The call almost always comes at an impossible hour. A hospital in Rome. A tour operator in Nairobi. A stranger with careful English on a hotel phone in Bangkok. Someone you love has died in a country whose language you may not speak, under a legal system you have never navigated, and the person on the line is asking you to make decisions you were not warned you would ever have to make.
It happens more often than most Americans realize. The US Department of State estimates that roughly 9,000 US citizens die abroad each year — retirees living overseas, students on exchange, business travelers, cruise passengers, missionaries, and tourists. Every one of those deaths triggers the same essential sequence: a local authority certifies the death, a US consular officer issues federal paperwork, and a family thousands of miles away has to choose among burial locally, cremation locally, or bringing their loved one home.
This guide walks through what to do in the first hours, what the US embassy can and cannot do, the Consular Report of Death Abroad and its DS-2060 form, the practical steps and costs of repatriating a body or cremated remains, insurance realities, burial abroad options including the American Battle Monuments Commission, deaths involving crime, and the follow-up back home. It is written to be readable at 3 a.m. by someone who has just received the worst call of their life.
The first 24 hours: what actually needs to happen
In almost every country, the sequence begins locally. A physician or coroner has to certify the death and issue a local death certificate. Only then does the US government step in — the State Department does not certify the death itself. Your job in the first hours is not to do everything; it is to reach two people and give them accurate information.
Call the US embassy or consulate
The Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department operates a 24-hour Overseas Citizens Services (OCS) line for exactly this situation. From inside the United States, family members can call 1-888-407-4747 during business hours or 1-202-501-4444 after hours, weekends, and federal holidays. From abroad, the local embassy or consulate maintains a duty officer reachable around the clock; every embassy website lists the emergency number prominently on its home page.
Ask for the American Citizens Services (ACS) unit. Give the consular officer the deceased's full legal name as it appears on their US passport, date and place of birth, US passport number if you have it, the location of the death, and your relationship. The officer will open a case, assign a caseworker at the post nearest the death, and begin the notification process on the US side if it has not already happened. If you were the one notified by local authorities, tell them so — this prevents a distressing duplicate notification to another relative.
If your loved one was traveling
Tour operators, cruise lines, and hotels have internal protocols for a guest death and can be genuinely helpful in the first hours — they usually know which local funeral homes handle foreign nationals, which police station holds the case, and which hospital the body has been transferred to. Ask specifically who has physical custody of the remains, whether an autopsy is being ordered, and whether any documents need signing before the body can be released.
If your loved one was traveling with someone, that companion is your most valuable source of information and, often, of practical help on the ground. If they are shaken or in shock themselves, keep instructions short and one at a time.
Loop in US-based next of kin quickly
Decisions about disposition — burial abroad, cremation abroad, or repatriation — usually require the legal next of kin, and consular officers will confirm identity before releasing sensitive information or authorizing dispositions. In a family with multiple adult children, decide early who will be the single point of contact for the embassy. Consular officers get pulled in different directions when three siblings each call the caseworker with different instructions.
What the US embassy will do — and what it will not
The consular officer's job is to protect the interests of the US citizen and their family, facilitate paperwork, and act as a communication bridge between local authorities and the family. In practice, that means the embassy will:
- Confirm the death and the deceased's identity as a US citizen.
- Notify the next of kin if local authorities have not already done so.
- Provide the family with a list of local funeral homes and mortuary services that handle international shipments.
- Explain the local disposition options and the paperwork each requires.
- Serve as the "provisional conservator" of the deceased's personal effects until the estate takes custody.
- Issue the Consular Report of Death of a US Citizen Abroad (Form DS-2060) once a local death certificate is available.
- Assist with disposition instructions and communicate them to the local funeral home on the family's behalf.
Equally important is what the embassy cannot do. The State Department is explicit that it cannot pay for repatriation of remains, cremation, burial abroad, or any funeral costs. There is no consular emergency fund for these expenses, and no repatriation loans are offered to families of deceased citizens (the State Department's repatriation-loan program is limited to destitute living Americans). The embassy also cannot investigate the death, order or override a local autopsy, take custody of the body, or expedite local bureaucracy beyond ordinary diplomatic channels.
