2018 US Code
Title 10 - Armed Forces
Subtitle A - General Military Law
Part II - Personnel
Chapter 75 - Deceased Personnel
Subchapter II - Death Benefits
Sec. 1482 - Expenses incident to death

(a) Incident to the recovery, care, and disposition of the remains of any decedent covered by section 1481 of this title, the Secretary concerned may pay the necessary expenses of the following:

(b) If an individual pays any expense payable by the United States under this section, the Secretary concerned shall reimburse him or his representative in an amount not larger than that normally incurred by the Secretary in furnishing the supply or service concerned. If reimbursement by the United States is also authorized under another provision of law or regulation, the individual may elect under which provision to be reimbursed.

(c) The following persons may be designated to direct disposition of the remains of a decedent covered by this chapter:

(d) When the remains of a decedent covered by section 1481 of this title, whose death occurs after January 1, 1961, are determined to be nonrecoverable, the person who would have been designated under subsection (c) to direct disposition of the remains if they had been recovered may be—

However, the amount of the reimbursement shall be determined in the manner prescribed in subsection (b) for an interment, but may not be larger than that authorized when the United States provides the grave site. A claim for reimbursement under this subsection may be allowed only if it is presented within two years after the date of death or the date the person who would have been designated under subsection (c) to direct disposition of the remains, if they had been recovered, receives notification that the member has been reported or determined to be dead under authority of chapter 10 of title 37, whichever is later.

(e) Presentation of Flag of the United States.—(1) In the case of a decedent covered by section 1481 of this title, the Secretary concerned may pay the necessary expenses for the presentation of a flag of the United States to the following persons:

(2) The Secretary concerned may pay the necessary expenses for the presentation of a flag to the person designated to direct the disposition of the remains of a member of the Reserve of an armed force under his jurisdiction who dies under honorable circumstances as determined by the Secretary and who is not covered by section 1481 of this title if, at the time of such member's death, he—

(3) A flag to be presented to a person under subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (1) shall be of equal size to the flag presented under subparagraph (A) of such paragraph to the person designated to direct disposition of the remains of the decedent.

(4) This subsection does not apply to a military prisoner who dies while in the custody of the Secretary concerned and while under a sentence that includes a discharge.

(5) In this subsection:

(f) The payment of expenses incident to the recovery, care, and disposition of a decedent covered by section 1481(a)(9) of this title is limited to the payment of expenses described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a) and air transportation of the remains from a location outside the United States to a point of entry in the United States. Such air transportation may be provided without reimbursement on a space-available basis in military or military-chartered aircraft. The Secretary concerned may pay any other expenses relating to the remains of such a decedent that are authorized to be paid under this section only on a reimbursable basis. Amounts reimbursed to the Secretary concerned under this subsection shall be credited to appropriations available, at the time of reimbursement, for the payment of such expenses.

(g)(1) The payment of expenses incident to the recovery, care, and disposition of the remains of a decedent covered by section 1481(a)(10) of this title is limited to those expenses that, as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, would not have been incurred but for the retention of those remains for purposes of a forensic pathology investigation by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner under section 1471 of this title.

(2) In a case covered by paragraph (1), if the person designated under subsection (c) to direct disposition of the remains of a decedent does not direct disposition of the remains that were retained for the forensic pathology investigation, the Secretary may pay for the transportation of those remains to, and interment or inurnment of those remains in, an appropriate place selected by the Secretary, in lieu of the transportation authorized to be paid under paragraph (8) of subsection (a).

(3) In a case covered by paragraph (1), expenses that may be paid do not include expenses with respect to an escort under paragraph (8) of subsection (a), whether or not on a reimbursable basis.

(4) The Secretary concerned may pay any other expenses relating to the remains of such a decedent that are authorized to be paid under this section on a reimbursable basis. Amounts reimbursed to the Secretary concerned under this subsection shall be credited to appropriations available at the time of reimbursement for the payment of such expenses.

