How Much Does It Cost to Transport a Body to Another State?

Most interstate transfers combine several separate charges. The FTC's pricing checklist is a helpful way to think about them, because it separates a funeral home's basic services fee from optional goods and services and from cash advances paid to third parties.

• The sending funeral home's services: removal from the place of death, sheltering, filing permits and the death certificate, and preparing the body for shipment.
• Preparation: embalming or other preparation when required by the carrier, the destination, or the time involved.
• A shipping container or air tray approved for transport.
• The carrier charge: airline cargo fees or a ground transport service, often priced by weight and distance.
• Delivery to and pickup from the airport, and the receiving funeral home's services at home.
• Certified death certificate copies and permit fees, sometimes passed through as cash advances.
• After-hours, weekend or holiday removal charges, and daily storage or refrigeration fees if release or shipment is delayed.

It depends. Over short to moderate distances, ground transport by a funeral service vehicle may be practical. Over long distances air cargo is typically faster, but it adds airport handling, container requirements and scheduling around cargo acceptance. The NFDA notes that airline cargo requirements vary by carrier, and that funeral homes shipping by air must register as known shippers with the airlines. Families generally cannot simply book a body on a flight themselves.

Family members accompanying their loved one pay their own airfare or travel costs separately. That is easy to forget when comparing options.

Local cremation near the place of death is often the less expensive route, because cremated remains do not need a shipping container designed for a body, embalming or cargo handling. The Funeral Consumers Alliance recommends comparing local cremation against transporting the body before making a decision.

Cremated remains can be carried by a family member or shipped. According to the NFDA, the U.S. Postal Service is the only U.S. carrier that delivers cremated remains to residential and business addresses, using its specific packaging requirements. A memorial or burial of the urn can still take place at home.

Call more than one funeral home. Under the Funeral Rule you may ask for prices by phone, and you are entitled to a General Price List in person and an itemized statement before paying. Ask the funeral home near the place of death for a "forwarding remains" price and the one at home for a "receiving remains" price. This avoids paying two firms for full packages when each only needs to do part of the work. Be aware that these forwarding and receiving prices often exclude the airline cargo charge, which may be billed separately.

Ask for written quotes, and put the same questions separately to both homes. To the sending home: does the price include removal, after-hours fees, storage, preparation, the container, permits, airport delivery and the airline cargo charge? To the receiving home: does the price include airport pickup, local transport, filing and any storage until services? Ask each which charges are cash advances paid to third parties.

Ask specifically what is included, which items are required and by whom, and which are optional. If embalming is recommended, ask whether it is required by the airline, the state, or the timing of the service. Illustrative price ranges published online are not quotes, and many are years old; treat any number you did not get in writing from a provider as background only.

Sometimes, but it depends entirely on the policy. Standard trip policies focus on cancellation, baggage and medical expenses, and repatriation of remains, if included, may be limited, apply only on covered trips, or exclude domestic travel. Life insurance proceeds can help with costs, but they are typically paid after a claim is processed, while transport decisions happen in the first days. Read the policy language before assuming coverage.

• How to read a policy for this benefit: Does Travel Insurance Cover Repatriation of Remains?
• The overall process: What Happens If Someone Dies While Traveling Away From Home?