Understanding this boundary early prevents painful misunderstandings later. The US government will help you navigate; it will not pay the mortuary invoice.
The Consular Report of Death Abroad (Form DS-2060)
The single most important document produced by the US government in these cases is the Consular Report of the Death of a US Citizen Abroad, issued on Form DS-2060. It is prepared by a consular officer at the embassy or consulate closest to where the death occurred, based on the local death certificate or an equivalent official finding by local authorities.
The DS-2060 is not a civil death certificate; it is a US federal administrative report that documents essential facts of the death — name, date and place of birth, date and place of death, cause as stated by local authorities, and the disposition of remains. In the United States, it functions as the legal equivalent of a state-issued death certificate for nearly every purpose a family will encounter: probate, life insurance claims, Social Security, retirement account transfers, real estate transfers, and closing bank and brokerage accounts. It is the document you will present alongside — or in some cases in place of — a foreign death certificate. Our companion piece on death certificates and how many certified copies to order walks through the domestic equivalent and how many copies most estates end up needing.
Timing and copies
The DS-2060 cannot be issued until the local death certificate is in hand, which can take anywhere from a few days in Western Europe to several weeks or longer in countries with slower vital-records systems or when an autopsy is required. Once issued, the embassy typically provides the family with around 20 certified copies at no cost to the family for the first set in many posts, though fees and quantities vary; additional certified copies are available for a modest fee per copy. Order more than you think you need. Every insurer, brokerage, retirement plan, and county recorder wants an original certified copy, not a photocopy.
Once you are back in the United States, the original DS-2060 is filed with the State Department's Vital Records Section, which can issue additional certified copies for a fee for as long as the record exists. Keep at least three originals in a safe place, distribute the rest to institutions that require them, and photograph the front and back of a certified copy for your own records.
Disposition options
Once identity and cause of death have been established, families face one core decision: what happens to the body. Broadly, there are four paths.
Local burial in the country of death
Sometimes chosen when the deceased had lived in the country for many years, when the surviving spouse remains there, when religious rites require burial within 24 to 48 hours (as in Jewish and Islamic tradition), or when repatriation costs are prohibitive. The local funeral home handles the burial according to the country's cemetery rules; the embassy documents the disposition on the DS-2060.
Local cremation followed by repatriation of ashes
The most common choice for cost reasons. The body is cremated in the country of death, and the cremated remains are shipped or hand-carried back to the United States for burial, scattering, or keeping. Not every country permits cremation — many predominantly Islamic countries prohibit or heavily restrict it, and some Orthodox Christian jurisdictions discourage it — so ask the embassy about local practice before assuming this is an option.
Repatriation of a casketed body
The body is embalmed (where permitted and required), placed in a hermetically sealed casket meeting airline and destination-country standards, and flown to the United States as air cargo. This is the most expensive and most logistically complex path but often the choice for a full traditional funeral at home.
Burial at sea
The US Navy offers burial at sea as a benefit for veterans, active-duty service members, and their eligible dependents; the ceremony is conducted by a US Navy vessel and the family receives a letter with coordinates. Requests are handled through the Navy Mortuary Affairs office; timing depends on ship deployments and can be several months out. Civilian burial at sea from a private vessel is also available through several US-based providers.
Repatriating a body: the practical steps
Bringing a body home is a coordinated handoff among a local funeral home, the embassy, a US-side receiving funeral home, and one or more airlines. It is best handled by a mortuary with international shipping experience; embassies keep lists of these providers and will share them.
Local preparation
The local funeral home embalms the body if the destination country and airline require it, then prepares a shipping container that meets both airline "known shipper" cargo standards and US Centers for Disease Control regulations. In practice, this almost always means a hermetically sealed inner container (usually zinc-lined) placed inside an outer wooden shipping box. The seal must be intact on arrival — US Customs and CDC officials at the port of entry will inspect it.
Documentation the airline will require
A body will not be loaded onto an aircraft without a specific bundle of paperwork:
- Local death certificate (with certified English translation if required).
- Consular Mortuary Certificate issued by the US embassy, confirming that the sealed casket contains only the remains of the named person and no other contents.
- Embalming certificate or non-contagious-disease certificate as required.
- Transit permit or export permit issued by the local vital-records authority.
