Planning on Shipping Cremated Remains? Here’s How to Do It

In the immediate aftermath of a loved one’s cremation services in Phoenix, AZ, you might want to bring your loved one’s cremated remains home with you. You might also want to place your loved one’s remains into a cremation niche at a cemetery or scatter a loved one’s remains in a really special place. But some families also choose to ship a loved one’s remains prior to doing any of these things. If your family is going to do this, you’ll need to make sure you take the right approach to shipping cremated remains. Check out how to do it below.

Prepare to ship a loved one’s remains through the U.S. Postal Service.

You aren’t going to be able to ship your loved one’s cremated remains through just any shipping provider following their Phoenix, AZ cremation. You’re going to need to ship them exclusively through the U.S. Postal Service. Other shipping providers like FedEx and UPS have banned families from using their services to ship cremated remains. You could get yourself into some serious trouble if you attempt to do it anyway through them. It’s why you should get it in your head that you’re going to have to ship cremated remains through the USPS.

Package a loved one’s remains in the correct way.

Prior to shipping cremated remains through the USPS, you’re going to need to package them up in a very specific way. It’ll prevent your loved one’s remains from getting lost or damaged while they’re on their way to their final destination. You’ll need to start by putting your loved one’s remains into a sealed sift-proof container like a cremation urn. Then, you’ll need to place that container into a sift-proof outer container and surround it with cushioning materials. From there, you’ll need to tape the outer container up tight and place a shipping label on the outside of it. You may also want to write your contact information down on a piece of paper and put it inside of the outer container just in case something happens to your shipping label.

Put the right labels on the outside of a loved one’s remains.

Once you have your loved one’s remains all packaged up and ready to go, it’ll almost be time to ship them out. But before doing it, you are going to have to put the right labels on the outside of your outer container. The USPS has a label called Label 139 that is designed for any packages containing cremated remains. The label is bright-red, and it has the words “Cremated Remains” on it. You should stick this label on the package with your loved one’s remains in it so that it’s handled with great care at all times.

Provide the right address for the destination for your loved one’s remains.

When you get to this point in the shipping process while sending out cremated remains, the only thing left to do will be to double-check the address that you put on the shipping label for the package. You want to be 100 percent sure that it’s right so that the package makes it to wherever it is that it’s going. After that’s done, you should feel free to hand your package over to a USPS employee so that your loved one’s cremated remains can begin to make their way to their destination.

Do you need a hand with shipping cremated remains? Simply Cremation & Funeral Arrangements can assist you. We can also assist families with many other aspects of the planning process while they’re mapping out Phoenix, AZ cremations for their loved ones. Reach out to us now for all of your family’s cremation needs.