Shipping My Loved One’s Remains to the Dominican Republic from New Jersey

When someone dies in New Jersey but will be buried in the Dominican Republic, the arrangements extend far beyond choosing a funeral home and burial location. This process requires preparing documents in New Jersey, completeing the appropriate Dominican consular review, and sharing records with the funeral home that will receive the remains after arrival.  

For families shipping remains to the Dominican Republic for the first time, it is not always clear which step comes first or how long each part will take. Knowing what is involved can provide a clearer picture of the information needed and where delays could occur.

First Steps in New Jersey

The first call should be to the funeral home. Madonna Multinational Funeral Home starts by collecting the basic information needed for arrangements. We begin with the full legal name of the person who has passed and the place of death. We also need the city in the Dominican Republic where the burial will take place.

From there, we begin obtaining the required New Jersey records and permits. The funeral home completes the death certificate through New Jersey’s vital records system, while the local registrar issues the burial transit permit. Several of the next steps depend on these documents.

Before a flight can be scheduled, the funeral home also works through the consular paperwork, connects with the receiving funeral home, and confirms available airline arrangements.

If your family already knows that burial will take place in the Dominican Republic, contact the funeral home early. This can help prevent delays in obtaining documents and coordinating the international transfer. Madonna Multinational Funeral Home can explain what information is needed to begin the process. 

Documents Needed to Ship Remains to the Dominican Republic

Dominican consular requirements are specific,although the exact documents required may depend on the circumstances and current consular instructions. 

For transporting non-cremated remains, documents may include:

• A certified death certificate from the appropriate vital records authority
• A burial transit permit
• An embalming certificate prepared by the funeral director or embalmer
• A certificate or statement confirming the death was not caused by a communicable disease from the appropriate city or county health department
• Identification for the person who died, such as a passport
• Additional authorization or supporting records when required

Note that requirements should always be reconfirmed before the shipment is prepared. Several of these documents may also require an apostille before they are submitted for use in the Dominican Republic.

In New Jersey, the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services issues apostilles for qualifying New Jersey documents, including properly certified vital records. The funeral home should confirm which documents require authentication based on the current Dominican consular instructions.

Spanish translations may also be required as part of the consular process. The appropriate Dominican consular office reviews the completed file before the shipment can move forward.

Consular instructions change from time to time. Because of that, we confirm the current requirements each time rather than relying on a saved checklist.

Even a small inconsistency can delay the file. A middle name that appears on a passport but not on a death certificate, for example, may need to be corrected before the next step can begin. 

Casket and Air Preparation

For non-cremated remains, Dominican consular requirements include documentation confirming embalming. The casket and its protective packaging must also meet international shipping standards and airline requirements. 

Depending on the shipment and carrier, this can include a hermetically sealed casket and a protective outer container called an air tray. The air tray encloses and protects the casket for the flight. Specific packaging requirements should be confirmed with the airline handling the shipment.

Some families also want a viewing or funeral service in Passaic before the flight. That can be coordinated before the international transfer. The preparation for a service can often be completed alongside the preparation required for international transfer. 

Shipping Remains By Air

Airlines handle human remains through specific cargo procedures rather than the standard passenger baggage system.

Madonna Multinational Funeral Home holds TSA Known Shipper status and registers individually with the carriers used for international transportation. This allows our staff to work directly with participating airlines when arranging the flight.

Available routes from the New York and New Jersey area can include Santo Domingo and Santiago. However, not every flight accepts human remains as cargo, so the departure date depends on more than the regular passenger schedule.

The departure date is not always clear in the beginning. Even after preparation is complete, the family may still be waiting on a vital record, apostille or authentication, consular review, receiving funeral home confirmation, or an available flight. Weekend and holiday closures can add time when one of those next steps is still pending.

International funeral shipping involves multiple agencies and organizations. Families should avoid booking travel or setting a final burial date too early. Wait until the funeral home confirms that the necessary documents and flight arrangements are in place. 

The Receiving Funeral Home in the Dominican Republic

A receiving funeral home in the Dominican Republic must also be in place before the shipment moves forward. Families provide the name, address, phone number, and email of the funeral home in the Dominican Republic. The two funeral homes can then coordinate directly about the transfer.

Our bilingual staff speaks with the receiving funeral home so relatives are not responsible for passing information back and forth between two countries and two languages.

Funeral arrangements in the Dominican Republic may move on a different timeline than an international shipment from New Jersey. Relatives there may already be preparing for the burial, while paperwork or flight arrangements are still being completed here.

What to Have Ready Early

Having two pieces of information ready early can help the arrangements move forward. 

The first is your loved one’s passport or birth certificate. An active or canceled passport or birth certificate can help verify identity and nationality during the consular process.

The second is the contact information for the receiving funeral home. 

Ideally, families should have the receiving funeral home’s full name, address, telephone number, email address, and primary contact person available as early as possible. 

Having both ready early can help prevent unnecessary delays as the funeral home prepares the file.

Need help coordinating an international transfer? Madonna Multinational Funeral Home can coordinate the New Jersey paperwork, airline arrangements, and communication with the receiving funeral home in the Dominican Republic. 

When the Death Happens in the Dominican Republic

The process works differently when a loved one dies in the Dominican Republic and burial or another final disposition will take place in New Jersey. 

If the death happens while traveling, there may also be Dominican, U.S. consular, and federal requirements to address before the remains can return home. That shipment falls under CDC importation rules.

Those requirements for bringing human remains into the United States depend partly on whether the remains have been embalmed or cremated, the intended final disposition, and whether an infectious disease is involved. The shipping process requires all non-cremated remains entering the United States must be fully contained in an appropriate leak-proof container.

Except for cremated or embalmed remains, a body entering the United States for burial, entombment, or cremation must generally travel with a death certificate that states the cause of death. If the official record is in Spanish, it must include an English translation that meets CDC requirements. The CDC publishes the full importation requirements for remains entering the United States.

We can also assist with these arrangements from New Jersey, working with the funeral home and appropriate authorities in the Dominican Republic.

If a Family Chooses Cremation

Cremated remains follow different requirements than a casketed shipment. 

Current Dominican consular guidance includes documents such as the original death certificate and a copy of the cremation certificate, along with applicable apostille requirements.

Some families choose cremation here in New Jersey and then carry or ship the urn to the Dominican Republic for burial in a family plot.

We quote cremation and ash transportation separately from a casketed shipment. The funeral director can explain the requirements for both options while the family is still deciding which option is appropriate for their plans.

Talking With a Funeral Director

International shipping arrangements are not exactly the same for every family. Where the death occurred, which documents are available, the receiving funeral home, the destination city, and available flights can all affect the timing. Sharing those details with the funeral director early helps determine the necessary documents and allows the funeral home to begin coordinating the different parts of the transfer.

Madonna Multinational Funeral Home serves families in Passaic and Passaic County, along with surrounding communities in Bergen, Essex, and Morris counties.

If you need help shipping a loved one’s remains to the Dominican Republic from New Jersey, a funeral director can explain the required documents, coordinates with the receiving funeral home, and answer questions about what happens before the funeral home arranges the flight.