How to Complete the Navy Burial at Sea Request Form (OPNAV 5360)

The Navy’s burial at sea request form is OPNAV 5360, and you download it from the Department of Defense forms site at forms.documentservices.dla.mil by searching “OPNAV 5360.” Two forms come up under that number: the request form and the authorization form. Download both. You will complete them, sign the authorization, gather three supporting documents, and mail the package together with the remains and a burial flag to the coordinator at one of five Navy ports of embarkation. There is no central intake address and no online submission.

Who Can Submit the Form

The form is submitted by the Primary Next of Kin or the Person Authorized to Direct Disposition. The decedent must fall into one of five eligible categories: active-duty service members, retirees, honorably discharged veterans of any branch including the Coast Guard, U.S. civilian marine personnel of the Military Sealift Command, and dependents of active-duty members, retirees, or honorably discharged former members. The honorable discharge requirement is firm, and the Navy makes no published exceptions for upgraded or general-under-honorable-conditions discharges. If the discharge characterization is anything other than honorable, confirm eligibility with the Mortuary Affairs office before preparing the package.¹

If you would like a paper information packet before you start, call the MyNavy Career Center at 1-833-330-6622.

What the Form Asks You to Fill In

The request form collects the decedent’s full legal name, service branch, dates of service, and discharge status. Copy these fields directly from the DD-214 or retirement orders rather than from memory. The form asks whether the remains are cremated or casketed; this single answer determines which ports can receive the package and what preparation standards the remains must meet, so answer it before you begin coordinating with a funeral home.

The form then collects contact details for the Primary Next of Kin: full legal name, residential address, and phone number. The Navy will use this information to return the ceremony package after the committal, so use an address that will remain current for at least two years.

The Authorization Signature

The authorization form requires the signature of the Primary Next of Kin or Person Authorized to Direct Disposition. That signature confirms two things. First, the family authorizes the Navy to take custody of the remains. Second, the family understands that no civilian guests may be aboard during the ceremony. The committal takes place while the ship is deployed at sea, and the family will not be present.¹

Signing also carries a financial acknowledgment. The Navy does not charge for the committal itself, but all costs of preparation, funeral home services, and transport to the port fall on the family.

Documents to Include With the Form

Three supporting documents must accompany the completed OPNAV 5360. A missing document is the most common cause of processing delays.

DD Form 214, discharge certificate, or retirement orders. A non-notarized photocopy is acceptable.²
A photocopy of the death certificate. A certified original is not required.
Either the burial transit permit (for casketed remains) or the cremation certificate (for cremated remains).¹

If you are submitting for a dependent, include the DD-214 or retirement orders of the qualifying service member to establish the dependent’s eligibility. If the DD-214 has been lost, request a replacement from the National Personnel Records Center using SF-180 before submitting the burial at sea package.

Burial Flag

A burial flag must accompany the remains for every committal except those of dependents, who are not authorized a flag. The Person Authorized to Direct Disposition requests one free flag by completing VA Form 27-2008 and submitting it to any VA regional office or U.S. Post Office. The VA issues only one flag per deceased veteran and does not replace lost or stolen flags.³ For dependents, the ceremony package the Navy returns will not contain a flag.¹

Where to Send the Package

Everything ships to the same place: the coordinator at the port of embarkation you select. The Navy has five ports.¹

Norfolk, VA — Commander, Naval Medical Center, ATTN: Code 090A00, 620 John Paul Jones Cir., Portsmouth, VA 23708-5100. Phone: (757) 953-2777.
Jacksonville, FL — Officer in Charge, Naval Hospital Branch Clinic, P.O. Box 280148, Naval Station, Mayport, FL 32228-0148. Phone: (904) 270-4285.
San Diego, CA — Commanding Officer, Naval Medical Center, Decedent Affairs Code: 09OA, San Diego, CA 92134-5000. Phone: (800) 290-7410.
Bremerton, WA — Commanding Officer, Naval Hospital Bremerton, Code 015-BAS/HPO1 Boone Road, Bremerton, WA 98312-1898. Phone: (360) 475-4777.
Honolulu, HI — Navy Liaison Unit, Tripler Army Medical Center, Tripler AMC, HI 96859-5000. Phone: (808) 433-4709.

For casketed remains, only Norfolk and San Diego can receive them. Cremated remains can go to any of the five ports. Deployment schedules vary by port, so call the coordinator to ask about current wait times before you commit to a choice.

Preparing the Remains Before Shipping

The preparation standards are strict, and the Burial at Sea Coordinator at the receiving port inspects the remains on arrival. Get the details right before the funeral home ships anything.

Casketed Remains

The casket must be prepared to sink rapidly and permanently. EPA standards under the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act require at least twenty 2-inch holes drilled through the casket (eight on the top, eight on the bottom, and two each on the head and foot ends), a total weight of at least 300 pounds including the body, and at least six stainless steel bands, chains, or natural fiber ropes securing the casket. Lead cannot be used to add weight. Plastic tape cannot cover the drilled holes. Commercial shipping straps break down too quickly in saltwater and are not acceptable. All plastic materials must be removed from inside the casket.⁴

The Navy strongly recommends that the funeral home handling the preparation call the Mortuary Affairs Office at Navy Casualty in Millington, Tennessee for the full preparation checklist before shipping.¹

Cremated Remains

Cremated remains ship via USPS Priority Mail Express, which is the only carrier legally authorized to handle them domestically. UPS and FedEx will not accept them. The remains go into a sealed, leak-proof, sift-proof inner container inside a padded outer shipping box, with USPS Label 139 (Cremated Remains) affixed. Post Offices provide the label at no charge. Include a slip inside the box with sender and addressee names, addresses, and phone numbers.⁵

Ship the cremated remains together with the completed OPNAV 5360 form, the burial flag, and all three supporting documents in one package addressed to the port coordinator.

What Cannot Go Into the Water

The EPA general permit prohibits plastic or metal flowers and wreaths, tombstones or monuments, artificial reefs, and any plastic inside the casket. Burials must take place at least three nautical miles from shore. Fresh-cut natural flowers are the only acceptable floral inclusion.⁴

What Happens After the Port Receives Your Package

The coordinator reviews the documentation and holds the remains until a ship is assigned to perform the ceremony. The average wait between the port receiving the remains and the actual committal service is 12 to 18 months, depending on deployment schedules. The Navy cannot give a firm date in advance and cannot expedite the schedule.¹

The commanding officer of the ship oversees the committal at sea. After the service, the commanding officer notifies the family of the date, time, and the longitude and latitude of the committal. The Navy then sends a ceremony package to the Primary Next of Kin containing the returned flag, the nautical coordinates, and depending on the ship, possibly photographs or video. This package typically arrives after the ship returns from deployment, which can add weeks or months to the timeline.²

Checking on a Submitted Request

There is no online portal. To confirm the port received the remains or to check the status of a pending request, contact the Navy Mortuary Branch by phone at 1-866-787-0081, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Central Time, or by email at usn.mid-south.chnavpersmiltn.mbx.mill-navmort@us.navy.mil. For general questions about the process, the MyNavy Career Center at 1-833-330-6622 can help.⁶

1
MyNavyHR. Burial at Sea
2
Military OneSource. Military Funeral Honors: Burial at Sea Program
3
Department of Veterans Affairs. Application for United States Flag for Burial Purposes
4
US EPA. Burial at Sea
5
GovInfo. How to Package and Ship Cremated Remains
6
MyNavy HR. About Navy Mortuary Services