FEMA Now Reimburses Up to $9,000 in COVID-19 Funeral Costs; Here's How to Apply

This week, FEMA began taking applications from families who paid for the funeral of someone who died of COVID-19. The agency will reimburse up to $9,000 per funeral, which is $2,000 more than the $7,000 ceiling announced in February. People apply by phone, and there is no income requirement.

The money comes from the COVID-19 relief law passed in December, the same law that carried a second stimulus check of up to $600. It sets aside $2 billion for people harmed by the pandemic, including those who may have gone into debt to bury a loved one.

Eligibility turns on a few conditions. The death must have occurred in the United States, its territories or the District of Columbia. The funeral costs must have been incurred after Jan. 20, 2020. The death certificate must attribute the death to COVID-19. The applicant must be a US citizen, noncitizen national or qualified alien, but the person who died does not have to have been. FEMA has not said what will decide whether someone receives the full $9,000 or only part of it.

The ceiling is close to what funerals cost. The National Funeral Directors Association put the 2019 national median for a funeral with viewing and burial at $7,640. With a vault or casket, which cemeteries often require, it rose to $9,135. Cemetery fees, monuments and headstones, and cash-advance items such as flowers or an obituary notice are not counted in those figures.

Covered expenses include transportation for up to two people to identify the deceased, transfer of remains, a casket or urn, a burial plot or cremation niche, a marker or headstone, clergy or officiant services, arranging the ceremony, use of funeral home equipment or staff, cremation or interment, and the cost of producing and certifying multiple death certificates. Expenses required by local or state law also count. Someone who paid for more than one relative's funeral can claim for each, up to $9,000 per funeral and $35,500 per application for each state, territory or the District of Columbia.

Before calling, applicants should collect Social Security numbers and dates of birth for themselves and the deceased, their mailing address and phone number, and the place where the person died. They should also gather details of any burial or funeral insurance and any other assistance received, including donations, CARES Act grants and help from voluntary organizations. A bank routing and account number is needed for direct deposit. They also need an official death certificate, and funeral receipts or a contract showing both names, the amounts and the dates. FEMA cannot duplicate benefits from other sources, though life insurance proceeds do not count as duplication.

The number is 844-684-6333. A call should take about 20 minutes, and callers may get busy signals because of heavy volume. Applicants then receive an application number and send documents through a DisasterAssistance.gov account, by fax to 855-261-3452, or by mail to P.O. Box 10001, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Approved applicants are paid by check or direct deposit. FEMA has not said how long that will take.

There is precedent, though on a smaller scale. Under the Stafford Act, FEMA can help with funeral costs after presidentially declared disasters, as it did after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy. After three hurricanes struck Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico in 2017, it paid about $2.6 million on 976 approved applications, according to the Government Accountability Office. A FEMA spokesperson told CBS in December that the pandemic dwarfs anything the agency has handled, and that it had already provided more than $56.2 billion in response.

The Federal Trade Commission has warned that scammers are posing as FEMA to prey on bereaved families. FEMA contacts people only after they have applied or reached out. It never charges a fee, and never asks for a Social Security number or bank or card details by call, text, email or social media. Suspicious callers can be reported to the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or the National Center for Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721. No deadline has been set, and FEMA says it will announce one when it does.