When someone dies away from home, the practical question comes quickly: how do we get them back? The short answer is that a funeral home does this, and in most cases two of them work together. You don't have to arrange flights or permits yourself.
Here's how the pieces fit, first for moves within the US and then for a death in another country.
Who does what: the sending and receiving funeral homes
A common way to start is to call the funeral home near where you live, the one that will hold the service or burial. That home then finds a funeral home in the place where the person died and asks it to take the person into its care. You can also choose the sending home yourself.
The two homes split the work. The sending home picks the person up, prepares them for travel, gets the local paperwork and arranges the trip. The receiving home meets them at the airport or takes them in at the end of the drive, then carries out whatever you've planned.
A funeral home's General Price List (the itemized price list it must give you) has a line for "forwarding of remains to another funeral home" and one for "receiving remains from another funeral home," each with a list of what that price covers. Under the rule, those two prices already include the home's basic services fee, so it shouldn't be added again on top.
You can ask either home for these prices over the phone. Funeral homes have to give you price information by phone, and you don't have to give your name first.
Paperwork and permits
Each state sets its own rules for moving a body across its border, and the funeral director handles the permits.
Texas is one example. If a body is leaving the state, the funeral director must get a burial-transit permit from the local registrar, and the registrar won't issue it until the death certificate has been filled out as far as it can be.
The sending funeral home will ask you for details for the death certificate, such as full name, date of birth and Social Security number, so having those ready helps. Ask the funeral home what applies in your state.
Flying, driving and embalming
For longer distances, the body often flies as air cargo, booked through the funeral home. Alaska Air Cargo, for example, tells customers to work with a funeral home or medical institution that's authorized to ship human remains. It also wants a leak-proof container inside an outer shipping container, plus a death certificate or transit permit as the law requires.
For shorter trips, the funeral home may simply drive. Its General Price List can show transport as a flat fee or by the mile, so ask which applies.
No state requires routine embalming for every death. Some states require embalming or refrigeration if burial or cremation won't happen within a certain time, and in most cases refrigeration is an acceptable alternative, according to the FTC. A funeral home can't charge for embalming without your permission unless the law requires it. If someone tells you a body must be embalmed to travel, it's fair to ask whether that's a law, an airline rule or the home's own policy.
Cremation first
Some families choose cremation where the person died and bring the ashes home. That skips the cargo shipment and the shipping container, and you can carry the ashes yourself.
TSA allows cremated remains in carry-on bags. The container has to show clearly on an X-ray, so TSA suggests a lightweight material such as wood or plastic, and officers won't open the container even if you ask them to. Some airlines don't allow ashes in checked bags, so check with yours before you pack them.
When someone dies in another country
If a US citizen dies abroad, the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs finds and tells the next of kin, then explains the choices: burial or cremation in that country, or bringing the person home. Local law, US law and customs rules all apply, and funeral facilities abroad can be very different from those at home.
The family pays for this part. The State Department has no funds to cover returning remains or ashes. What it can do is help you pass instructions to local offices, explain how to send money to cover costs overseas, and point you to local funeral homes. When remains are shipped home, the embassy prepares a Consular Mortuary Certificate to go with them.
The embassy can also issue a Consular Report of Death Abroad. It's in English and can be used in US courts to settle estate matters later.
Coming back into the US, the CDC sets the rules. Remains that were embalmed or cremated before arrival don't need a CDC permit. Other remains must travel in a leak-proof container with a death certificate that states the cause of death, translated into English if it isn't already. A death from certain infectious diseases may need a CDC import permit.
The State Department's line for Americans who need help abroad is 1-888-407-4747 from the US or Canada, or +1-202-501-4444 from overseas.
What drives the cost
We don't have a reliable average to give you. These are the parts that add up:
| Cost | Who charges it |
|---|---|
| Forwarding remains (pickup, preparing for travel, paperwork) | Sending funeral home |
| Receiving remains | Receiving funeral home |
| Air cargo or mileage for driving | Airline, or the funeral home doing the drive |
| Shipping container, or a casket for travel | Usually the sending funeral home |
| Embalming or refrigeration, if chosen or required | Sending funeral home |
| Certified copies of the death certificate | The office that issues them |
| Services, burial or cremation at home | Receiving funeral home and cemetery |
Ask both homes for written prices before you agree, and compare what each one includes. If the person was a veteran buried in a national cemetery, VA may pay back some transport costs; see our guide to veterans burial benefits.
Frequently asked questions
Can I drive the body to another state myself?
It depends on the state. Texas's rule, for example, puts the permit duty on "the funeral director, or person acting as such," and the permit is needed before the body leaves either way. Ask the state health department or a funeral home what the law allows where the death happened.
How long does it take to bring someone home?
Within the US, it depends partly on how quickly the death certificate details come together and the permit is issued. From abroad, local authorities, any autopsy and flights all play a part. The funeral homes and the embassy can tell you what to expect.
Do I have to use the funeral home the hospital calls?
No. You choose the funeral home. If a hospital or hospice suggests one, you can still call others and compare prices by phone first.
Is it simpler to cremate first and bring the ashes home?
It removes several steps: no cargo booking, no shipping container, and you can carry the ashes on your own flight. Ask for written prices both ways before you decide. Some faiths and families prefer burial of the body, and both are fine choices.
Sources
- eCFR: 16 CFR Part 453, the Funeral Rule
- FTC: The FTC Funeral Rule
- Texas Administrative Code: 25 TAC 181.2, Burial-Transit Permit
- Alaska Air Cargo: Shipping Human Remains
- TSA: Cremated Remains
- U.S. Embassy Seoul: Death of a U.S. Citizen
- U.S. Embassy San Jose: Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad
- CDC: Importation of Human Remains
- VA: Veterans Burial Allowance and Transportation Benefits