A foreign death certificate is:       

• Issued by the local (foreign) competent authority, often by the civil registry of that country.
• Written in the local language and prepared according to local laws.
• In many instances, not accepted in the United States for insurance and estate purposes.

CRODA is an electronic or paper administrative report of death issued by the U.S. Department of State.

• CRODAs are issued in English by the U.S. embassy or consulate. We cannot typically issue a CRODA without a foreign death certificate or a finding of death by a competent local authority.
• CRODAs provide the essential facts about the death. It is generally used as proof of death to assist in the settlement of the estate.
• The U.S. embassy or consulate can issue paper copies of the CRODA, or it can send a PDF (e-CRODA). 
• The e-CRODA has a digital signature of the Consular Officer. It also has a digital seal of the U.S. embassy or consulate. 
• Once the requirements are met, the Consular Officer can quickly email the e-CRODA document to the next of kin and other legal entities. This method is faster than sending the paper CRODAs by regular post. The recipient can then print out as many copies of the e-CRODA as they need.
• Please keep the original PDF of the e-CRODA just in case you need to print more copies in the future. 
• If you have more questions or need an additional paper copy, contact the Consular Section in the district where the death occurred. You also can later request additional certified copies through our Record Services Division. To check the status of your request, contact our Vital Records Office.

The CRODA issuance process can take as long as four to six months, depending on the country of death.

When a U.S. citizen dies abroad, U.S. consular officers are there to help. Consular officers can team up with local authorities and the deceased U.S. citizen's legal representative for the process to return the remains to the United States..  Options available to a family depend on local law and practice in the foreign country.  The embassy or consulate can provide a list of local funeral homes and a list of local lawyers.

U.S. and foreign laws generally require 4 documents to send remains to the United States:

• Consular mortuary certificate - Used for the orderly travel and customs process for the remains. The certificate is in English and has essential information about the transport of remains. The certificate is prepared by a consular officer.
• Local death certificate - Issued by the local registrar of deaths or similar local authority. It identifies the remains by giving the name, place, date, and cause of death as certified by the competent local authority. This certificate should be duly authenticated as required under local law.
• Affidavit from a local funeral director - Confirms that only the remains, clothing, and packing materials are in the casket. The affidavit may also say that the remains have been embalmed or otherwise prepared. The affidavit complies with the customs requirement that the casket and case contain only the remains.
• Transit permit - Local health authorities at the port of embarkation may also issue a transit permit with the name, sex, and/or age of the deceased, and/or the date and cause of death.

Depending on the circumstances of the death, you may need to provide more documents. The consular officer will make sure all required documents go with the remains to the United States.

U.S. entry requirements for customs and quarantine
The local death certificate and the consular mortuary certificate for the remains usually meet U.S. quarantine needs. The documents must show that the deceased U.S. citizen did not die from a quarantinable disease. They should also confirm that someone has embalmed the remains.

Read the CDC page on Importation of Human Remains into the U.S. for Burial, Entombment, or Cremation.

Shipment of unembalmed remains
Embalming is not needed to enter the United States if these conditions apply:

• A death certificate accompanies the remains. The certificate says the cause of death isn't a quarantinable communicable disease.
• The remains are shipped in a leak-proof container.

The local government overseas may not permit shipping of unembalmed remains. Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate in that country for help.

Read the CDC page on Importation of Human Remains into the U.S. for Burial, Entombment, or Cremation.

When a U.S. citizen dies overseas, a U.S. consular officer will notify their legal representative or next of kin. The consular officer may assist the legal representative or next of kin with identifying and making arrangements for the deceased U.S. citizen’s estate and/or personal effects.  If there is no legal representative in the country the consular officer can serve as temporary provisional conservator of the deceased U.S. citizen's estate or personal effects.

Provisional conservator
A consular officer may act as a provisional conservator. They may take control of small, valuable items found in a deceased U.S. citizen’s estate or belongings. 

The role of the provisional conservator may include the following:

• Taking possession of, inventorying, and appraising the deceased U.S. citizen’s estate or effects.
• In some cases, paying the deceased U.S. citizen’s local debts (such as hospital or hotel bills). Consular officers do this by using funds in the estate or from funds received from the legal representative.
• Helping to ship personal effects to the legal representative or next of kin.

Please note consular officers cannot take possession of dangerous, illegal, large, or bulky items. They cannot withdraw money from a bank, cash checks, or change other money orders. They also cannot incur expenses to have personal effects stored or shipped unless they have cash-in-hand funds in the estate.

The embassy or consulate can explain how to send funds to that country to pay for shipment of effects and provide you a list of local lawyers.

A legal representative may be the: 

• Executor designated in a will
• Surviving spouse, child, parent, sibling, or other next of kin
• Administrator appointed in intestate proceedings
• Agent of any of these persons     

Receipt of personal estate 
If there's no will and the estate is small, Form DS-5511 Affidavit from the next of kin may be enough to release the estate. If there are conflicting claims to an estate, a U.S. or host country court may decide who gets all or part of it.

Shipment of personal effects
The consular officer may assist with shipping the personal effects to the United States after the legal representative or next of kin  inventories the effects. Shipping costs are the responsibility of the legal representative, next of kin, or the estate.