- Airway bill and cargo booking from the receiving funeral home.
The receiving US funeral home coordinates the flight and clears the remains through US Customs at the port of entry. Bodies must be shipped through airports with the customs and refrigeration facilities to receive them — a short list of major international gateways rather than every airport in the country.
Typical cost
All-in repatriation of a casketed body typically runs $10,000 to $20,000, with the distance from the United States, the country's requirements for embalming and casket construction, and airline cargo rates driving most of the variation. Repatriation from Western Europe or the Caribbean sits at the lower end of that range; Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Australasia routinely reach or exceed the top. That figure covers local funeral-home services, embalming, the sealed shipping casket, embassy-related fees, air cargo, and receiving-funeral-home services in the US. It does not include the domestic funeral or burial that follows.
Repatriating cremated remains
For most families, cremating in-country and bringing ashes home is meaningfully more affordable and simpler. The body is cremated at a local crematorium; a cremation certificate is issued alongside the local death certificate; and the ashes are placed in an urn suitable for transport. Typical total cost runs $1,500 to $4,000, again varying by country.
Cremated remains travel with fewer restrictions than a body but with specific rules. In the United States, the Transportation Security Administration allows cremated remains in both carry-on and checked baggage, and strongly encourages carry-on to reduce the risk of loss. TSA requires that the container permit X-ray screening — the officer must be able to determine the contents. If the urn is made of an opaque material (lead, thick stone, or dense ceramic) that blocks X-rays, TSA cannot open it and cannot let it through security. Temporary shipping urns are usually plastic or wood specifically to satisfy this rule; the permanent urn of choice can be purchased or filled at home. Some airlines have their own documentation requirements — a cremation certificate and a copy of the local death certificate is a safe baseline; check with the airline before the flight.
International shipping of cremated remains through the US Postal Service is also permitted, and USPS is the only carrier that accepts them; private couriers do not. USPS requires Priority Mail Express International with tracking, a specific cremated-remains label kit, and inner and outer packaging that will contain the ashes if the outer box is damaged.
Once the ashes are home, families have wide latitude in what happens next. Our overviews of direct cremation and what to do with cremation ashes cover keeping, scattering, dividing, and memorializing options — all of which apply equally to ashes that came from abroad.
Insurance and financial reality
Because the US government will not pay, and because a full repatriation can exceed the price of a modest used car, the financial question is often the hardest part of a death abroad. A few realities are worth stating plainly.
Medicare and most US health insurance do not cover repatriation
Traditional Medicare provides no coverage for care or transport outside the United States except in narrow border-crossing situations. Most private US health-insurance plans exclude repatriation of remains. Medicare Advantage and some employer plans offer limited overseas emergency coverage, but almost none pay to bring a body or ashes home. Assume health insurance will not help unless a policy document says otherwise in writing.
Travel insurance with a repatriation-of-remains rider
This is the single most useful protection for international travelers. Most comprehensive travel-insurance policies include a repatriation-of-remains benefit as a standard feature, typically ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, which covers the mortuary, casket, documentation, and air cargo. Higher-tier plans and dedicated medical-evacuation memberships raise the ceiling further. If the deceased purchased travel insurance for the trip, call the insurer's 24/7 assistance line before authorizing any funeral-home work — most insurers arrange repatriation directly with their preferred mortuary networks and will not reimburse expenses incurred without their prior approval.
Employer group life and expat coverage
US citizens working abroad often have employer-provided repatriation coverage as part of an expatriate benefits package, and many employer group-life policies include a small burial or repatriation benefit. Contact the employer's HR or benefits department early — they may have a corporate travel-assistance provider under contract that handles the whole logistics chain.
The deceased's own resources
Because the State Department cannot advance funds and repatriation firms typically require payment or a firm insurer authorization before dispatching a body, families often front the cost from the deceased's bank accounts (with proper legal authority), their own savings, or a credit card, then seek reimbursement from insurance and, eventually, from the estate. Keep every receipt: repatriation expenses are legitimate administration costs of the estate and, in most states, are paid ahead of general debts.
Burial abroad
For families who choose local burial — or whose loved one had made their home abroad — the practical questions are cemetery rules, plot ownership, marker regulations, and how the grave will be maintained across an ocean.
