COVID Funeral Benefits

• $9,000 per funeral
• $35,500 per application, per state/district/territory

• The cost of a casket
• Clergy services
• Use of a funeral home
• Headstone and burial plot
• Transportation for up to two people to identify the deceased person
• Transfer of remains
• Arrangement of the funeral ceremony
• Use of funeral home equipment or staff
• Cremation or interment costs
• Death certificates
• Other expenses to meet state or local government requirements

FEMA may reimburse funeral expenses if the death was related to COVID-19. Costs must be incurred after January 20, 2020. The death certificate must say the death was caused by or may have been caused by COVID-19.

It is possible to change the certificate to list COVID-19 as a cause of death. Contact the person who certified the death. This may be a treating doctor, a coroner, or a medical examiner. The name and address of the person who certified the death should be on the death certificate. Applicants may also present other evidence to FEMA that the death was because of COVID-19.

FEMA will pay funeral assistance to applicants who are citizens, noncitizen nationals or qualified aliens. If you do not fit into one of those categories, you may wish to speak with an immigration attorney before applying for FEMA assistance.

You can still apply for assistance for funeral expenses for people who died from COVID-19 but are not U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or qualified aliens. However, FEMA will not pay funeral assistance for those who died outside the United States or a U.S. territory. If the person died outside of those areas, you may wish to consult with an attorney before applying for FEMA assistance.

Yes. You can still get FEMA Funeral Assistance if you are under 18. However, you must have personally paid for the funeral. Only the person that personally paid for the funeral can get this money.

FEMA will only grant one application for each person who died. However, there can be co-applicants. Everyone who paid for the funeral can submit expenses in one application. The total assistance amount for the funeral is limited to $9,000 per funeral, no matter the number of co-applicants.

If you paid for the funeral of more than one person who died of COVID-19, FEMA may pay for the funeral expenses of each person. The limit for each person who died is $9,000 per person who died. However, the limit is $35,500 per application for each state, territory, or District of Columbia. If you paid for funerals in more than one state or territory, submit a separate application for each state or territory.

Receipts and papers about the funeral, such as:

• An official death certificate that says the death was from COVID-19 and and that the person died in the United States or its territories.
• Receipts, contracts, and other documents from the funeral provider. The documents should include the applicant's name, the deceased's name, the expense amounts, and expense dates.

FEMA is not able to provide duplicate benefits. It cannot pay for expenses that another group has already paid. This includes money from charities, GoFundMe, and insurance policies.

If you got help from non-FEMA sources that did not cover all expenses, you will need to tell FEMA. Your application should include any documents that show how much other help from other sources you received.

No. Only the people who actually paid for the funeral can apply. If you are under 18 and didn’t pay for the funeral, you cannot apply for benefits.

Funeral benefits are separate from other disaster benefits. You can still apply for funeral benefits even if you received FEMA benefits for a different emergency, such as a hurricane.

FEMA will end COVID funeral benefits after September 30, 2025.

You must start your application over the phone. Call 844-684-6333 (TTY: 800-462-7585) between 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, US Central Time.

You can apply for help with multiple funerals with one application.

• FEMA Funeral Assistance FAQ
• COVID FEMA Funeral Assistance Tool (Lone Star Legal Aid)

This video from Lone Star Legal Aid talks about COVID-19 funeral benefits.