What to Do When a Citizen of United States Dies in France: 5-Step Official Checklist

1. 1

   Medical Certification of Death and Forensic Clearance in France

   • Death in a hospital, clinic, or nursing home (EHPAD): When a death occurs in a healthcare facility (for example in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, or Nice), the attending department physician immediately examines the deceased and issues the official medical certificate of death (certificat médical de décès, on a Cerfa paper form or via the electronic CertDc system), which is required to register the death and authorize any funeral operations [1][4].
   • Death at home, in a hotel, or in a public place: Call the French emergency medical service (SAMU at 15) or the European emergency number (112) immediately so that a physician can certify the death on site and complete the certificat médical de décès [1]. Transfer of the body to a funeral home (chambre funéraire) prior to placement in a coffin must generally take place within 48 hours of death [4].
   • Medico-legal obstacle (obstacle médico-légal) and judicial investigation: In the event of a sudden, violent, or unexplained death, the physician checks the obstacle médico-légal box on the medical certificate. The police or gendarmerie and the public prosecutor (procureur de la République) take charge, and the body is transferred to a forensic institute (institut médico-légal). No coffin sealing, cremation, or departure from French territory may take place until the prosecutor's office issues the official release order (procès-verbal d'autorisation d'inhumer ou de transporter) [1][4].
2. 2

   Repatriation Insurance, Funeral Directors in France and the United States, and U.S. Consular Assistance

   • Checking travel or repatriation insurance first: Before signing a private funeral contract, check whether your family member held travel insurance, medical assistance coverage, or an employer policy covering international repatriation of remains. If coverage applies, contact the insurer's 24-hour assistance center immediately, as it will appoint the funeral providers directly and cover the arrangements [3][5].
   • Appointing licensed funeral directors in France and the United States: If no insurance coverage applies, appoint a prefecture-licensed funeral operator in France (opérateur funéraire habilité en préfecture, such as a member of the Fédération Nationale du Funéraire - FNF or the Fédération Française des Pompes Funèbres - FFPF, or a provider on the U.S. consular list) to coordinate the chambre funéraire, embalming (soins de conservation), and prefectural permits [3][4]. For reception in the United States, appoint a licensed receiving funeral home in the destination state through the directory of the National Funeral Directors Association [6]. Under the federal Funeral Rule enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. funeral homes are required to provide an itemized General Price List over the phone or in person and to charge only for the specific goods and services you select [7].
   • U.S. consular notification: Report the death promptly to the Ambassade et Consulats des États-Unis en France (U.S. Embassy and Consulates in France, American Citizens Services unit in Paris at +33 1 43 12 22 22 or the Consulate General in Marseille) [2][3]. Consular officers guide the family through French procedures, safeguard personal effects if the deceased was traveling alone, and issue the consular death report, though the U.S. government does not pay for funeral or repatriation expenses [2][3].
3. 3

   Civil Death Registration at the French Town Hall, Apostille or Form C, and U.S. Consular Report (CRDA)

   • Civil registry declaration at the town hall (mairie) in France: The death must be registered within 24 hours (excluding weekends and public holidays) at the town hall (mairie) of the municipality where the death occurred, a step usually completed by the French funeral director upon presenting the certificat médical de décès and the deceased's passport [1]. Request several full certified copies of the death certificate (copies intégrales de l'acte de décès) via Service-Public.fr or in person at the town hall [1]. Although French town halls issue multilingual death extracts on Formule C (under the 1976 Vienna CIEC Convention), the United States is not a party to that convention; if a U.S. court or agency requires the French certificate in addition to the consular report, obtain a Hague Apostille together with a certified English translation [1][5].
   • U.S. Consular Report of Death Abroad (CRDA): Submit the full French death certificate (copie intégrale de l'acte de décès) and your family member's U.S. passport to the Ambassade et Consulats des États-Unis en France to obtain the Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad (Form DS-2060) [2][3]. This official English-language record serves as proof of death before U.S. Probate Courts, banks, insurance companies, and state Vital Records / Office of Vital Statistics offices [2][3].
4. 4

   International Repatriation of Remains or Ashes to the United States vs. Local Burial or Cremation in France