Most countries have their own cemetery systems with rules about plot purchase, plot duration (many European cemeteries lease plots for 20 to 30 years rather than in perpetuity), permitted marker styles, and religious requirements. The local funeral home will walk families through the choices; the embassy will confirm that documentation is in order. Photographs of the completed grave, taken by the funeral home or a local contact, are worth requesting for family who cannot attend.
The American Battle Monuments Commission
For US service members who died in overseas conflicts, the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is a federal agency that operates and maintains 26 permanent American military cemeteries and 32 federal memorials, monuments, and markers around the world — including the World War II cemeteries at Normandy and the Ardennes, the World War I cemeteries in France and Belgium, and cemeteries in Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Tunisia, and elsewhere.
ABMC does not conduct new burials — its cemeteries were closed to new interments after specific historical windows — but it provides grave photographs, floral placements on request, and visitor services for families of those already buried there. If a family member is buried at an ABMC site, the agency's Public Affairs office can assist with visits and locate the specific grave, cross of Lorraine, or wall of the missing.
For living veterans who die abroad and whose families want a national cemetery burial, the more common path is repatriation followed by burial at a Department of Veterans Affairs national cemetery in the United States — a benefit available at no cost to the family for the plot, opening, closing, and headstone.
Deaths involving crime, accident, or unnatural cause
When a death is not clearly natural, timelines lengthen and the paperwork changes. Local police open an investigation; a local prosecutor may order an autopsy; the body may not be released to the family for days or weeks. In some jurisdictions, autopsy is mandatory for any death that occurs outside a hospital or under a physician's care.
The embassy's role in these cases expands to include serving as a liaison between the family and local police, translating investigative findings, and — in cases of suspected foul play involving a US citizen — coordinating with the FBI's Legal Attaché (Legat) posted in the region. Legats are FBI special agents assigned to US embassies who work alongside local law enforcement; they do not have independent authority in a foreign country, but they facilitate information exchange, evidence transfer, and, in high-profile cases, forensic support.
Families in these cases should expect a longer wait for the local death certificate and, correspondingly, for the DS-2060. Delays of one to three months are not unusual in a criminal case; six months or longer is possible in complex investigations. The State Department can provide periodic status updates through the caseworker at the post.
Documents families should gather immediately
Even before making disposition decisions, the family should collect and centralize the following, in physical or high-resolution digital form:
- The deceased's US passport (the embassy will cancel it and return it to the family after the case is closed).
- Full travel itinerary, including tour or cruise documents and hotel confirmations.
- Travel-insurance policy documents and 24/7 assistance number.
- Employer contact information and any expat-benefit paperwork.
- Names and phone numbers of anyone traveling with the deceased.
- Emergency contacts already stored on the deceased's phone or in their wallet.
- The deceased's will, if one exists, and the name of the estate attorney.
- Signed authorization from the legal next of kin (the embassy caseworker will explain the exact wording required) authorizing the chosen disposition.
Store copies in a shared folder accessible to the primary contact and one backup family member. Everyone will ask for the same information; having it in one place saves hours.
Back in the United States: closing accounts and settling the estate
Once the body or ashes are home and the DS-2060 is in hand, the domestic follow-up looks similar to any other death, with the DS-2060 substituting for a state death certificate wherever one would normally be presented. Two categories of task deserve special attention.
Notifying benefits and financial institutions
Social Security, banks, brokerages, retirement plans, credit-card issuers, and pension providers all need prompt notification. A US citizen who died abroad still generates Social Security survivor benefits for eligible surviving spouses and dependents, and eligible retirement account beneficiaries still inherit under normal rules. Our guide to notifying Social Security, banks, and other institutions after a death walks through the sequence, and our overview of Social Security survivor benefits covers the lump-sum death payment and monthly benefits available to spouses, children, and dependent parents. Present the DS-2060 exactly as you would a domestic death certificate; every federal agency and virtually every US financial institution recognizes it.
Probate and foreign assets
If the deceased owned property, bank accounts, or investments abroad, the estate has to be settled in each country where assets exist, following that country's inheritance law and paperwork. This is called ancillary probate, and it can add months or years to an already long process — especially in civil-law countries with forced-heirship rules that override the deceased's US will. Locate the estate attorney early, and expect to hire local counsel in each country where the deceased held assets. Our overview of an executor's duties and responsibilities covers the domestic side; a competent US estate attorney can coordinate with foreign counsel on the international side.
