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

1. 1

   Obtain the Medical Death Notification (Hoda'at Ptira) and Police or Forensic Clearance in Israel

   Before a burial permit or international transport permit can be issued in Israel, an authorized physician must issue the official Death Notification (Hoda'at Ptira / הודעת פטירה) under the regulations of the Israeli Ministry of Health (Misrad HaBriut) [1][4]:

   • Death in an Israeli hospital or medical center: When a person dies in a hospital (for example, in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, or Haifa), the attending hospital physician pronounces the death, issues the official hospital Death Notification (Hoda'at Ptira) stating the cause of death, and transfers the deceased to the hospital mortuary [1][4]. Provide the deceased's U.S. passport (and Israeli identity card / Te'udat Zehut, if held by a dual citizen or resident) so that personal particulars are recorded accurately [1][3].
   • Death outside a hospital (residence, hotel, or public place): Call Magen David Adom (101) for emergency medical attendance so a paramedic or physician can pronounce the death, and call the Israel Police (100) [1][4].
   • Unnatural, sudden, or unattended deaths (Abu Kabir clearance): Whenever a death occurs outside a hospital or under sudden, accidental, or unclear circumstances, the Israel Police must examine the scene and issue a formal police waiver before the body can be released for burial or embalming [1][4]. If the cause of death requires a medico-legal investigation, the deceased is transferred to the National Center of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir) in Tel Aviv-Yafo (operating under the Ministry of Health), which performs the forensic examination or autopsy and issues the medical death notification and release [1][4]. Under Israeli law, unembalmed remains must generally be buried within 48 hours unless held in authorized refrigeration for international shipment or forensic review [1][4].
2. 2

   Check Insurance, Appoint Licensed Israeli and U.S. Funeral Providers, and Contact the U.S. Embassy

   Before signing independent funeral or air-cargo contracts, check whether your family member held travel medical insurance, international health coverage, or credit-card repatriation coverage, and notify the insurer's 24-hour assistance team first [1][7]. Note that the U.S. government cannot pay for funeral, burial, or international repatriation expenses [1][7].

   • Appointing a funeral/repatriation service or burial society in Israel:
     • For international repatriation to the United States: Appoint a Ministry of Health-authorized international funeral and repatriation service in Israel (or coordinate through the National Center of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir), which performs official arterial embalming required for international air transport) [1][4].
     • For local burial in Israel: Funeral and interment arrangements in Israel are organized through a licensed Chevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society), the relevant Christian or Muslim religious community burial board, or a licensed civil/alternative cemetery operator [1][13].
   • Appointing a receiving U.S. funeral home and FTC protections: If repatriating remains to the United States, the Israeli repatriation coordinator works with a state-licensed receiving funeral home in the destination U.S. state, which you can locate through the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA, phone +1 262-789-1880 or toll-free 800-228-6332) [5]. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC, phone +1 877-382-4357) enforces the federal Funeral Rule, giving you the right to receive a written, itemized General Price List (GPL) before selecting goods or services [6]. Clarvia lists official directories and consular information for orientation only and does not endorse, recommend, or rank specific providers.
   • Contacting the U.S. Embassy in Israel: Report the death immediately to the U.S. Embassy in Israel - either the American Citizen Services unit at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem (phone +972 2-630-4000; email [email protected]) or the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv (phone +972 3-519-7575; email [email protected]) [1]. If the legal next of kin is in the United States and cannot travel to Israel, they can execute a notarized authorization/affidavit instructing the U.S. Embassy and the appointed Israeli repatriation provider on the disposition of the remains [1][7].
3. 3

   Register the Death with PIBA (Misrad HaPnim) and Obtain the Te'udat Ptira, Apostille, and CRDA

   Using the hospital or forensic Death Notification (Hoda'at Ptira) and the Burial Permit (Rishayon Kvura), the death is registered in the Israeli civil registry [1][3][4]:

   • Israeli Death Certificate (Te'udat Ptira) and Apostille: The Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA / Misrad HaPnim via the national portal gov.il, national service center 3450) registers the death and issues the official Israeli Death Certificate (Te'udat Ptira* / תעודת פטירה), which can be requested in a bilingual Hebrew-English format (or downloaded digitally by first-degree relatives holding an Israeli ID) [1][3]. For direct legal recognition in the United States, have the Israeli Death Certificate authenticated with a Hague Apostille by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem [1][3].
   • Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad (CRDA, Form DS-2060): Submit the official Israeli Death Certificate (Te'udat Ptira), the hospital Death Notification (Hoda'at Ptira showing cause of death), and the deceased's U.S. passport to the U.S. Embassy in Israel (operating under the U.S. Department of State, Overseas Citizens Services phone +1 888-407-4747 from the U.S. or +1 202-501-4444 from abroad) [1][7]. The Embassy issues the electronic Consular Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad (CRDA / eCRODA, Form DS-2060), which serves across all U.S. states as official English-language proof of death equivalent to a domestic certificate from a state or county Vital Records / Office of Vital Statistics [1][7].
4. 4

   Choose Between International Repatriation to the United States and Local Burial or Cremation in Israel

   Depending on your family member's wishes, religious traditions, and residence ties, you may choose international shipment to the United States or local disposition in Israel [1][4][8][13]:

