FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Nears $280 Million

Release Date Release Number
HQ-21-121
Release Date:
June 14, 2021

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.

“Applications” in the below chart reflect the number of individuals who called to begin the process for assistance. 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.

Please find below state-specific information:

State/Territory

Applications

Amount Approved

Number of Awards

ALABAMA

4,974

$6,113,924

859

ALASKA

100

$60,834

10

AMERICAN SAMOA

4

$0

0

ARIZONA

3,648

$2,652,357

483

ARKANSAS

2,079

$2,711,798

416

CALIFORNIA

23,627

$25,840,240

3,861

COLORADO

1,585

$1,240,511

212

COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANAS

3

 $4,344

1

CONNECTICUT

2,724

$4,825,250

670

DELAWARE

658

$831,673

128

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

435

$623,395

87

FLORIDA

12,312

$14,959,365

2,582

GEORGIA

8,176

$9,074,164

1,286

GUAM

8

$20,436

3

HAWAII

213

$160,563

26

IDAHO

431

$474,678

84

ILLINOIS

9,126

$13,574,040

1,959

INDIANA

3,768

$3,708,440

517

IOWA

1,993

$3,043,548

406

KANSAS

1,815

$2,526,574

367

KENTUCKY

2,903

$3,035,654

418

LOUISIANA

4,067

$4,538,441

647

MAINE

255

$199,706

42

MARYLAND

4,321

$5,525,551

791

MASSACHUSETTS

4,494

$5,361,035

757

MICHIGAN

7,331

$7,927,704

1,265

MINNESOTA

2,063

$2,623,577

376

MISSISSIPPI

3,571

$3,490,917

493

MISSOURI

3,714

$3,981,271

579

MONTANA

370

$203,848

42

NEBRASKA

925

$1,662,347

227

NEVADA

1,855

$1,511,385

270

NEW HAMPSHIRE

511

$590,704

95

NEW JERSEY

9,482

$13,037,554

1,825

NEW MEXICO

1,192

$860,054

157

NEW YORK

20,431

$31,103,630

4,347

NORTH CAROLINA

6,388

$10,265,947

1,536

NORTH DAKOTA

543

$576,291

75

OHIO

7,464

$13,634,662

2,095

OKLAHOMA

3,073

$4,293,985

626

OREGON

628

$779,900

155

PENNSYLVANIA

10,046

$14,414,099

2,174

PUERTO RICO

909

$110,189

29

RHODE ISLAND

962

$1,957,193

275

SOUTH CAROLINA

4,521

$4,990,636

692

SOUTH DAKOTA

567

$939,870

122

TENNESSEE

5,383

$5,868,190

819

TEXAS

19,643

$29,403,331

4,385

UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS

19

$21,549

3

UTAH

813

$1,207,861

174

VERMONT

110

$140,721

24

VIRGINIA

4,751

$6,014,766

887

WASHINGTON

1,384

$1,264,586

218

WEST VIRGINIA

1,112

$1,118,971

151

WISCONSIN

3,593

$3,205,225

459

WYOMING

187

$352.133

60

* Funeral assistance data can/will change daily; the information reflects data as of 8 a.m. ET today.

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.

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