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Glossary · 42 terms
Glossary of international repatriation and funeral terms
The words you'll hear from providers, airlines and authorities, in plain language. These are general definitions: the exact meaning may vary by country.
- Airway bill AWB
- The transport document the airline or cargo agent issues for a shipment. In a repatriation, it identifies the transfer and travels with it to the destination.
- Apostille
- A single certificate issued by an authority so that a public document from one country is recognized in another, among the countries party to the Hague Convention. It replaces consular legalization 1.
- At-need
- Services arranged after a death has occurred, as opposed to those planned in advance.
- Authorized representative
- A person whom the law or a document empowers to make decisions about the remains and sign authorizations on the family's behalf.
- Autopsy
- A medical examination of the body to determine the cause of death. It may be ordered by the medical examiner or requested by the family, depending on local law.
- Burial Interment
- Placing the remains in a grave in the ground. It requires the permits of the place where it happens.
- Burial-transit permit
- An authorization issued by the local authority to move a person who has died and carry out final disposition. In the United States, the funeral home usually obtains it.
- Case coordinator
- A person who serves as the communication point between the family and the providers: relaying requests, helping gather information and following up. A coordinator does not perform the regulated services.
- Casket
- The container in which the body is placed for the viewing, transfer or burial. For air transfer, the destination and the airline may require specific features.
- Cause of death
- The disease or injury that caused the death, as determined by a physician or the medical examiner. It appears on the death certificate.
- Certified copy
- An official copy of a document, issued by the authority that keeps it, with a seal or signature attesting that it matches the original.
- Certified translation
- A translation accompanied by the translator's statement attesting to its accuracy. It's requested when a document must be submitted in another language.
- Consular legalization
- The process by which a consulate recognizes the validity of a foreign document. Among Hague Convention countries, it's replaced by the apostille.
- Consular mortuary certificate
- A document prepared by a consular officer to facilitate the transfer of remains between countries, for example when they're brought into the United States 2.
- Consular Report of Death Abroad CRDA
- A document prepared by the U.S. embassy or consulate when a U.S. citizen dies in another country. It's provided to the next of kin or the legal representative 3.
- Consulate
- A country's office abroad that serves its citizens. In a repatriation, it often issues or reviews documents for the transfer of its nationals.
- Coroner
- In some U.S. jurisdictions, the official who investigates sudden, violent or unexplained deaths. In others, a medical examiner performs that role.
- Cremated remains Ashes
- What remains after cremation. They're usually returned in an urn or a temporary container.
- Cremation
- The process that reduces the body to cremated remains using heat. It requires the family's authorization and local permits.
- Cremation certificate
- A document issued by the crematory confirming that the cremation took place. It's often requested to transfer the ashes.
- Death certificate
- The official document that records the death: who died, where, when and the cause. It's issued by the local vital records authority.
- Embalming
- Preparing the body with substances that slow decomposition. It's performed by a licensed professional. For an international transfer, the destination, the airline or the provider may require it.
- Embalming certificate
- A document issued by the professional who performed the embalming. Many international transfers require it.
- Entombment
- Final disposition in a crypt, niche or mausoleum rather than in the ground.
- Final disposition
- What is ultimately done with the remains: burial, placement in a crypt or mausoleum, or cremation.
- FTC Funeral Rule
- A U.S. federal rule that gives people arranging funerals certain rights, such as getting prices by phone and in writing and choosing only what they want 4.
- Funeral director
- A licensed professional who directs funeral services and, in many places, signs or files documents such as the death certificate and permits.
- Funeral home
- A licensed business that provides funeral services: it collects and prepares the person who has died, handles local documents and arranges ceremonies.
- General Price List GPL
- The written, itemized price list that, under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral home must give you when you visit to ask about its services 4.
- Itemized statement
- A written document showing exactly what you're buying and its price, before you pay. In the United States it's a right under the FTC Funeral Rule 4.
- Leak-proof container
- A container or bag that prevents fluids from escaping. The CDC requires one to bring remains that have not been cremated into the United States 5.
- Licensed or authorized provider
- A business or professional authorized under local law to perform regulated services, such as preparation, transfer or cremation.
- Medical examiner
- A physician with legal authority to investigate sudden, violent or unexplained deaths and determine their cause.
- Morgue
- A place where people who have died are kept until they're released, for example at a hospital or the medical examiner's office.
- Next of kin
- The relative with the closest relationship to the person who died. Each jurisdiction's law defines the order.
- Receiving funeral home
- A licensed funeral home in the destination country that receives the person who has died and performs the services there.
- Repatriation
- The transfer of a person who has died, or their cremated remains, from the country where they died to another country, usually their home country.
- Right of disposition
- The legal authority to decide on final disposition. Each jurisdiction defines who holds it and in what order.
- Sending funeral home
- A licensed funeral home where the death occurred that prepares the person and tenders the transfer to the airline.
- Urn
- A container for cremated remains. For air travel, choose one that can be screened by X-ray 6.
- Vital records office
- The public office that registers births, marriages and deaths and issues certified copies. In the United States, each state has its own 7.
- Wake Viewing
- A gathering of family and friends to accompany and say goodbye to the person who has died before burial or cremation.
Official sources
- Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Apostille Section
- U.S. Department of State · Foreign Affairs Manual. 7 FAM 250 — Disposition of Remains
- USAGov. What to do if a U.S. citizen dies abroad
- U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC Funeral Rule
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Importation of Human Remains into the U.S. for Burial, Entombment, or Cremation
- U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Cremated Remains
- USAGov. How to get a certified copy of a death certificate
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.
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