This is not something anyone wants to read about. If you’ve landed here because someone you love has just died overseas, we’re very sorry, and we’ll try to keep this clear and practical. If you’re reading ahead because you or a family member lives abroad, that’s a kind thing to do for the people who would otherwise have to work it out in a hurry.

What follows is a general description of how the process usually works when an American dies outside the United States, based on the U.S. Department of State’s own guidance. Every country does things a little differently, and the embassy or consulate handling the case is always the authority on what happens next.

Who tells the family, and who to call first

When a U.S. citizen dies abroad, the hospital or local police will often notify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. Consular officers then try to locate and notify the next of kin or legal representative. So sometimes the family hears from the embassy first. Just as often, though, the first call comes from a spouse, a friend or an employer in the other country, and it’s the family who then contacts the embassy.

If you’re the one making that call, look up the embassy or consulate that serves the area at usembassy.gov. Each one has an American Citizen Services section. If you can’t get through in an emergency, the State Department’s Office of Overseas Citizens Services answers at 888-407-4747 from the US and Canada, or +1 202-501-4444 from anywhere else. Both numbers are listed on the State Department’s Help Abroad page.

Have the person’s full name as on their passport, date of birth and place of death ready. If you know there’s a will or a family lawyer, tell the consular officer early; the State Department specifically asks families to share that.

What the embassy can and can’t do

Consular officers can explain the local options for burial, cremation and shipping remains, give you lists of local funeral homes and local lawyers, help you send instructions to the right offices in that country, and help you send private funds to cover costs. They also prepare some of the documents you’ll need, which we come to below.

What they can’t do is pay. The State Department says plainly that it cannot pay to return a U.S. citizen’s remains or ashes to the United States. Costs fall to the family or the estate, which is one reason it matters whether the person had insurance that covers repatriation. Check for any travel, health, life or employer policy before you commit to paying for anything yourself.

The local death certificate comes first

The death has to be registered in the country where it happened, under that country’s law. The local registrar or similar authority issues a death certificate in the local language. Ask for several certified copies, because banks, insurers and officials in both countries may each want one.

The State Department points out that a foreign death certificate is, in many instances, not accepted in the United States for insurance and estate purposes. That is where the CRODA comes in.

The Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad (CRODA)

A CRODA is an administrative report of death issued in English by the U.S. embassy or consulate. It records the essential facts of the death and is generally used in the US as proof of death to help settle the estate. The embassy normally can’t issue one until it has the foreign death certificate, or a finding of death by a competent local authority.

The State Department says the process can take as long as four to six months, depending on the country. It’s worth telling banks and insurers early that it’s on its way.

The CRODA can come as paper copies or as a PDF, called an e-CRODA, which carries the consular officer’s digital signature and the embassy’s digital seal. The e-CRODA can be emailed to the next of kin, who can print as many copies as they need. Keep the original PDF file somewhere safe so you can print more later. If you need extra paper copies, the Consular Section in the district where the death occurred can help, and certified copies can also be requested later through the State Department’s records service. The State Department’s page on the death of a U.S. citizen abroad has the current details.

Bringing someone home, or not

Families face a decision they often haven’t discussed: should the person be returned to the US for burial, cremated with the ashes sent home, or buried or cremated where they lived? Burial and cremation have to follow both US and local law, and the options depend on the local facilities and customs, which may be quite different from what you’d expect in the States.

If the body is to be returned, the State Department says US and foreign law generally require four documents. There is a consular mortuary certificate, prepared by a consular officer; the local death certificate; an affidavit from the local funeral director confirming that the casket contains only the remains, clothing and packing materials; and a transit permit from the local health authorities. Depending on the circumstances, more may be needed, and the consular officer makes sure the right documents travel with the remains.

There are also US entry rules on embalming and quarantine, which the CDC explains in its guidance on importing human remains. Funeral directors at both ends normally handle these details.

Personal belongings and the estate overseas

If there is no legal representative or next of kin in the country, a consular officer can act as a temporary “provisional conservator”. That can mean taking possession of small valuable items, making an inventory, sometimes paying local debts such as a hospital or hotel bill from the person’s own funds, and helping ship belongings to the legal representative. Consular officers can’t withdraw money from a bank or cash checks, and shipping costs fall to the family or the estate.

The legal representative might be the executor named in a will, a surviving spouse, child, parent or sibling, an administrator appointed by a court, or an agent of any of them. Where there’s no will and the estate is small, the State Department says Form DS-5511, the Affidavit for the Surviving Spouse or Next of Kin, may be enough to release the personal estate. If people disagree about who should receive what, a court in the US or the host country may have to decide.

Bank accounts, property and pensions in the other country are a separate matter, dealt with under that country’s laws, usually with the help of a local lawyer. The embassy can give you a list.

Back in the United States

Once the immediate arrangements are made, there are a few US tasks that tend to come up in the following weeks.

If the person received Social Security benefits, the death needs to be reported. There are no Social Security offices outside the US, so people abroad are served through US embassies and consulates, and residents of Canada through Social Security border offices. The SSA’s Service Around the World page has the current contact details, including a mailing address for International Operations that it lists for reporting a death.

US banks, brokerages and retirement plan providers will each want to be told, each with its own list of documents, which is where several copies of the CRODA are useful.

Taxes don’t stop either. The IRS says a deceased person’s final income tax return is generally prepared the same way it would have been if they were alive, reporting income up to the date of death. Its page on filing the final returns of a deceased person and Publication 559 are the starting points. For an American abroad there may also be returns due in the country where they lived, so it makes sense to bring in the person’s tax preparers in both countries early.

What makes this easier for a family

Almost everything above goes more smoothly when the family already knows a few things: which embassy serves the area, who the executor is and where the will is kept, whether there’s insurance that covers repatriation, and what the person would have wanted.

Recording it while everyone is well is a small job that saves a great deal of guesswork later. If it’s useful, Just in Case, Abroad: US Edition includes a first-week checklist built from the State Department guidance described here, a page for your embassy details, and a section for funeral and final wishes, along with places to note where your will, insurance and accounts can be found.

Just in Case, Abroad: US Edition is a fillable PDF binder for Americans living overseas, with a First Week checklist for family. See what’s inside.

Official sources