FEMA

Federal Benefits

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Funeral assistance after a presidentially declared disaster

The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides funeral assistance to families who lost a loved one due to a presidentially declared disaster. FEMA also provides Individual Assistance for disaster survivors, including housing assistance and other needs. Funeral assistance covers burial, cremation, and related expenses not covered by insurance or other sources.

The FEMA when someone dies

No notification is needed. FEMA's page on what to do after a death →

Confirm the death was caused directly or indirectly by a presidentially declared disaster, in an area designated for Individual Assistance. Check active declarations at DisasterAssistance.gov.

Apply as the person who paid or is responsible for the funeral expenses, within 60 days of the disaster declaration; late applications are taken for 60 more days with an explanation. Only one application per deceased person is allowed:

•Online at DisasterAssistance.gov or on the FEMA mobile app
•By phone at 1-800-621-3362 (TTY 711), 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, 7 days a week
•In person at a Disaster Recovery Center
•Keep the 9-digit FEMA registration number for all later contact

Send the documents for funeral assistance:

•The death certificate, or a signed statement from a medical examiner, coroner or other certifier, attributing the death to the disaster, not naming it as a possible cause
•Receipts or verifiable estimates for the funeral, interment or reinterment expenses
•Proof of any burial insurance or funeral assistance from other agencies or voluntary groups
•Reinterment only: proof the disinterment was at a privately owned licensed cemetery not responsible for reinterring the remains

Check the application status at DisasterAssistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362, and answer any FEMA request for more documents promptly. Appeal a denial within 60 days of the determination letter.

Have a surviving pre-disaster member of the household apply in their own right when a FEMA applicant dies with a claim open; the estate of a deceased applicant cannot continue the claim.

Required Documents

Death certificate or certifier's statement attributing the death to the disaster: An official death certificate, or a signed statement from a medical examiner, coroner or other certifier, attributing the death to the disaster directly or indirectly. "May have been caused by" is not sufficient.
Receipts or verifiable estimates for the funeral expenses: For funeral, interment or reinterment expenses incurred or to be incurred.
Proof of burial insurance and other funeral assistance: Any funeral assistance received from voluntary agencies, government agencies or other entities, to prevent a duplication of benefits.
Proof of where the disinterment occurred: for reinterment only. That it occurred in a privately owned licensed cemetery or burial facility not responsible for reinterring the remains.
Applicant identity verification: Social Security number and government-issued ID.
FEMA registration number: A 9-digit number provided upon application, kept for all later contact with FEMA.

Timeline

Assistance may be provided for up to 18 months from the date of the disaster declaration; FEMA's Assistant Administrator for the Recovery Directorate may extend it for extraordinary circumstances.

Deadlines4

Application for funeral assistance: within 60 days of the disaster declaration authorizing Individual Assistance^{1, 2}
Application where the area is added to the declaration later: within 60 days of the date the area is added^{1, 2}
Late application, with an explanation of the delay: within 60 days of the end of the application period; FEMA cannot accept applications after this grace period.^{2, 3}
Appeal of a FEMA determination: within 60 days of the date of the determination letter²

What FEMA pays or provides to survivors3

Funeral Assistance

Burial, funeral and memorial benefits

Financial assistance under the Other Needs Assistance provision of the Individuals and Households Program for funeral expenses caused directly or indirectly by a presidentially declared disaster. Reinterment is covered where the disaster caused the disinterment.^{1, 4, 5}

Who qualifies: A U.S. citizen, non-citizen national or qualified alien who paid or is responsible for disaster-related funeral expenses. The applicant need not be a family member or live in the declared area, and the deceased need not meet citizenship requirements.

Amount: Set per death or per household by the state, territory or tribal government, up to the Other Needs Assistance maximum for the fiscal year: $43,600 for disasters declared on or after October 1, 2024.

How to apply: Online at DisasterAssistance.gov, by phone, on the FEMA mobile app or at a Disaster Recovery Center. Only one application per deceased person is allowed.