(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 113; Pub. L. 85–716, Aug. 21, 1958, 72 Stat. 708; Pub. L. 91–397, Sept. 1, 1970, 84 Stat. 837; Pub. L. 91–487, Oct. 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 1086; Pub. L. 93–292, May 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 176; Pub. L. 93–649, Jan. 8, 1975, 88 Stat. 2361; Pub. L. 101–189, div. A, title VI, §§652(a)(3), 653(a)(6), title XVI, §1622(c)(4), Nov. 29, 1989, 103 Stat. 1461, 1462, 1604; Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title VI, §652(a)(2), title XVI, §1671(c)(8), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2793, 3014; Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title XV, §1501(c)(19), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 499; Pub. L. 107–107, div. A, title VI, §638(b)(1), Dec. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 1147; Pub. L. 110–181, div. A, title V, §591, Jan. 28, 2008, 122 Stat. 138; Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title V, §581, Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4472; Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title V, §528, Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1402; Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title VI, §§621(e), 651(a)(2)–(c), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 784, 787, 788; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VI, §632, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1431.)

In subsection (a), the list of payable expenses has been rearranged to produce a generally chronological result. The words "person designated" are substituted for the words "person recognized as the person."

In subsection (a)(4), the words "articles of" are omitted as surplusage.

In subsection (a)(8), the word "place" is substituted for the words "town or city".

In subsection (a)(10), the words "other than honorable" are omitted, since a person cannot be sentenced to an honorable discharge.

In subsection (b), the words "If an individual pays" are substituted for the words "In any case where expenses * * * are borne by individuals". The second sentence of 5:2161 is omitted as executed. The last sentence is substituted for the last sentence of 5:2161.

In subsection (c), 5:2162 (1st sentence) is omitted since the Secretary has inherent authority to issue regulations appropriate to exercising his statutory functions. The introductory language is substituted for 5:2162 (1st 22 words of 2d sentence). The words "ascertained and" are omitted as surplusage.

2017—Subsec. (a)(10). Pub. L. 115–91 added par. (10).

2013—Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 113–66, §621(e), substituted "and travel and transportation allowances as specified in regulations prescribed under section 464 of title 37" for "and roundtrip transportation and prescribed allowances".

Subsec. (a)(9). Pub. L. 113–66, §651(b), inserted "or inurnment" after "Interment".

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 113–66, §651(c), substituted "The Secretary concerned may pay any other expenses relating to the remains of such a decedent that are authorized to be paid under this section only on a reimbursable basis." for "The Secretary concerned shall pay all other expenses authorized to be paid under this subsection only on a reimbursable basis."

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 113–66, §651(a)(2), added subsec. (g).

2011—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 112–81 substituted "The" for "Only the" in introductory provisions, added par. (1), redesignated former pars. (1) to (4) as (2) to (5), respectively, and substituted "paragraphs (1) through (4)" for "clauses (1)–(3)" in par. (5).

2008—Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 110–181 inserted at end "When transportation of the remains includes transportation by aircraft under section 562 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 (Public Law 109–364; 10 U.S.C. 1482 note), the Secretary concerned shall provide, to the maximum extent practicable, for delivery of the remains by air to the commercial, general aviation, or military airport nearest to the place selected by the designee."

Subsec. (a)(10), (11). Pub. L. 110–417, §581(b), struck out pars. (10) and (11) which read as follows:

"(10) Presentation of a flag of the United States to the person designated to direct disposition of the remains, except in the case of a military prisoner who dies while in the custody of the Secretary and while under a sentence that includes a discharge.

"(11) Presentation of a flag of equal size to the flag presented under paragraph (10) to the parents or parent, if the person to be presented a flag under paragraph (10) is other than the parent of the decedent. For the purpose of this paragraph, the term 'parent' includes a natural parent, a stepparent, a parent by adoption or a person who for a period of not less than one year before the death of the decedent stood in loco parentis to him, and preference under this paragraph shall be given to the persons who exercised a parental relationship at the time of, or most nearly before, the death of the decedent."

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 110–417, §581(a), designated existing provisions as par. (2), redesignated former pars. (1) and (2) of subsec. (e) as subpars. (A) and (B), respectively, of par. (2), inserted subsec. (e) heading, and added pars. (1) and (3) to (5).

2001—Subsecs. (d) to (g). Pub. L. 107–107 redesignated subsecs. (e) to (g) as (d) to (f), respectively, and struck out former subsec. (d) which read as follows: "When, as a result of a disaster involving the multiple deaths of persons covered by section 1481 of this title, the Secretary concerned has possession of commingled remains that cannot be individually identified, and burial of those remains in a common grave in a national cemetery is considered necessary, he may, for the interment services of each known decedent, pay the expenses of round-trip transportation to the cemetery of (1) the person who would have been designated under subsection (c) to direct disposition of the remains if individual identification had been made, and (2) two additional persons selected by that person who are closely related to the decedent. The transportation expenses authorized to be paid under this subsection may not exceed the transportation allowances authorized for members of the armed forces for travel on official business, but no per diem allowance may be paid."

