NFDA Update: TSA “Known Shipper” Regulations

NFDA SPECIAL BULLETIN

Recently, NFDA members from around the country have contacted us inquiring about letters and emails they've received from cargo shippers about becoming a “known shipper.”

Effective July 1, 2009, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) mandated that all human remains shipments originating in the U.S. or its territories must be tendered by a “known shipper.” This policy will apply to all airlines accepting human remains for transport. Click heret o learn more about the TSA's “known shipper” policies.

This “known shipper” policy is not a new TSA policy; it's just that Congress recently mandated TSA to strictly enforce it. TSA originally developed the “known shipper” policy in 2004 as a way to “impose significant barriers to terrorists seeking to use the air cargo transportation system for malicious purposes.” As this policy was being developed, NFDA Advocacy Division staff met with TSA representatives to discuss the potential security threat presented by the shipment of human remains by air. NFDA staff outlined the typical procedures and chain of custody involved in preparing human remains for air shipment and, at that time, TSA agreed that the “known” status of the funeral homes that ship by air and the limited access of the preparation and transportation procedures used create a minimal security risk.