Urn repatriation by country: documents and transport for Europe and worldwide

Repatriating an urn from Germany follows the same basic pattern in almost every country: cremation in Germany, preparation of the documents, transport by road or air freight, and handover to a partner funeral director at the destination. What differs from country to country is how the death certificate must be authenticated, whether a consulate has to approve the transfer, and the import rules at the other end. This guide lists, country by country, what to expect for the UK, Ireland, North America, Australia and New Zealand, the rest of Europe and other destinations worldwide.

How we pack, book and hand over urns is described in detail on our service page Urn repatriation abroad, where you can also ask us for a quote.

How an urn repatriation from Germany works

1. Instruction and power of attorney. You tell us the destination country and the place of burial. With your authorisation we deal with the registry office, the crematorium and, where needed, the consulate.
2. Cremation. German state law requires a second medical examination before cremation. Afterwards the crematorium issues a cremation certificate.
3. Documents and authentication. Depending on the destination with an apostille, consular legalisation or no further formality.
4. Transport. Within Europe often by funeral vehicle or a courier specialised in funeral transport; for long-haul destinations by air freight.
5. Handover and interment. Our partner funeral director receives the urn at the cargo terminal or at the destination and accompanies the interment.

Who holds the urn at each stage is explained in “Tracking an urn repatriation”.

Standard documents for every destination

• International (multilingual) death certificate from the registry office where the death occurred;
• cremation certificate from the crematorium;
• certificate of urn contents from the funeral director, confirming that the sealed urn contains only the ashes of the deceased;
• an apostille or legalisation of the death certificate, where the destination requires it;
• a consular permit or certificate from the destination country, where required.

For air freight an air waybill is added. Each document is explained in “Taking ashes abroad from Germany: which permits and documents you need”.

Apostille, legalisation or no authentication

• EU Regulation 2016/1191: since 16 February 2019 public documents such as death certificates need no apostille between EU member states.
• CIEC Convention No. 16: the multilingual death certificate must be accepted without legalisation in the contracting states, including Switzerland, Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Moldova.
• Hague Apostille Convention: for most other countries an apostille is enough. Germany has, however, objected to the accession of some states, among them Morocco, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the Philippines. For these, legalisation through the embassy is still required.

Who issues the apostille in Germany and how legalisation works is covered in “Death certificate apostille and legalisation”.

United Kingdom, Ireland and Northern Europe

Western, Central and Southern Europe

Western Balkans, Eastern Europe and Turkey

For Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia and other countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus see Repatriation to the CIS countries and our guides on Kazakhstan and Georgia and Armenia.

United States and Canada

Even though US authorities do not require a permit for an urn, we always enclose the death and cremation certificates, as customs and the airline may check them. What families in the United States need beyond that is set out in “A US citizen has died in Germany”.

Australia, New Zealand and Asia

Latin America and South Africa

Timing, cost and what no longer works

An international repatriation typically takes 3 to 7 working days. Collection in Germany usually happens on the same day. It can take longer if legalisation or a consular permit is needed, or if public holidays intervene.

Urn repatriation is available from €990. The price depends on the destination, the route and the authentication required. You receive a written fixed price within a few hours; general information on costs is on Repatriation costs.

Older advice online still mentions sending an urn by post. Deutsche Post and DHL, however, stopped carrying urns within Germany and abroad on 1 October 2025. German law also requires the ashes to be interred: in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, the crematorium may hand the sealed urn to relatives or their representatives, but proper interment must be proven within six weeks. Other federal states regulate the details differently. Repatriation through a funeral director ensures that all the proof is in order.

If an urn needs to come the other way, read “Bringing ashes to Germany”.

Frequently asked questions

Contact · 24/7

Call us and we will check what your destination requires

Tell us the destination country and where the deceased is now. We check which authentication and permits are needed, take care of cremation, documents and transport, and hand the urn over to our partner at the destination. You will receive a call back within the next hour.

• Call back within one hour
• Written fixed price within a few hours
• Around the clock, in four languages

Call now+49 1511 74 63 888 Request a callback →

Rudolf NordheimerManaging Director, your contact person

A first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

This text reflects the published rules at the time of writing and does not replace legal advice. Import rules, authentication requirements and cemetery regulations differ by destination country and German federal state and may change.

Rudolf Nordheimer

See Full Bio