Individual Assistance (Housing and Other Needs)

Assistance that continues for the household

Housing assistance (rental assistance, home repair, home replacement) and Other Needs Assistance (medical, dental, personal property, transportation, childcare, moving and storage). Displacement Assistance funds immediate housing needs when survivors cannot return home.^{1, 6, 5}

Who qualifies: Individuals and households affected by a presidentially declared disaster in designated areas

Amount: Up to $43,600 per household for housing assistance and up to $43,600 per household for Other Needs Assistance, for disasters declared on or after October 1, 2024

How to apply: Online at DisasterAssistance.gov, by phone, on the FEMA mobile app or at a Disaster Recovery Center.

Serious Needs Assistance

Assistance that continues for the household

A one-time upfront flexible payment, introduced under the 2024 Individual Assistance reform, for immediate needs such as food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication and other emergency supplies. No documentation is required at the time of application.^{7, 1}

Amount: $770 per household, paid once

What happens to each matter1

Pending claim or application: The estate of a deceased applicant is not eligible for Individuals and Households Program assistance, so an executor cannot continue the deceased applicant's claim. A surviving pre-disaster resident of the same household may apply in their own right if they meet all eligibility criteria.⁴

What FEMA's rules say8

Who reports the death

FEMA does not take general death reports. When a disaster caused the death directly or indirectly, the person who paid or is responsible for the funeral expenses applies for funeral assistance, and need not be a family member.¹

Proof of death accepted

A death is directly attributed to a disaster when caused by its forces or their direct consequences, such as structural collapse or flying debris. It is indirectly attributed when it results from unsafe or unhealthy conditions in any phase, including disaster-caused worsening of a pre-existing condition.¹

Documentation saying the death "may have been caused by" or "was likely a result of" the disaster is not sufficient attribution; FEMA works to obtain clearer certification.⁴

Processing and payment

FEMA writes to ask a late applicant why they could not apply on time. The answer can be given by phone, by a letter uploaded to the DisasterAssistance.gov account, by mail or fax, or at a Disaster Recovery Center; no other document is needed.³

A death in the household is one of the accepted reasons for a late application.³

Offsets between benefits

FEMA assists only with eligible funeral expenses no other source covers, and by law cannot duplicate a benefit. Where burial insurance, a government program or agency, or a voluntary agency pays part, FEMA assists only with the rest, and all other assistance received must be documented.¹

Coverage limits

Eligible for interment or reinterment: transfer of remains, casket or urn, burial plot or cremation niche, marker or headstone, and legally mandated expenses. Interment only: interment, funeral services, clergy or officiant, transport for up to two people to identify the deceased, and up to five death certificates.¹

Not covered: obituaries, flowers, printed materials such as banners, programs or register books, catering including food, transporting the applicant or others to the funeral, interment or reinterment, and gratuities.¹

FEMA sets no per-death dollar cap in policy. Older figures such as a $7,500 per-decedent cap come from the 2016 IHP Unified Guidance, which has been superseded.⁴

Appeals and disputes

An appeal should include any additional documentation that supports the claim.¹

Overpayment recovery

Where FEMA is recovering an overpayment, it may end collection when the applicant is deceased, no assets remain in the estate sufficient to cover the debt, and no co-applicant or co-debtor exists.⁴

What the agency does and does not handle

The COVID-19 Funeral Assistance program is closed to new applications; it received more than 609,000 and approved more than 506,000, totaling about $3.26 billion. Funeral assistance for other presidentially declared disasters remains available through Individual Assistance.⁸

Programs for survivors1

Disaster Distress Helpline

SAMHSA's helpline provides 24/7 crisis counseling and support for emotional distress related to disasters, including grief from disaster-related deaths. It is free, multilingual and confidential, by call or text; Deaf and Hard of Hearing ASL callers can use a relay provider or reach an ASL agent by videophone.⁹

Who qualifies: Anyone experiencing disaster-related emotional distress

Phone: 1-800-985-5990