In the early days of the pandemic, COVID-19 was rarely if ever noted as a cause of death on a death certificate. What do I do?
The COVID-19 incident period ended on May 11, 2023. FEMA will continue to provide funeral assistance until Sept. 30, 2025, to those who have lost loved ones due to this pandemic.
FEMA expanded its COVID-19 Funeral Assistance documentation requirements to allow applicants to submit a signed statement from the certifying official listed on the death certificate, or the local medical examiner or local coroner, attributing the death to COVID-19 for deaths that occurred between Jan. 20 and May 16, 2020.
The signed statement must accompany the death certificate and include a causal pathway, or explanation, linking the cause of death on the death certificate to COVID-19.
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