In this guide
- What repatriation to the Dominican Republic involves
- Step by step: from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic
- Documents you will usually need
- What the cost includes
- "Repatriation insurance" and the membership
- Body or ashes?
- Support from the Dominican government
- From the Dominican Republic to the U.S.
- Common mistakes
- How Eternimax helps
- Related guides
- Frequently asked questions
- Official sources
For repatriation of remains to the Dominican Republic, a licensed U.S. funeral provider prepares the body, the family collects a certified death certificate and a transfer permit with the Dominican consulate's help, and the airline carries the body as cargo to a receiving provider on the island. The cost depends mostly on the departure city and on whether there is a wake and burial or a cremation at the destination, and the ranges below come only from cases we have coordinated from Florida. Eternimax coordinates each step. This is not legal advice.
What repatriation to the Dominican Republic involves
Repatriation means returning a person who died in the United States to the Dominican Republic for a wake, burial or cremation. Many Dominican families in New York, New Jersey, Florida and Massachusetts ask for it every year. Eternimax is not a funeral home and not an insurer. We coordinate independent, licensed funeral providers in the U.S., the airline cargo booking and a receiving provider on the island, so the family has one point of contact.
Step by step: from the U.S. to the Dominican Republic
Confirm who holds the body and who decides
Hospital, medical examiner or a funeral home may have custody. Only the legal next of kin can release the body and sign instructions.
Order certified death certificates
Request several from the state or county. Old or cropped copies are often rejected.
Contact the Dominican consulate that serves your area
It can help with the transfer permit, translations and the request for Foreign Ministry help if the family qualifies. Confirm the current document list with the consulate before booking.
Choose body or ashes
A body needs embalming, a hermetically sealed container and certificates. Ashes need a cremation certificate and a suitable urn.
Book cargo and confirm the air waybill (AWB)
The airline needs the receiving provider's details. Do not fix the wake date or buy family tickets until the AWB is issued.
Customs and release at the airport
The receiving provider presents the paperwork and arranges transport to the town.
Wake and burial or cremation
Many families hold a wake at home or in a funeral chapel and bury the next day.
Documents you will usually need
According to Dominican press describing the usual process, the file includes:
- Death certificate, certified, with the apostille or legalization the consulate asks for: from the state or county, then the state's apostille authority.
- Transfer permit for the body: handled with the consulate.
- Certificate that the person did not die of a contagious disease: issued by the U.S. provider or health authority.
- Embalming certificate for a body or cremation certificate for ashes: issued by the U.S. provider.
- Passport copy of the deceased and ID of the next of kin.
- Translations that the consulate may help with.
- Receiving provider details in the Dominican Republic.
Requirements change, so confirm with the consulate before you pay for anything.
What the cost includes
A total usually combines:
- the U.S. provider's services, embalming, transfer and container;
- certified copies, apostille and translations;
- airline cargo fees, which depend on route and weight;
- airport reception, ground transport, casket and wake on the island;
- coordination.
Extras that can appear later: days of storage, a rush apostille, restoration for an open-casket wake, a casket upgrade, delivery to a home address and personal belongings, which ship separately.
Estimates are for general information only. They are not a quote or an offer. Final costs depend on the providers, the airline, the destination and the family's choices.
In cases we have coordinated from Florida, a body with a wake and burial sits at the higher end (US$12,000–14,000), and a body cremated at the destination sits lower (US$8,000–9,000). For other departure cities we price each case individually. See our repatriation cost guide for how each part adds up.
"Repatriation insurance" and the membership
Many Dominican families search for repatriation insurance. It helps to separate three things:
- The Eternimax membership is not insurance. It covers coordination services in the country where your loved one lives. It is not a prepaid funeral plan, and repatriation is a separate service.
- A consulate plan. Dominican consulates have offered an optional repatriation plan sold through an insurance company. If a family member holds one, it can pay for part or all of the transfer under its own terms. Ask the plan holder for the paperwork and call the plan's assistance number early.
- Workplace or other plans. Some employers and associations offer their own. Check before you pay a provider.
If a plan exists, we can coordinate alongside it so nothing is paid twice. Read our membership vs. burial insurance guide.
