Your person died in Canada and you are in the US, or they died here and their family, property, or burial is in Canada. Canada runs death paperwork province by province, the way the US runs it state by state, so the answer to most questions starts with which province. Here is how the pieces work and who to call.
If they died in Canada
Registration happens in the province where the death occurred, and the funeral home usually starts it. In Ontario, for example, the funeral director files the medical certificate and statement of death with the local municipal clerk. Once the death is registered, the province issues death certificates, and anyone can order them; Ontario lists no restriction on who applies or how many copies you order.
If the person was a US citizen, report the death to the nearest US embassy or consulate so it can issue a Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad. You will need that document to settle legal and estate matters in the United States. The US consulates in Canada are in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Order from the province, not from a national office; Canada has no federal death certificate. Ontario takes orders online with a card ($15 Canadian for a regular certificate, $45 for premium service, more for certified copies), by mail, or in person. British Columbia works the same way through its Vital Statistics Agency. Neither province restricts who can apply, and both take online orders, so ordering from the US is the normal path rather than a special case.
Funeral homes on both sides of the border do this often; the US consular services page for Canada says Canadian funeral homes are generally well versed in the export paperwork. Expect two layers: the province releases the body (in Ontario, shipping a body out of the province requires a certificate approved by a coroner, which funeral homes request online), and the border requires documentation (a death certificate accompanies the remains, in a leak-proof container; some airlines want hermetic sealing).
Ashes are simpler in both directions. Canadian border rules say cremated remains do not require a death certificate because they pose no quarantine risk, though carrying the cremation paperwork and using a container that can be scanned, cardboard, wood, or plastic, saves trouble at the airport.
The same border memorandum governs the reverse trip: remains entering Canada must be accompanied by a death certificate, translated if it is not in English or French, in a leak-proof container. Cremated remains again need no death certificate. Your US funeral home coordinates with the receiving Canadian funeral home, which handles the provincial burial permit on arrival.
When a Canadian dies in the US, the Canadian government authenticates the US death certificate for insurance and repatriation purposes but does not pay any burial, cremation, or repatriation costs. Its advice to families: get several copies of the official death certificate from the state where the death happened, and do not set a funeral date in Canada until the remains have cleared Canadian customs.
Probate is provincial and the names differ. Ontario issues a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee through its Superior Court, with a simpler Small Estate Certificate for estates up to $150,000 Canadian, and it is not always required. Ontario also charges an Estate Administration Tax: nothing on the first $50,000, then $15 per $1,000 of value above that. British Columbia calls its document a grant of probate, issued by the B.C. Supreme Court. If the person lived in the US but owned Ontario property, the application can be filed where the property sits, which is exactly the situation many US families are in.
Quebec is a different legal system. A notarial will, the common form there, takes effect at death with no probate at all; only holograph wills and wills made before witnesses need probating by a notary or the court.
Two federal jobs run alongside: tell Service Canada so Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security payments stop (a provincial death registration triggers this automatically; a death in the US does not, so report it with the person’s Social Insurance Number and proof of death), and file the person’s final T1 income tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency, which also pays a CPP death benefit of up to $2,500 to eligible estates and issues the clearance certificate an executor should get before distributing anything.
Can I order a Canadian death certificate from the US?
Yes. Certificates come from the province where the death happened, and provinces like Ontario and British Columbia take online orders with no restriction on who applies. There is no national Canadian death certificate office.
Do I need to probate a Canadian will in the US, or a US will in Canada?
Property generally gets settled where it sits. A US family dealing with Ontario real estate applies to the Ontario Superior Court, where a non-resident’s application is filed in the county holding the property. Talk to a lawyer licensed in the province involved before assuming a US probate covers Canadian assets or the reverse.
What does it cost to bring remains across the US-Canada border?
The border documents themselves are not the cost; transport and funeral home fees are, and they vary by distance and provider. Ashes travel far more simply than a body: Canada’s border agency requires no death certificate for cremated remains, while a body needs the certificate, a sealed container, and a provincial shipping-out permit on the Canadian side.
Who stops a deceased person’s Canadian pension payments?
Service Canada, and the trigger matters. A death registered inside a Canadian province reaches the pension system automatically. A Canadian who dies in the US must be reported to Service Canada directly, with their Social Insurance Number and proof of death, or Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security payments keep arriving and must be paid back.
Consulate requirements and foreign fees change, and individual consulates within one country can differ. Confirm the current document list with the consulate you'll actually use before booking anything. This page is general information, not legal advice. Reviewed August 18, 2026; every fact links to the official page it came from.