“At FEMA, we understand responding to, and recovering from, disasters.
It’s what we do.
The federally declared disaster due to the COVID-19 Pandemic is no exception.
The pandemic has affected all of us in some way.
Many are grieving the loss of someone in their life because of COVID 19.
And although we cannot change the outcome of what has happened, we are dedicated to
helping ease some of the financial stress and burden created by this deadly virus.
We want you to know (pause)…We are here.”
“The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, and the more recently
signed American Rescue Act of 2021 direct FEMA to provide funeral assistance for COVID-19
related funeral expenses.”
“If you incurred funeral expenses for an individual who died from COVID-19 in the United
States—including in the U.S. Territories and the District of Columbia—after January
20th, 2020, you could be eligible for COVID-19 Funeral Assistance from FEMA.
Before calling to apply, please have the following information ready:
Your social security number, date of birth, email, mailing address, and contact phone
numbers.
You will also be asked to provide your household annual gross income.
This program is not income dependent and your answer does not affect eligibility.
The name, social security number, and date of birth for the deceased individual
The location or address where the death occurred, which can be found on the death certificate
Information about burial or funeral insurance policies, if applicable
Information about other funeral assistance received, such as donations or assistance
from voluntary organizations, if applicable And your routing, checking or savings account
number for direct deposit, if requested
Starting April 12th, FEMA will open its COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Line.
Individuals can apply for COVID-19 Funeral Assistance by calling 844-684-6333.
For those who need assistance in an alternative language, options will be provided when you
call.
Once you have all of the necessary information available to apply, a FEMA representative
will be ready to take your call.
If you incurred funeral expenses for more than one deceased individual, FEMA will help
you include multiple deceased individuals on your application.
When you apply for assistance, you may want to include a co-applicant on the application
if another person also incurred funeral expenses for the same deceased individual.
As a co-applicant, this person will also be able to access and update the application.
If someone other than the applicant or co-applicant contributed to the funeral expenses, you may
provide their receipts for consideration.
If you would like to include a co-applicant, when you apply you will need to provide their
name, social security number, and date of birth.
Please have all of this information available for the deceased individuals when you apply.
The application process will take about 20 minutes.
“After you apply for assistance, FEMA will send you a Request for Information, or RFI,
letter that outlines all of the documentation needed to process your COVID¬-19 Funeral
Assistance application.
If you intend to apply, please begin to gather this documentation now:
A copy of the death certificate for the deceased individual or individuals.
The death certificate must indicate the death was “caused by,” “may have been caused
by” or “was likely a result of” COVID-19 or “COVID-19-like symptoms.”
If the death certificate does not include anything related to COVID-19, you may be able
to change or amend it.
This process starts with contacting the person who certified the death—such as a doctor
who provided treatment, a coroner, or a medical examiner—that person’s name and address
is on the death certificate.
You may be able to present them with evidence to support that the death was attributable
to COVID-19.
Documentation of the funeral expenses incurred.
Examples of these expenses include, but are not limited to, receipts, a funeral home contract,
and invoices.
The documentation must include the name of the individual who incurred the expenses,
the total amount of the expenses, the deceased individual’s name, and the date the funeral
expenses were incurred.
Documentation of any funds you may have received from another source.
This includes burial or funeral insurance policies, or financial assistance received
from voluntary organizations or government programs and agencies, to assist with funeral
expenses, if applicable.
FEMA will reimburse applicants for funeral expenses related to funeral services and interment
or cremation.
Some of these expenses include, but are not limited to:
Transfer of remains, casket or urn, burial plot or cremation niche, marker or headstone,
use of funeral home and equipment, cremation or interment costs, and costs associated with
producing and certifying death certificates.
Any receipts received for expenses that are not related to funeral services will not be
reimbursed.
If you have any questions, or want to check on your application, call our COVID-19 Funeral
Assistance line at 844-684-6333, starting April 12th.
The FEMA representatives will be ready and able to assist.”
“Once you have applied for COVID-19 Funeral Assistance with one of our representatives
over the phone, we encourage you to create your own disaster assistance account.
Having a disaster assistance account makes it easier to check on the status of your application,
provide your documents to FEMA by uploading them directly, and receive any letters from
FEMA electronically.
Simply go to www dot disaster assistance dot gov, click the “Check Status” button and
then follow the instructions to create an account.
Once you set up your disaster assistance account you are now ready to upload documents: The
documents you upload should be pdf or jpg files.
Upload all pages of a document in one file, and each file should be uploaded separately.
To do this:
Access your account Select the “Upload Center” tab
For “Select Assistance Type”, choose “Funeral” from the drop-down menu
For “Select Document Type,” click on the drop-down menu, and select the best description
of the document you are uploading — for example, burial insurance, funeral receipt,
or death certificate Check the box to confirm you are providing
all the required information in your documents.
Select the “Choose File” button to locate the file you want to upload
Click on the desired file and select “Upload Now”
Once you’ve finished uploading your documents, you can then log out of your account.
Please allow up to 72 hours for your documents to appear in your file.
While uploading documents is the fastest way to get them to FEMA, you may also:
Mail the documents to P.O.
Box 10001, Hyattsville, MD 20782 or Fax the documents to 855-261-3452.
When submitting documents to FEMA, please be sure to include your name, application
number, disaster number, and the last four digits of your social security number on the
submitted documents.”
“If you incurred funeral expenses related to COVID-19, we look forward to helping you
with your application.
We are here.”
Starting April 12, 2021 COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Line Number 844-684-6333
Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday, 9am till 9pm (ET)
FEMA COVID-19 Mailing Address: P.O.
Box 10001 Hyattsville, MD 20782.
Fax Number 855-261-3452.
www.disasterassistance.gov.