipping container (an “air tray” or “combination unit”). That container is included in transport cost; you do NOT have to buy a separate casket for shipping. A funeral home that says “we need to put them in a casket for the flight” is often selling you a casket you don’t need.