Your person died in the Philippines and you are in the US, or a death here means a burial, family, or property back home. Millions of families live on both sides of this exact border, and the paperwork has well-worn paths: the local civil registrar and the PSA on one side, the Philippine consulates and the US Embassy Manila on the other. Here is how each direction works.
If they died in the Philippines
The death is registered with the local civil registrar in the city or municipality where it happened, and the window is 30 days; after that, late registration takes extra documents and fees at the same office. The registered certificate then flows up to the Philippine Statistics Authority, which is the office that issues the certified copies every agency asks for later.
If the person was a US citizen, report the death to the US Embassy Manila by email with the subject line "Death of a U.S. Citizen." The embassy prepares the Consular Report of Death Abroad from the Philippine death certificate, issued electronically, and that document is what settles insurance, Social Security, VA, and estate matters in the US. The embassy pays no funeral or shipping costs, keeps a list of Philippine funeral homes used to working with American families, and notes that Philippine health laws require prompt disposition of remains.
Order certified PSA copies online through the two channels the Philippine consulates themselves point to: PSAHelpline.ph, run by the PSA’s authorized provider and taking requests from anywhere in the world, and PSA Serbilis, the PSA’s own online outlet with worldwide delivery. For a death registered through a consulate less than a year ago, the record may not have reached the PSA yet; the consulate that took the report is the place to ask.
The US Embassy Manila issues its Consular Mortuary Certificate for the shipment, free when the deceased is a US citizen, by appointment. Its document list: two certified copies of the local death certificate, proof of citizenship, the transit permit from city hall, the confirmed airline booking and airway bill, consignee details, the embalmer’s or cremation certificate, a quarantine permit, and an exhumation permit when the death was more than five years ago. The embassy publishes approximate costs: about $8,000 to prepare and air-ship remains from Manila to the US, about $3,000 for cremation and shipment of ashes.
On the US side, CDC rules are the same for every country: fully cremated remains need no permit, embalmed remains for burial need no permit, everything else may, and non-cremated remains travel with a death certificate stating the cause of death, translated into English and notarized if it isn’t, in a leak-proof container.
Every shipment of remains or ashes to the Philippines needs a Consular Mortuary Certificate from a Philippine consulate, and each consulate publishes its own document list, fee, and timeline, so use the page of the consulate covering your state. The common core: the death certificate showing cause of death, a funeral director’s certification, an embalming certificate plus a no-contagious-disease letter and burial transit permit for a body, or a cremation certificate attesting the urn is hermetically sealed for ashes. Consulates want the paperwork early; Washington DC asks for it at least seven working days before the flight, by mail, and New York says the same. Stated fees run $25 to $50 depending on the consulate and passport.
If the person was a Filipino citizen, or a dual citizen, the consulate also takes the Report of Death: notarized forms in quadruplicate with the death certificate and citizenship proof. The consulate forwards it to Manila to become a permanent PSA record; a PSA copy of the report can be ordered about six months later, and Philippine agencies generally accept only the PSA copy for official transactions, so that follow-up order matters.
The Philippines taxes the net estate of every decedent, resident or not, at a flat 6%. The estate tax return is due within one year of the death, with extensions of up to 30 days to file in meritorious cases, and the tax is paid when the return is filed. Estates can settle through the courts or extrajudicially, by agreement among the heirs, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue can extend payment up to two years for an extrajudicial settlement or five through the courts. Transferring registered property, real estate, vehicles, or shares, requires the BIR’s Certificate Authorizing Registration, and estates over five million pesos need a CPA-certified statement with the return.
How do I get a Philippine death certificate while living in the US?
Order a certified PSA copy online through PSAHelpline.ph or PSA Serbilis; both deliver internationally and the Philippine consulates point to both by name. If the death was reported through a consulate within the last year, the record may not be in the PSA system yet, so ask the consulate that took the report.
What do I need to send a body or ashes to the Philippines?
A Consular Mortuary Certificate from your Philippine consulate. The core documents are the death certificate showing cause of death, an embalming certificate with a no-contagious-disease letter and transit permit for a body, or a cremation certificate for a sealed urn of ashes. Each consulate sets its own fee and wants the paperwork about seven working days before the flight, so start with your own consulate’s current list.
What is the Report of Death and does my family need it?
When a Filipino citizen dies abroad, the consulate records the death and forwards it to Manila to become a permanent PSA record. Philippine agencies generally accept only PSA copies for official transactions, so without the report, later work in the Philippines, like transferring property, gets harder. Order the PSA copy about six months after filing.
Do we owe Philippine estate tax if we all live in the US?
The Philippines taxes the net estate of every decedent at 6%, resident or not, and the return is due within one year of death. Whether tax is actually owed depends on what sits in the Philippine estate and its deductions. If the estate includes Philippine property, plan on the return, because transferring title requires the tax office’s certificate.
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.