S. E. Williams
More than 1.23 million Americans have died from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic in March, 2020 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Today, COVID-19 plays like somber background music to American life. Compared to the focus on this disease through the worst days of the pandemic, today many may be surprised to learn that COVID-19 continues to take lives at a rate that in most circumstances would be considered alarming—more than 10,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. during the previous five months.
Cumulative Provisional COVID-19 Deaths, by Week, in the U.S., Reported to the CDC
COVID-19 Funeral Assistance
The COVID-19 incident period officially ended on May 11, 2023, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). However, the agency is still providing funeral assistance for those who’ve lost loved ones to the illness. Qualified individuals can continue to apply for this assistance until Sept. 30, 2025.
To date, FEMA has provided $2.8 billion dollars to eligible applicants for COVID-19 funeral assistance. According to FEMA, those who are eligible may qualify for up to $9,000 per funeral for expenses.
Who’s Eligible
To qualify for this program the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, a non-citizen national, or qualified non-citizen (such as legal permanent residents, etc.); the death must have occurred in the U.S. (this includes U.S. territories and the District of Columbia); the death was attributed to COVID-19; and the filer is/was responsible for the eligible funeral expenses incurred on or after January 20, 2020.
What’s Covered?
Funeral assistance is available to cover a number of different expenses These include funeral services; cremation; interment; costs associated with producing death certificates; costs due to local or state government laws or ordinances; transportation for up to two people to identify the person who died; transfer of remains; casket or urn; burial plot; marker or headstone; clergy; funeral ceremony; funeral home equipment or staff.
What is required to file an application
The responsible party filing for reimbursement must provide FEMA a copy of an official death certificate that shows the death occurred in the United States, including U.S. territories and the District of Columbia; that the death occurred after January 20, 2020, and the death was attributed to COVID-19.
If the death certificate was issued between January 20 and May 16, 2020, the death must either be attributed directly or indirectly to COVID-19 or the death certificate must be accompanied by a signed statement from the original certifier of the death certificate—or the local medical examiner or coroner from the jurisdiction in which the death occurred—listing COVID-19 as a cause or contributing cause of death. This signed statement must provide an additional explanation or causal pathway, linking the cause of death listed on the death certificate to COVID-19.
If you would like to apply for the FEMA Funeral reimbursement program but the death certificate of your loved one needs to be amended, follow this link for information regarding what steps to take.
The filer/responsible party must also provide FEMA with a signed funeral home contract, invoice, receipts, or other documentation that includes their name showing him/her are/were responsible for all or some of the expenses and the name of the person who died. They must also provide an itemized list of expenses and proof that the expenses were incurred on or after January 20, 2020.
It’s easy to apply
It is important to know that COVID-19 Funeral Assistance applications must be completed with a FEMA representative. There is no option for you to apply online. According to FEMA, the application process takes about 20 minutes.
To apply, call 844-684-6333 (toll-free) between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday-Friday. A FEMA representative will take your application—multilingual services are available. Have this information at hand when you apply: your Social Security number and date of birth; the Social Security number and date of birth of the person who died; your current mailing address and telephone number; the address where the individual died; whether the individual who passed had burial or funeral insurance policies.
It is also important to declare whether you received other funeral assistance including donations, CARES Act grants, state/territory assistance, or assistance from voluntary organizations.
Finally, if you are deemed eligible for reimbursement and you want the funds delivered by direct deposit, you must provide the routing and account number of your checking or savings account.
After you apply
Once your application is complete, FEMA will provide you an application number, and you may create an account on DisasterAssistance.gov. You must also submit supporting documents including funeral home contracts, receipts, invoices, death certificate, etc. You can provide the documents in one of three ways. You can either upload the documents to your DisasterAssistance.gov account; fax them to 855-261-3452; or mail them to P.O. Box 10001, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
The approval process
Once FEMA receives all required documents, it typically takes about 45 days to make an eligibility determination.
If the application for COVID-19 Funeral Assistance is approved by FEMA, funds will be deposited to your bank account or sent by mail in the form of a Department of the Treasury check, depending on the option you chose during the application process. According to the agency, funds usually arrive within a few days of approval. You will also receive a notification letter.
If you have questions, want to learn more about this reimbursement process or want to start an application, call 844-684-6333.
We encourage you to share this information with anyone you know who lost a loved one(s) due to this once in a century health crisis.