1996—Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 104–106 inserted "section" before "12731".

1994—Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 103–337, §1671(c)(8), substituted "section 12732" for "section 1332" and "12731" for "section 1331".

Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 103–337, §652(a)(2), added subsec. (g).

1989—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 101–189, §653(a)(6)(A), substituted  "expenses  of  the  following:"  for  "expenses of—" in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (a)(1) to (9). Pub. L. 101–189, §653(a)(6)(B), (C), in each of pars. (1) to (9), capitalized first letter of first word and substituted period for semicolon at the end.

Subsec. (a)(10). Pub. L. 101–189, §653(a)(6)(B), (D), capitalized first letter of first word and substituted period for "; and".

Subsec. (a)(11). Pub. L. 101–189, §653(a)(6)(B), (E), capitalized first letter of first word, substituted "paragraph" for "clause" in four places, and substituted "decedent. For the" for "decedent; for the".

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 101–189, §§652(a)(3), 1622(c)(4), substituted "the date of death" for "the effective date of this subsection, or the date of death," and "chapter 10 of title 37" for "chapter 10, title 37" in last sentence.

1975—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 93–649 inserted provision relating to date of notification of death under authority of chapter 10, title 37, to that person who would have been designated under subsection (c) to direct disposition of the remains, had they been recovered.

1974—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 93–292 added subsec. (f).

1970—Subsec. (a)(11). Pub. L. 91–397 added cl. (11).

Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 91–487 added subsec. (e).

1958—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 85–716 added subsec. (d).

Pub. L. 104–106, div. A, title XV, §1501(c), Feb. 10, 1996, 110 Stat. 498, provided that the amendment made by that section is effective as of Dec. 1, 1994, and as if included as an amendment made by the Reserve Officer Personnel Management Act, title XVI of Pub. L. 103–337, as originally enacted.

Amendment by section 652(a)(2) of Pub. L. 103–337 applicable with respect to remains of, and incidental expenses incident to recovery, care, and disposition of, an individual who dies after Oct. 5, 1994, see section 652(a)(3) of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as a note under section 1481 of this title.

Amendment by section 1671(c)(8) of Pub. L. 103–337 effective Dec. 1, 1994, except as otherwise provided, see section 1691 of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as an Effective Date note under section 10001 of this title.

Pub. L. 111–84, div. A, title V, §542(a), Oct. 28, 2009, 123 Stat. 2299, provided that:

"(1) Policy required.—Not later than April 1, 2010, the Secretary of Defense shall prescribe a policy guaranteeing media access at ceremonies for the dignified transfer of remains of members of the Armed Forces who die while located or serving overseas (in this section referred to as 'military decedents') when approved by the primary next of kin of such military decedents.

"(2) Procedures.—The policy developed under paragraph (1) shall include procedures to be followed by the military departments in conducting appropriate ceremonies for the dignified transfer of remains of military decedents. The procedures shall be uniform across the military departments except to the extent necessary to reflect the traditional practices or customs of a particular military department.

"(3) Elements.—The policy developed under paragraph (1) shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

Pub. L. 109–364, div. A, title V, §562, Oct. 17, 2006, 120 Stat. 2220, provided that:

"(a) Required Transportation.—In the case of a member of the Armed Forces who dies in a combat theater of operations and whose remains are returned to the United States through the mortuary facility at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, the Secretary concerned, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, shall provide transportation of the remains of that member from Dover Air Force Base to the applicable escorted remains destination in accordance with section 1482(a)(8) of title 10, United States Code, and this section.

"(b) Escorted Remains Destination.—In this section, the term 'escorted remains destination' means the place to which remains are authorized to be transported under section 1482(a)(8) of title 10, United States Code.

"(c) Air Transportation From Dover AFB.—

"(d) Escort.—

"(e) Honor Guard Detail.—

"(f) Secretary Concerned Defined.—In this section, the term 'Secretary concerned' has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(9) of title 10, United States Code.

"(g) Effective Date.—This section shall take effect at such time as may be prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, but not later than January 1, 2007."