Body or ashes?
| Body | Ashes | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost from Florida, in cases we have coordinated | US$12,000–14,000 with wake and burial; US$8,000–9,000 cremated at the destination | US$5,500–6,500 |
| Preparation | Embalming, hermetic container | Cremation, urn |
| Transport | Airline cargo with AWB | Cargo, or carried by a relative in many cases |
| Paperwork | More documents | Cremation and death certificates |
| Good when | A wake and burial on the island matter | Cost, speed or flexibility matter |
Cremation in the U.S. and cremation on the island are different services. If the body travels and is cremated after the wake, the body cost applies. TSA allows cremated remains in carry-on and checked bags but will not open a container, and an urn that blocks the X-ray image may not be allowed. Confirm with the airline. Our body or ashes guide goes deeper.
Support from the Dominican government
The Dominican Foreign Ministry has helped Dominicans with limited resources. A Diario Libre report from June 2024 says the ministry helped pay for repatriations, depending on the airline and country, and processed dozens of cases in the first months of that year. The request normally starts with the family and runs through the consulate. Eligibility and amounts can change, so confirm with the consulate or the ministry before relying on it.
From the Dominican Republic to the U.S.
Families also ask us to bring ashes or a body from the island to the United States. A provider on the island arranges the death registration, cremation or embalming and the exit paperwork, and we coordinate the shipment and delivery. Bringing a body into the U.S. generally requires a death certificate with cause of death unless embalmed or cremated, and non-cremated remains must travel in a leak-proof container, according to the CDC. For ashes, cremation on the island plus shipment is priced case by case.
Common mistakes
- Buying tickets or setting the funeral date before the airline confirms the AWB.
- Not knowing who has custody of the body.
- Using an old or cropped death certificate and ordering too few copies.
- Assuming belongings travel with the body.
- Paying a plan holder's relatives out of pocket without checking whether a plan exists.
- Several relatives giving conflicting instructions.
How Eternimax helps
Eternimax is a coordination company, not a funeral home. We work with independent, licensed providers in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic, explain what each price includes before you decide, send written updates at each step and stay with the family through the service. We do not give legal or immigration advice, and the membership is not insurance.
Talk with a coordinator. One call. One coordinator. We assist in English and Spanish. +1 (866) 978-5207 · Write to us
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send a body to the Dominican Republic?
In cases we have coordinated from Florida, a body with a wake and burial has fallen in the range of US$12,000–14,000, and a body cremated at the destination between US$8,000 and US$9,000. Cremating in the U.S. and sending the ashes has fallen in the range of US$5,500–6,500. For other departure cities we price each case individually. These are estimates, not a quote.
Is Eternimax repatriation insurance?
No. The Eternimax membership is not insurance and not a prepaid funeral plan. It covers coordination services in the country where your loved one lives. Repatriation is a separate service we coordinate when a family needs it.
Do Dominican consulates offer a repatriation plan?
Dominican consulates have offered an optional repatriation plan sold through an insurance company. Terms may change and it must be in force before a death occurs, so ask the consulate for current details.
Can the Dominican government pay for repatriation?
For Dominicans with limited resources, the Foreign Ministry has helped fund repatriations in some cases, according to a 2024 press report. The request is usually started by the family and handled through the consulate. Eligibility and amounts can change, so confirm with the consulate.
How long does it take to repatriate a body to the Dominican Republic?
In cases we have coordinated, the transfer typically takes about 5 business days once the body is released and no medical examiner or police are involved. With a medical examiner or police it typically takes 10 or more. The apostille typically adds 5 to 9 business days. No provider can promise a date.
Is it cheaper to cremate in the U.S. and send the ashes?
Usually, yes. In cases we have coordinated from Florida, cremation in the U.S. plus shipping ashes to the Dominican Republic has fallen in the range of US$5,500–6,500, against US$12,000–14,000 for a body with a wake and burial. Ashes also have simpler paperwork.
Official sources
- Diario Libre — MIREX repatriation assistance (June 2024)
- El Día — Documents for transferring remains to the Dominican Republic
- Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la República Dominicana (MIREX)
- TSA — Cremated remains
- CDC — Importing human remains into the United States
Links to the official sources. Requirements change: always check the current version.
General information
This guide is general information. It is not legal, medical, immigration or tax advice and does not replace a professional licensed in your jurisdiction. Requirements, timelines and costs are determined by the providers and authorities in each case and may change. Eternimax coordinates between the parties and does not itself perform funeral or other regulated services.
