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Germany has very strict laws on how to handle human remains. As a general rule, all coffins and urns have to be buried in licensed graveyards. Private citizens are not allowed to have urns in their possession. Therefore, all transport in Germany has to be handled by licensed funeral homes. Coffins and urns are best shipped by the Canadian funeral home to a funeral home in Germany directly. Please clarify with the carrier what type of coffin is acceptable for transportation with them. No customs are charged for the import of a coffin/urn which contains the remains of the deceased person into Germany.

You can obtain a corpse or urn transport permit at the German Consulates in Toronto or Vancouver by mail or in person during an appointment.

Corpse Transport Permit

Please submit the following documents (as originals, all documents will be returned to you):

• Official certificate of death, issued by the province (proof of death certificates issued by funeral homes are not sufficient)
• Medical certificate of cause of death
• Embalming certificate
• Letter from the Medical Examiner/Funeral Home confirming that the deceased person did not suffer from a contagious or infectious disease
• No-objection certificate / permit to transport the human remains from the Department of Health of the City where the death occurred
• If available, valid or last issued original passport of the deceased person, otherwise certified copy
• Information on the airline, flight no. and itinerary are entered into the corpse transport permit and therefore have to be given in detail
• If available, burial confirmation issued by the funeral home/cemetery/city in Germany
• Fees to be paid by money order or bank draft (personal or company cheques cannot be accepted; credit card or cash only if credit card holder applies for permit in person)
• If documents are sent by mail: self addressed prepaid Xpresspost envelope; processing time: 1-2 weeks plus shipping time
• signed notice for use of mail services

Urn Transport Permit

An urn transport permit may be needed to send an urn to Germany. Please verify that such a permit is necessary with your airline and receiving funeral home in Germany.

In case you want to ship a metal urn, please verify with the carrier if this is acceptable for shipment, seeing as the screening might cause problems. The urn has to be sealed by the funeral home in Canada.

Please submit the following documents (as originals, all documents will be returned to you):

• Official certificate of death issued by the province (proof of death certificates issued by funeral homes are not sufficient)
• Certificate of cremation with a confirmation from the funeral home that the urn contains the ashes of the deceased person (urn should be sealed and numbered - please indicate which number on the certificate is the number that appears on the urn)
• If available, valid or last issued original passport of the deceased person, otherwise certified copy
• Fees to be paid by money order or bank draft (personal or company cheques cannot be accepted; credit card or cash only if credit card holder applies for permit in person)
• If documents are sent by mail: self addressed prepaid Xpresspost envelope; processing time: 1-2 weeks plus shipping time
• signed notice for use of mail services

A Death Certificate is issued by the province or territory where the death occurred. Contact your province to obtain a death certificate:

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/notify-government-death/documents.html