   • Repatriation of the body from France to the United States: For international transport of a body out of France, the French funeral director applies to the prefect (préfet) of the department where the coffin is sealed for a prefectural mortuary transit permit (arrêté préfectoral de laissez-passer mortuaire), following embalming (soins de conservation / thanatopraxie) and placement in a hermetically sealed coffin with a soldered metal liner in accordance with public health regulations and procedures overseen with the Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs) [4][5]. For entry into the United States under the regulations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (42 CFR 71.55), the body must be placed in a leak-proof container, consigned directly to a licensed funeral home or cemetery in the United States, and accompanied by the official death certificate and certification that the deceased did not die from a quarantinable communicable disease [8]. Upon arrival at the U.S. airport of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection clears the shipment and the receiving funeral home obtains the local state burial-transit permit.
   • Transport of cremated ashes: If cremation takes place in France (authorized by the mayor of the municipality of death or cremation), transporting a funerary urn to the United States is exempt from a public health import permit under standard 42 CFR 71.55 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [8]. The sealed urn (made of an X-ray-scannable material for cabin transport) must be accompanied by the death certificate, the cremation certificate (certificat de crémation), and the prefectural permit for the removal of ashes [3][4][8].
   • Local burial or cremation in France: If the family chooses final burial or cremation in France without international repatriation, the burial (inhumation) or cremation must take place between 24 hours and 14 calendar days after death upon authorization by the mayor [4].
5. 5

   Post-Death Notifications, Survivor Pensions, Taxes, and Estate Administration in the United States and France

   • Social Security, veterans benefits, taxes, and probate in the United States: Report the death to the Social Security Administration by calling 1-800-772-1213 (from within the United States) or by contacting the Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. Embassy to stop monthly benefits (any payment received for the month of death must be returned) and to claim the USD 255 lump-sum death payment or monthly survivor benefits [3][12]. If your family member was a U.S. military veteran, contact the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding burial allowances (Form VA 21P-530EZ) or interment in a national cemetery [13]. The estate executor or surviving family member must file the final federal income tax return (Form 1040 marked "DECEASED") with the Internal Revenue Service for income received up to the date of death by the standard April filing deadline of the following year [14], and open estate administration (probate) before the appropriate county Probate Court in the United States.
   • Social security bodies, taxation, and estate settlement in France: If the deceased was affiliated with the French social security system or resided in France, notify the local health insurance fund (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie - CPAM) via the Assurance Maladie portal to claim any applicable lump-sum death benefit (capital décès) and reimbursement of final medical expenses [9], as well as the French pension funds (such as L'Assurance Retraite / CNAV and Agirc-Arrco) for survivor pensions (pensions de réversion) [10]. If the deceased held real estate, bank accounts, or tax residence in France, instruct a notary's office through the Notaires de France network to search the central register of wills (Fichier central des dispositions de dernières volontés - FCDDV), draw up the deed of heirship (acte de notoriété), and file the French inheritance tax return (déclaration de succession) within 6 months when the death occurred in metropolitan France [11].

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Registering a Death at the Town Hall (Mairie): Procedures and Deadlines — Service-Public.fr
2. [2]
   Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad and Consular Report of Death Abroad (CRDA) — U.S. Department of State
3. [3]
   Death of a U.S. Citizen in France — U.S. Embassy and Consulates in France
4. [4]
   Transport of a Deceased Person and Funeral Authorizations in France — Service-Public.fr
5. [5]
   Death Abroad and Cross-Border Administrative Formalities — Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères
6. [6]
   Funeral Service Resources and Directory — National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA)
7. [7]
   Shopping for Funeral Services: The FTC Funeral Rule — Federal Trade Commission
8. [8]
   Importation of Human Remains into the United States for Burial, Entombment, or Cremation (42 CFR 71.55) — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
9. [9]
   Death of a Relative: Lump-Sum Death Benefit (Capital Décès) from Assurance Maladie — Assurance Maladie (Ameli.fr)
10. [10]
    Widowhood and Bereavement: Administrative Formalities and Survivor Pension (Pension de Réversion) — L'Assurance Retraite
11. [11]
    International Estate Settlement and Inheritance Taxation in France — Notaires de France
12. [12]
    What to Do When Someone Dies and Social Security Survivor Benefits — Social Security Administration
13. [13]
    Burial and Memorial Benefits — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
14. [14]
    File the Final Income Tax Returns of a Deceased Person — Internal Revenue Service