WASHINGTON — FEMA has provided more than $278 million to over 41,000 people for COVID-19-related funeral costs reimbursements.
The national average for an award is $6,756, as nearly 2,500 FEMA employees continue working with applicants to manually review every application, determining eligibility each week.
Once an individual applies, FEMA sends a letter outlining the required documentation needed to process their application. The process to determine eligibility starts after an applicant submits all required documentation. FEMA developed a process to ensure applicants have ample time to collect and submit required documents for assistance. While some jurisdictions provide or amend death certificates in four to six weeks, others may take longer. FEMA will make calls and send additional letters reminding applicants of the required documents.
Applicants may apply by calling 844-684-6333 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. Multilingual services are available. Applicants who use a relay service, such as a videophone, Innocaption or CapTel, should provide FEMA with the specific number assigned to them for that service so that agency representatives are able to contact them. Please note, phone calls from FEMA may come from an unidentified number. Those calling the COVID-19 funeral assistance helpline wait less than seven seconds before being routed to a live agent after listening to a recorded message. And once the applicant submits all required documentation, FEMA is able to make an eligibility determination in less than 30 days.
Additional information about COVID-19 funeral assistance, including frequently asked questions, is available on FEMA.gov.