Prevention: what travelers can do before they go
Nothing in this guide is theoretical for the 9,000 families who receive the call each year. Much of the anguish, and much of the cost, can be reduced by a small amount of preparation before the trip.
Enroll in STEP
The Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), run by the State Department, is a free service that lets US citizens register their trip with the nearest US embassy or consulate. Enrolled travelers receive safety alerts about the destination, the embassy has their contact information in the event of an emergency, and — critically for the situation this guide addresses — the embassy has an immediate way to reach the traveler's designated emergency contact if something happens. Enrollment takes about five minutes at step.state.gov. Retirees and long-term expatriates can enroll in a rolling residency.
Buy travel insurance with a repatriation rider
For any international trip, a comprehensive travel-insurance policy with medical evacuation and repatriation-of-remains coverage is inexpensive relative to the risk it hedges. Policies from major carriers typically cost 4% to 8% of the trip cost. For frequent travelers, an annual policy or a dedicated medical-evacuation membership (Medjet, Global Rescue, and similar) is often more economical. Confirm the repatriation-of-remains limit in writing; a $25,000 to $50,000 benefit is standard, but some budget policies cap the benefit far lower.
Leave documents with a trusted person at home
Before departing, give a trusted family member or attorney a packet containing: a photocopy of the passport photo page, the full itinerary, the travel-insurance policy and assistance number, the employer's HR contact if applicable, and a written note stating the traveler's disposition preferences in the event of death. It does not have to be an elaborate legal document — a signed note stating "in the event of my death abroad I would prefer cremation and return of my ashes to my family" removes an agonizing guess from an already unbearable moment.
Keep beneficiary designations current
A death abroad does not change the mechanics of retirement-account and life-insurance beneficiary designations, which pass outside probate. Review them before any long international trip. Beneficiary designations are the fastest-moving pieces of an estate, and updating them takes minutes.
A closing note for families in the middle of this
If you are reading this because it has happened, take one step at a time. Reach the embassy. Identify the local funeral home the embassy recommends. Confirm whether the deceased had travel insurance, and call that insurer before authorizing repatriation. Choose among burial abroad, cremation abroad, or repatriation, and communicate that decision clearly to the caseworker. Wait for the DS-2060 and order enough certified copies. The paperwork exists; the procedures exist; consular officers do this work every day, and yours is not the only case on their desk this week. You are not alone in this, even if the country and the language make it feel that way.
What you are being asked to do is small compared to what is being taken from you. Make the calls in order. Keep the notes. Let the systems do their work while you take care of yourself and the family beside you.
Sources:
US Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs — Death Abroad — https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/death-abroad1.html
US Department of State — Death of a US Citizen Abroad (Living Abroad) — https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/living-abroad/death.html
US Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual, 7 FAM 270 — Consular Report of Death of a US Citizen Abroad and Form DS-2060 — https://fam.state.gov/fam/07fam/07fam0270.html
US Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual, 7 FAM 370 — Repatriation Loans — https://fam.state.gov/fam/07fam/07fam0370.html
US Department of State — Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) — https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/smart-traveler-enrollment-program.html
Smart Traveler Enrollment Program portal — https://mytravel.state.gov/s/step
US Department of State — Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) — https://www.state.gov/overseas-security-advisory-council
OSAC — Overseas Security Advisory Council — https://www.osac.gov/
Transportation Security Administration — Cremated Remains screening rules — https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/cremated-remains
American Battle Monuments Commission — Home — https://www.abmc.gov/
American Battle Monuments Commission — Frequently Asked Questions — https://www.abmc.gov/about-us/faqs/
US Postal Service — Shipping Cremated Remains — https://www.usps.com/ship/shipping-restrictions.htm
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Importation of Human Remains — https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/human-remains.html
US Department of Veterans Affairs — Burial in a VA National Cemetery — https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/eligibility/
US Navy — Burial at Sea Program — https://www.mynavyhr.navy.mil/Support-Services/Casualty/Mortuary/Burial-at-Sea/