   • Repatriating casketed human remains to the United States: Your Israeli international funeral coordinator arranges arterial embalming (typically at the National Center of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir)), places the body in a hermetically sealed metal/zinc-lined transfer casket inside an outer shipping container, and obtains the official permit for the export/transport of human remains and non-contagious disease certificate from the District Health Office of the Israeli Ministry of Health (Misrad HaBriut) along with the Consular Mortuary Certificate from the U.S. Embassy in Israel [1][4]. Under the federal rules of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 42 CFR 71.55, phone +1 800-232-4636), embalmed human remains in a hermetically sealed casket accompanied by the official death certificate stating the cause of death may be imported into the United States without a separate CDC permit unless the person died of a quarantinable communicable disease [8]. At the arrival airport, the receiving U.S. funeral home clears the shipment through U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and obtains the state burial-transit permit [5][8].
   • Local burial or cremation in Israel: If your family member was an Israeli resident (or died in Israel and is buried locally by an authorized burial society), the National Insurance Institute of Israel (Bituach Leumi) directly covers standard local burial costs (Dmei Kvura) so families are not charged for basic burial plot and interment services [13]. Private cremation services also operate in Israel on a civil contractual basis; if cremated ashes are transported to the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not require a CDC import permit for cremated remains, provided they are carried in a sealed, non-metallic X-ray-scannable urn with the official death and cremation certificates [8].
5. 5

   Complete Benefit Claims, Tax Filings, and Estate Probate in the United States and Israel

   Once the Israeli Death Certificate (Te'udat Ptira) and the U.S. CRDA (Form DS-2060) are issued, complete the survivor benefit, tax, and probate steps in both jurisdictions:

   • In the United States (SSA / FBU Jerusalem, VA, IRS, and State Probate Court):
     • Social Security Administration (SSA): Report the death promptly so monthly payments stop (any benefit paid for the month of death or later must be returned) and to apply for monthly survivor benefits or the $255 lump-sum death payment for eligible family members [2][9]. In the United States, call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 [9]; if the deceased or surviving beneficiaries lived in Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza, report the death directly to the Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem by emailing [email protected] [2].
     • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): If your family member served in the U.S. Armed Forces, contact the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (phone +1 800-827-1000, or via [email protected] when abroad) regarding national cemetery interment, government headstones, burial allowances (VA Form 21P-530EZ), or Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) [2][10].
     • Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and State Probate Court: The court-appointed personal representative files the deceased's final federal income tax return (Form 1040) with the Internal Revenue Service (phone +1 800-829-1040) by the standard tax deadline (and Form 1041 if the estate earns $600 or more in gross annual income) [11], and petitions the county Probate Court (or Surrogate's Court) in the U.S. state where the deceased was domiciled or held property.
   • In Israel (Bituach Leumi and Registrar for Matters of Inheritance / Rasham HaYerushot):
     • National Insurance Institute of Israel (Bituach Leumi): If the deceased was an insured Israeli resident, surviving eligible family members (such as a surviving spouse/partner and qualifying children) can apply to the National Insurance Institute of Israel (Bituach Leumi, call center 6050) for a monthly Survivors' Pension (Gimlat She'erim) or lump-sum death grant (Ma'anak Ptira), in addition to direct coverage of local burial expenses (Dmei Kvura*) [13][14].
     • Registrar for Matters of Inheritance (Rasham HaYerushot): To release frozen Israeli bank accounts, pension/provident funds (Kupot Gemel), or real estate in Israel, heirs or executors must apply online or through an Israeli attorney to the Registrar for Matters of Inheritance (Rasham LeInyanei Yerusha / Rasham HaYerushot under the Ministry of Justice on gov.il, call center 2416) for a formal Probate Order (Tzav Kiyum Tzava'a) if the deceased left a valid will, or an Inheritance Order (Tzav Yerusha*) if intestate (noting that for non-resident decedents, applications typically include an expert legal opinion on the inheritance law of the deceased's U.S. state of domicile) [12]. Israel does not levy a separate statutory inheritance or estate tax, though capital gains or property tax rules may apply upon future sale of inherited Israeli assets.

Official Authorities & Verified Contacts

Official Sources Checked by Clarvia

1. [1]
   Death of a U.S. Citizen in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza (eCRODA and Disposition of Remains) — U.S. Embassy in Israel
2. [2]
   Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) - U.S. Embassy Jerusalem — U.S. Embassy in Israel
3. [3]
   Apply for a Death Certificate (Te'udat Ptira) — Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA / Gov.il)
4. [4]
   Death Notification and Burial Permit — Ministry of Health (Gov.il)
5. [5]
   National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) Directory — National Funeral Directors Association
6. [6]
   The FTC Funeral Rule — Federal Trade Commission
7. [7]
   Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad (CRDA Form DS-2060) — U.S. Department of State
8. [8]
   Bringing Human Remains into the United States (42 CFR 71.55) — U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
9. [9]
   Social Security Survivor Benefits and Reporting a Death — Social Security Administration
10. [10]
    VA Burials and Memorials — U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
11. [11]
    Filing a Final Federal Tax Return (Form 1040) for Someone Who Has Died — Internal Revenue Service
12. [12]
    Registrar for Matters of Inheritance - Inheritance and Probate Orders — Ministry of Justice (Gov.il)
13. [13]
    Burial Expenses (Dmei Kvura) and Burial Arrangements in Israel — National Insurance Institute of Israel (Bituach Leumi)
14. [14]
    Survivors' Pension (Gimlat She'erim) and Death Grant — National Insurance Institute of Israel (Bituach Leumi)